Dire Dawa and its surroundings, with the nearby city of Harar, are at the crossroads of regional and international trade and migration networks, promoters of modernity and change and heirs of ancient cultural and religious traditions. In the 21st century, Dire Dawa, like other Ethiopian regions, is undergoing very strong economic and social transformations.

 

The aim of the ICES taking place in this regional setting is not only to account for these recent developments, but also to move the focus of attention towards long term historical and social dynamics that contributed to the creation and transformation of the Ethiopian identity and identities.

The general theme of the Conference is "Movements in Ethiopia, Ethiopia in Movement"

This theme is aimed at encouraging panel proposals and subsequently paper proposals that would deal with the issue of "movement" in its widest sense. Not only studies on social, religious, political, and cultural movements are likely to fit into the theme, but also any focus on circulation of words, ideas and peoples; the dynamics of contacts and exchanges; the effect of intellectual or economic change on societies, etc. Movement can also be understood in its concrete physical and spatial meaning encompassing travels, migrations and transportation of goods and commodities at different scales. Dance and gestures are also movements.

Call for panels

Continuing an innovation introduced in the preceding conferences, the ICES 18 will be organized mostly in panel discussions aimed at focussing exchanges and debates on specific topics. Selected panel proposals will set the framework for the call for papers. Panel organizers will be associated to the selection of papers.

Please submit your panel proposal through the following form in order to be reviewed and validated by the scientific committee.

The deadline for submitting a panel proposal is 30 November 2011. It is preferable that proposed panels fit into the general theme of the Conference.
"Movements in Ethiopia, Ethiopia in Movement".