Call for Papers
Contribute to African Scholarship.
Coming Soon
Our first priority right now is Ubuntu, the Institute’s cohort-based learning programme. A new call for papers will follow once that is underway.
Placeholder - the current cycle’s deadline, word-count limits, citation format, and specific submission guidelines go here once confirmed by the Institute, not invented for this build.
A new call for papers is being prepared.
Return to this page for upcoming opportunities to contribute to the Institute’s research and publications.
We are particularly interested in scholarship that asks difficult questions, challenges inherited assumptions, recovers neglected histories, and contributes new ways of understanding African societies.
We welcome submissions across all four of the Institute’s research areas, and we especially encourage scholars based in Africa and researchers contributing to African intellectual capacity.
Research Areas
History & Decolonization
- African histories and civilizations
- Colonialism and its legacies
- Decolonization movements
- Liberation struggles
- Pan-Africanism
- Historical memory and the archive
- African intellectual history
- Historiography and methodology
- Indigenous knowledge systems
Society & Politics
- African political thought
- Governance and institutions
- Democracy and citizenship
- Social movements
- Development and inequality
- Migration
- Conflict and peace
- Urbanization
- Technology and society
- Youth and social change
Arts & Culture
- African literature
- Music
- Film
- Visual arts
- Architecture
- Language
- Heritage
- Popular culture
- Cultural memory
- Creative expression
Religion & Philosophy
- African philosophies
- Indigenous religious traditions
- Christianity and Islam in African contexts
- Spirituality and ethics
- Metaphysics
- Indigenous knowledge systems
- African philosophical traditions
- Religion and social life
Who Can Submit
We welcome submissions from:
- University researchers
- Independent scholars
- Graduate and doctoral students
- Early-career researchers
- Writers
- Cultural practitioners
- Interdisciplinary researchers
Interdisciplinary work is encouraged. We do not require institutional affiliation to submit.
What We Look For
Original.
It contributes something meaningful to an existing conversation, rather than restating what is already known.
Rigorous.
It takes evidence, methodology, sources, and argument seriously, and is honest about the limits of its own claims.
Relevant.
It speaks to questions that matter: to scholars, to communities, to the study of Africa.
Thoughtful.
It recognizes complexity rather than reducing African societies to simple narratives or familiar frameworks.
Accessible.
Academic seriousness should not require unnecessary obscurity. Writing that a careful reader outside your specialization can follow is a mark of intellectual strength, not weakness.
Review Process
Depending on the publication or programme, submissions may undergo editorial review, peer review, expert review, or another appropriate evaluation process. The specific process applicable to a given call will be described in its guidelines.
You will be notified by email at each stage of the process.
We are interested not only in scholarship that confirms what is already known.
We are interested in scholarship that makes us stop and ask:
- What have we misunderstood?
- Whose knowledge have we overlooked?
- What histories remain unwritten?
- What assumptions should be reconsidered?
- What can African scholarship teach the world?
How to Submit
Submit your abstract and a PDF or DOCX of your paper through the submission form. No account is required: you will receive a confirmation email with a link to track your submission’s status.