2012 CALL FOR PAPERS:

 The Sudan is entering the 21st century in a very different form and substance than that which we have seen any time before."   July 9, 2011, will go down in history not only as a momentous day for the newest state of South Sudan, but also as a significant signpost in the lives of millions of people in that state, in the greater Sudan, in Africa and in the world at large.  Neither the issues of unity and separation are yet over nor are the consequences of past developments now settled.  The complex past and current experiences of the Sudan are going to be a subject or study and investigations for years to come. Sudan studies association in its first conference after the split of the country into two Sudans welcomes the opportunity to initiate revisiting this gigantic corpus of knowledge. The Sudanese experience and its developments have not just encouraged studies of the past of the Sudan; they also open the door wider to scholars from all disciplines, intellectuals and knowledge workers the possibility of arriving at a new, and more refined, understanding of the Sudan, its people, human experience, institutions of power and their entanglements with time, place and the world. 
Organized to mark the birth of the two Sudans, this conference seeks to reflect on recent work on the Sudan from present-day South Sudan Republic, new scholarship of Sudan in the world and to open up new discussion, incite discourses, and to encourage progressions for future research.  We expect to bring together scholars working in different disciplines to consider the connections, comparisons, and contrasts between faces and facets of the Sudan in the world.  With this in mind, we invite scholars working on any aspect of Sudan in the world from antiquity to over the last two centuries to contribute theoretically innovative and empirically grounded papers, panels and presentations that might enhance our understanding of such multifaceted experiences, processes of movements and events. Though the central focus of the conference will be on that broader issue, we would welcome contributions on other topics that revolve around greater Sudan in general.  
Sudan Studies Association calls for proposals for preorganized panels, round tables, thematic conversations, and individual papers.  
PROPOSALS:
The tradition of the SSA conference is to give priority in timing and prominence to papers that address the theme of the conference, but papers on all other issues relating to Sudan--past, present and future-- are also very welcome. This year we are giving more space to proposals for preorganized panels, round tables, thematic conversations, in addition to individual papers.  Abstracts of proposed papers, panels and roundtables (please, limit to 150-200 words) should be sent by March 1, 2012 to Dr. Abdullahi A. Gallab, African and African-American Studies, Religious Studies, Arizona State University, abdullahi.gallab@asu.edu. A preliminary program will be announced by April 1, 2012. Late proposals for papers will be considered only if space is available. Proposals and paper abstracts submitted earlier will receive preferential treatment in scheduling. Acceptance for presentation will depend on the quality of the abstract and the judgment of the program committee. Registration and conference fees must be paid before presenters will be placed in the formal conference program. Stipends of $200 are available for assistance to a limited number of graduate students. Interested persons should contact SSA President Randall Fegley, 2011, Coordinator of Global Studies, Pennsylvania State University, Berks Campus, Tulpehocken Road, Reading, PA, USA 19610, Tel. (610) 396-6092, e-mail raf8@psu.edu.