SUBMISSION GUIDELINES FOR ASA PROPOSALS

68th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association
Crossing Boundaries and Recovering Intellectual Traditions | Atlanta, GA November 20-22, 2025

PROGRAM CHAIRS: Pedro Monaville (McGill University) and Anatoli Ignatov (Appalachian State University)
Final Submission Deadline: via the Online Portal Sunday, March 16, 2025.
INQUIRIES: members@africanstudies.org 

The CFP Submission Site is only accessible to pre-registrants. Please sign into MyASA here to pre-register in advance.

CFP OVERVIEW 

The African Studies Association (ASA) invites proposals in all areas of African studies, broadly defined. The Program Committee welcomes submissions from scholars, students, and practitioners at all stages in their careers.

All proposals must be submitted before Sunday, March 16, 2025, 11:59pm Eastern. All decision notifications will be sent via email within 8 weeks of the CFP close date. Please update your email in MyASA prior to submitting and be sure you can receive emails from members@africanstudies.org and secretariat@africanstudies.org.

All participants must pay the pre-registration fee in MyASA, at the member or non-member rate, before the close of the CFP. Failure to do so may result in submission rejection or removal from the program. Any participant with concerns regarding the pre-registration payment should contact the ASA Secretariat. ASA accepts credit cards, PayPal, and PayPal partner services such as MPESA. Check payments are not available. Please note that pre-registration is refundable if your submission is rejected, or a presenter is denied a visa.

PARTICIPATION RULES 

Each participant may only submit ONE paper in the "individual paper" category but may also be part of pre-constituted formats (e.g., Roundtable, Author Meets Critic, Studio, etc.) Presentations must be unique to each session.

The Program Committee will only review complete proposals. Submissions must be in English, but proposal abstracts may indicate that the session will be conducted in any language. All proposals must be submitted through the CFP Submission Site. The ASA is unable to accept proposals sent by email, hardcopy, or fax.

SUBMISSION CATEGORIES

Panels: Panels present formal papers surrounding a given topic, followed by an audience Q&A. A panel consists of a chair, no more than five formal paper presenters, and an optional discussant. A panel must have a minimum of three participants and two papers. Panel sessions are "pre-constituted," and their organizers must submit all relevant information and paper titles/abstracts for all participants. Multi-part panel proposals are welcome and encouraged. Multi-part panels must be titled similarly, submitted in the same subtheme, and identified in scheduling order using Part I, Part II, Part III, etc., (e.g.: African Masculinities in the Modern World, Part I; African Masculinities in the Modern World, Part II)

Roundtables: Roundtables consists of a chair and no more than five presenters in a fluid discussion format. There are no paper titles. As a “pre-constituted” session, the organizers must submit all information for all participants.

Roundtable: Standard roundtable formats can address original research, work-in-progress, or broader professional questions or concerns pertinent to the field.

Author Meets Critic Roundtable: This roundtable format facilitates the presentation and in-depth discussion of monographs, edited volumes, translations, or other types of books for an interdisciplinary audience. One of the presenters must be the author of the work being discussed. The author may serve as Chair if they so wish.

Film & Media Critic Roundtable: This roundtable format allows individuals or groups to present films and/or other media followed by discussion, analysis, or information. At least one presenter must have the authorization and materials to show the film and/or media during the session if it is not their own. If a filmmaker or distributor wishes to show a film at ASA but is unable to attend, they must provide the necessary materials to another registered presenter. Unlike other roundtables, this format can have as few as two presenters. Additional “critics” (or analysts/commentators) are encouraged but not required.
 

Studios: Studios are sessions in which participants can learn, develop, or share practical skills or specialized knowledge such as journal publishing, syllabus development, or grant writing basics. Studios consist of a chair and no more than five presenters (but they may all be thought of as facilitators depending on the topic and approach).
 

Working Groups: Working Groups are double sessions consisting of a chair, no more than five papers, and up to three optional readers. All listed participants agree to exchange and read the papers in advance. Working groups are thematic like other session types but offer deeper feedback to improve the quality of the research or better prepare it for publication. Working groups are open to all Annual Meeting registrants to attend, but formal presentations of the papers are optional. All working groups are scheduled during Sessions I & II, without exception.
 

Individual Papers: Papers are only to be submitted if individuals are not submitting that paper as part of a pre-organized panel or working group. Individual Paper Proposals may not be categorized in the subtheme Special Topics. The Program Committee will create panels from individual submissions with common themes as best as possible. These are known as “Created Panels” in the ASA program. Individual paper proposals have the highest rate of rejection and Created Panels have the highest rate of attrition. Potential submitters are strongly encouraged to utilize the Call for Co-Panelists forum on the ASA website to solicit other presenters to build a (pre-constituted) session proposal.
 

AfricaNow!: ASA’s late-breaking call that accepts Individual or Group proposals (max 5 participants) for informal formats. Proposals should relate in some way to Africa, its Diasporas, and/or Questions or Concerns in the field, broadly defined. All AfricaNow! organizers and presenters must pre-register prior to submission.

AfricaNow!: Current events, preliminary research, and practitioner presentations.

Alternative Format: May include formats such as art, film, and literature analysis, photo essays, image displays, spontaneous poetry, movement exhibitions, etc.

Memorial: In memory of colleagues, intellectuals, cultural icons, or other individuals broadly related to the field.

Spark: 3-Minute Thesis presentations. Open to all, submissions from undergraduate and MA students prioritized. Presentations are to be spoken word (no poems, raps, or songs), no electronic media (AV not available), 1-2 additional props (e.g., costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment) are permitted.

DISCUSSANTS AND CHAIRS

Please indicate your willingness to serve as a Chair or Discussant either 1) on your submission form or 2) or via email to members@africanstudies.org. Be as specific as you can when you list your areas of interest so that the Program Committee can best take advantage of your expertise.

INDICATING A SUBMISSION CATEGORY

All proposals should designate the subtheme for which the proposal is most appropriate. If a proposal does not fall into any of the designated subthemes, it is still welcome and should be submitted directly to the “Special Topics” subtheme.

ASA POLICY ON PROPOSAL ACCEPTANCES

The Program Chairs, working with the Program Committee, have final responsibility for accepting or declining Annual Meeting proposals in accordance with guidelines that have been established.

“NO SHOW” POLICY

Your participation in the ASA Annual Meeting is a major commitment to your colleagues, to the African Studies community, and to the Association. The Program Committee works hard to create a cohesive program and “no-shows” heavily detract from the success of the conference. Please avoid being a “no show,” since this may have implications for future acceptance to participate in the program. Those with medical or other emergency situations are exempted.

WITHDRAWALS

Presenters must notify the Secretariat at members@africanstudies.org and the session chair in writing as soon as possible if they are unable to attend the meeting.  If you are a Chair of a pre-constituted session, please find a replacement promptly, and notify the secretariat of withdrawn participants and replacements.

REFUND POLICY

Annual Meeting pre-registration fee refunds will only be processed for:
– an individual whose proposal has been declined, and only upon written request
– an individual whose proposal has been accepted, and had requested a letter of invitation from the ASA in a reasonable timeframe, but has been denied a visa; proof of the denial must be provided. Please check global visa wait times here.
Requests for refunds should be sent to members@africanstudies.org and will be issued in the same way that the payment was made. Refunds for registration and/or membership will not be processed under any other circumstance.

ACCESS POLICY

The African Studies Association is committed to ensuring that its services and meetings are accessible to all. If you require special assistance or accommodations, please contact the Secretariat via email at members@africanstudies.org.

GRADUATE STUDENT PAPER PRIZE

The ASA Board of Directors established the Graduate Student Paper Prize in 2001 to recognize the best graduate student paper presented at the previous year’s Annual Meeting. All papers presented by graduate students at the Annual Meeting are eligible for the prize, which is awarded at the subsequent Annual Meeting. The editors of the African Studies Review will coordinate an expedited peer-review process for possible publication of the prize-winning paper. Graduate students may submit their paper with a letter of recommendation from the advisor on or before March 15 of the year following the current year’s Annual Meeting. More information can be found on the ASA website.