call for papers

18th Annual Conference

november 15–16, 2024

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The University of the West Indies, Global Campus Antigua and Barbuda

 The University of the West Indies, Five Islands Campus

 The Antigua and Barbuda Studies Association (ABSA)

 The Antigua and Barbuda Youth Enlightenment Academy (ABYEA)

Announce the Call for Papers

for 

Our 18th Annual Country Conference

Online

November 15–16, 2024

On the Theme

Caribbean Democracy, Trade and Regional Integration:

Will They Hold in Our Era of Global Authoritarianism,

Artificial Intelligence, Multi-polarity and Climate Change

Greetings again one and all – members of our Antiguan and Barbuda scholarly community. Yes, it is that time of the year for us to gather once more to reflect and exchange ideas about our beloved Antigua and Barbuda, and the larger Caribbean region of which we are an integral part. In other words, it is time for us to start thinking, writing and planning for our 18th Annual Antigua and Barbuda Country Conference. Last year among other things, we celebrated the 75th birthday of the University of the West Indies.

     In addition to celebrating that important regional milestone, we found it necessary to take into account the rapidly changing larger context in which our regional university was celebrating this important birthday. In particular, we took special note of rising levels of anti-black racism in the West, our growing climate crisis, the intensifying hegemonic competition between the United States and China, and the ever-increasing rate of major developments in the fields of information and communications technology.

     Indeed, because the pace of ongoing developments in these contextual fields have not slowed, we will have to continue to pay close attention to them. Earlier, this year we had the visit of hurricane Beryl that brought great devastation to our sisters and brothers in the Winward Islands and Jamaica. The applications and extensions of AI and Chat GPT just keep on coming, and with their arrival changing our everyday lives. The heating up of electric vehicle (EV) competition between China and the United States, is just one point in the hegemonic competition between them that is sure to make China an increasingly important pole in our growing multi-polar world. This shift will have significant consequences for both trade and development in our region. Also important for us are the growing authoritarian tendencies in states across our globe, including the Western “democracies”. Most concerning is the teetering position of the United States between a liberal democracy and an autocratic democracy. The highly influential Lee Kuan Yew schools of authoritarian political philosophy and leadership based primarily in Singapore and China are important contributors to the growing patterns of political authoritarianism erupting around us.

     These rising contextual trends have inserted our region in a new global conjuncture. The key question that these changes pose for us is: how will this new global conjuncture affect already fragile and still very dependent Caribbean political, cultural and economic institutions? Caribbean economic, cultural, and political leaders still have not found effective counters to the recent period (1985–present) of institutional re-colonization that came with the rise of French post-structuralist theory, American neoliberalism and financialization. Adding to the difficulties of this re-colonization, has been the rise of China, worsening climate change, AI and other products of the ongoing hi-tech revolution. But, at the same time, we urgently need to synthesize these rising trends into collective developmental projects that will take our political economy into its next major growth phase.

     Unlike many other countries, the earlier authoritarian tendencies that plagued the territories of the English-speaking Caribbean have been notably dormant in this period of rising global authoritarianism. In our region, these earlier authoritarian tendencies erupted from rising levels of polarization and competition between our political parties for control of state power. In Antigua and Barbuda, we need only recall the intense periods of Red/Blue competition between the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party on the one hand and the Progressive Labour Movement and the United Progressive Party on the other. Unforgettable was the competition in Guyana between the Peoples Progressive Party and the Peoples National Congress. This so-called “political tribalism” peaked with the 1980 elections in Jamaica during which approximately 600 people lost their lives. Now, we are seeing these highly polarized tendencies erupting between the two major American political parties. Given our past periods of authoritarian rule, the present conjuncture provides a good opportunity for us as scholars to reflect and check on them.

     In addition to topics such as Beryl and climate change, the rise of China, and the ever-expanding role of AI in our lives, we will of course, as our practice in the past, welcome presentations on trends and new authors in the fields of Antiguan and Barbudan/Caribbean art, literature, poetry, and philosophy, religion and the other humanities.

     In short, our deliberations this year will be on the regional consequences of our changing global conjuncture. How will it affect our trade relations, state of regional integration, relations between individual states, regional authorities. Will we find a growth path beyond the peripheral dynamics and confines of neoliberalism? What form will our critical, literary and philosophical thinking take now that, like neoliberalism, post-structuralist theory is receding? These significant retreats could very well produce a more open period for us to reassert our inherent creativity and to shape our region more in our own image. We really hope that you will consider joining us by making a presentation at our upcoming November meeting.

     To stimulate your thinking and writing, we suggest making a presentation on topics such as:

  • Will the current compromise between the two dominant political parties of Antigua and Barbuda continue in our era of global authoritarianism and autocracy?
  • What will be the future of the minor but persistent Caribbean tradition of popular democracy?
  • How will the rising levels of anti-black racism in the West, evidenced by the racist and sexist attacks on the candidacy of Kamala Harris for the presidency of the United States, affect the international relations of the Caribbean?
  • How should our economic and political leaders be approaching relations with China as a major pole in our multi-polar world?
  • What should we be expecting next from the dynamic and innovative world of artificial intelligence?
  • Is artificial intelligence creating an “anxious generation” here in the Caribbean?
  • How is artificial intelligence affecting journalism, literature, music and other creative arts in our region?
  • Is there a shift coming in our thinking in the fields of economics, sociology, political science, literary criticism and philosophy now that the hurricanes of American neoliberalism and French post-structuralism are receding?
  • How are Antiguan and Barbudan entrepreneurs responding to the receding of neoliberalism and the rise of China?
  • Will the receding of neoliberalism, the turn to regional trade agreements, and the rise of China strengthen Caribbean regional integration?
  • What should we be expecting for the remainder of this year’s hurricane season?

     If you are interested in making a presentation at this 2024 conference, please send us a brief abstract that includes your name, your title and a brief description of the theme of your presentation. We must receive your abstract by September 20, 2024. It will help us to put you on the right panel. Your abstract, in the form of a Word document, should be emailed to [email protected] or to [email protected]

Paget Henry
President
ABSA

Coleen Letlow
Head
UWI (Antigua)

Janet Lofgren
Editorial Assistant
A&B Review of Books