Call for papers by Kenya Studies Association (KESSA)

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

4th KENYA SCHOLARS AND STUDIES ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE

DATE: September 16-17, 2011

VENUE: Bowling Green State University, Bowen Thompson Student Union

Bowling Green, Ohio 43403

THEME: Democracy, Change and Transformation in Kenya

In 2010, Kenyans witnessed the historic promulgation of a new constitution. To many, this symbolized a resolve by Kenyans to embrace and promote democratic principles of governance amid change and transformation. To others, it offered Kenya an opportunity to reinvent itself and create strong institutions that will support governance as the nation positions itself to overcome internal challenges and also compete regionally and globally.

 Against the backdrop of much excitement among many Kenyans, however, loom some fundamental questions: Is democratic change in and of itself enough to transform Kenya? Or, are there other aspects of Kenyan society that must change in order to realize the fruits of the long fought-for constitutional change? How will the new governmental system avoid the pitfalls of previous systems? What role will Kenyan academics and professionals play as the nation looks into transforming itself in a fast-paced 21st Century? These and other issues form the core of the 4th KESSA Conference theme at Bowling Green State University, Bowling green, OH in September 2011.

On behalf of the conference organizing committee, I would like to invite you so submit an abstract for the 4th KESSA Annual Conference which will be held on September 16-17, 2011 at Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, USA.

The 2011 conference presents us with yet another exciting and thought provoking weekend of professional engagement, dialogue, presentations, and discussions. KESSA is soliciting abstracts and organized sessions under the broad theme of Democracy, Change and Transformation in Kenya with particular reference to:
Politics and Governance,
The Constitution
Economics/ Business/Global Capital
Law
Education
Health
Religion
Gender, Women and Youth issues
Science
Technology
Globalization
Culture, Music, Language, Sports
Diaspora and Promoting African Image in the Global Scene
Tourism
Environment
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Agriculture and Climate Change Housing
Security and Terrorism Transportation Urbanization Any other relevant themes and topics are welcome.
The deadline for abstract submission is June 6, 2011. Each paper presentation will last for approximately 20 minutes. While abstracts will be accepted without the registration fee, the fee (whose deadline will be announced later) is mandatory for conference participation. Please see registration details below.

Proposals for organized paper sessions, panels, and round-table discussions are welcome. For those who are organizing sessions, please process all the abstracts for your session using the general conference guidelines and under the June 6, 2011 deadline. Organized paper sessions should consist of 4-5 papers. Session organizers should clearly identify all session participants and submit all session abstracts in one package.

PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS: Anyone interested in advancing the cause of Kenya may participate in the 4th KESSA conference. You are eligible to give a presentation or participate in other capacities in the conference provided you are registered for the meeting.

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION: Presenters should submit 250-word (or less) abstracts that include the presentation's title, presenter, institutional affiliation, contact information (mailing address, phone, and email address), purpose, methods, conclusions, and three key words. Abstracts should be edited for spelling, grammatical, and typographical errors. Abstracts should convey research results clearly and concisely and should be as jargon free as possible. Please do not include references, citations, and/or abbreviations in the body of the abstract. By submitting an abstract, you grant KESSA permission to include it in the conference program and/or disseminate it electronically.

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION AND PAYMENT SCHEDULE: Conference registration and payment will be done online and is available at the association’s website at: http://kessa.org.

Please consider to contribute and/or forward this announcement to appropriate colleagues and groups. All abstracts and/or organized session proposals should be emailed as MS Word document attachments to Dr. Francis Koti, KESSA Secretary at: ftkoti@una.edu. For any other questions, please contact the KESSA President, Dr. Kefa Otiso (kmotiso@bgsu.edu).
We look forward to a great conference this year.

Disclaimer on Funding It is the responsibility of all participants to raise funds needed to attend this conference. KESSA and Bowling Green State University DO NOT provide any form of financial support to conference attendees.
Sincerely

Francis Koti – KESSA Secretary

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Prof. Maurice N. Amutabi (Ph.D),
Department of Social Sciences

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Catholic University of Eastern Africa
P.O BOX 62157-00200 CITY SQUARE
NAIROBI, Kenya