Seeking Black Women Travel Writers.

BLACK WOMEN TRAVEL (edited volume)

Dear Colleagues,

Travel writing traditionally has been a white male genre – white men writing about the rest of the world, often their colonies, or ex-colonies. Over the last fifty years, men of color have joined this fraternity: V.S. Naipaul, Richard Wright and Caryl Phillips are prominent examples, challenging its traditional Eurocentrisim. The catalog of women’s travel is also growing, with works by such authors as Robyn Davidson, Rosemary Mahoney and Mary South. But the voices of black women travelers remain largely unheard. Black women travel, and this volume aims to give voice and visibility to their travels and to their experiences and interpretations of the world. Contributors’ are invited to recount their experiences with humor as well as creative and incisive analysis.

The editors of this volume are two black women – one an African American woman from Ohio and the other an African woman from Nigeria – who have traveled extensively, learning and having adventures along their journeys. Sometimes their experiences were dangerous, sometimes hilarious, sometimes they felt that they were witnessing history. Sometimes they were students, sometimes researchers, sometimes practitioners and sometimes just plain tourists. They combine humor, incisive social and political commentary and more traditional travel journaling.

The goal of this volume is to present snap shots of the world, as different late twentieth century historical moments, from the perspective, and through the eyes of black women from around the world.

If you are interested in participating in this exciting venture, we invite you to submit an abstract to the co-editors, Lynette Jackson (lajackson@uic.edu) and Anene Ejikeme (Aejikeme@trinity.edu).

Abstracts are due November 3 and completed papers March 28, 2008.

Please feel free to circulate this call for abstracts/essays.

Best wishes,

Anene Ejikeme

Department of History

Trinity University

San Antonio, TX 78212

(210) 999-7897(210) 999-8334