International Gullah Geechee and African Diaspora Conference
Tracing the African Diaspora: Places of Suffering, Resilience and Reinvention March 7-9, 2019 | Coastal Carolina University Conway, SC
The Charles W. Joyner Institute for Gullah and African Diaspora Studies at Coastal Carolina University, Conway, South Carolina, invited abstracts and panel proposals for its 1st Annual International Gullah Geechee and African Diaspora (IGGAD) Conference from October to December of 2018. 2019's theme—Tracing the African Diaspora: Places of Suffering, Resilience and Reinvention—examined significant social, political and cultural experiences among African American communities and various African and Caribbean nations in the past, present and envisioned future. Papers explored new knowledge and understanding in the broad areas of racial identity, feminism, transnational migration, gender studies, public health, religion, slavery, Afrofuturism, Pan-Africanism and Gullah/Geechee cultures.
The IGGAD conference brought together academics and practitioners from interdisciplinary areas of study, who offered their ground-breaking contributions in the form of scholarly papers, films, performances and spoken poetry. Our keynote speaker was Dr. Sheila S. Walker, cultural anthropologist and filmmaker, and there are exciting performances planned by singers Ron and Natalie Daise, The Geechee Gullah Ring Shouters, Step Afrika and Charleston, South Carolina’s poet laureate Marcus Amaker. Of special importance is our conference’s emphasis on the community-based participatory model, which recognizes the relevance of cultural practitioners and community participation. To this end, we held critical dialogues and shared learning among scholars, artisans and community members.