Global Garveyism: Diasporic Aspirations and Utopian Dreams
Edited by Ronald J. Stephens and Adam Ewing
Call for Manuscripts
Established by Marcus Garvey with the assistance of Amy Ashwood in Jamaica in 1914, the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL, hereafter UNIA) emerged as the largest and most influential Black Nationalist organization of the twentieth century. During a period of global instability and political reorganization, the UNIA’s injunction to challenge European colonial rule, racial discrimination, and global white supremacy resonated with millions of black men and women around the world. Promoting racial unity, cultural pride, and economic cooperation and development, the organization eventually spread to approximately one thousand chapters in more than forty countries. Its influence was also manifest in political organizations, trade unions, welfare associations, immigration societies, churches, and millennial religious movements that did not maintain a formal association with the UNIA.
Despite the pioneering and essential work of scholars like Robert A. Hill, Tony Martin, Rupert Lewis, Barbara Bair, and others, Garveyism has until very recently remained a subject of scholarly neglect. This volume-the first edited volume on Garvey studies in nearly thirty years-seeks to showcase the new and dynamic attention given to Garveyism by scholars working in Africa, the Caribbean, South America, North America, and elsewhere. Conceived as a contribution to global studies, the volume will highlight the influence of Marcus Garvey’s teachings across the African diaspora. In addition, the volume will highlight Garvey’s political strategies, successes, and shortcomings; examine the enduring legacies of the Garvey movement beyond the 1920s; and capture the voices of the diverse women and men whose lives were deeply shaped by Garvey’s teachings. The editors seek historical essays on the UNIA’s activities in African and the African Diaspora that employ, transnational, national, local, and trans-local frames. Scholarly essays exploring the political lives of UNIA leaders, including rank-and-file activists, are especially welcome.
Focus and Format
Manuscripts should be original works not previously published or concurrently submitted elsewhere. Manuscripts should follow the current guidelines of the Chicago Style Manual (16th edition). Essays should not exceed 35 typed, double-spaced, consecutively numbered pages, including all endnotes and bibliography. Illustrations should be indicated in text and labeled as an insert. Charts, tables, figures, etc., should consist of a minimum of 1 and 1/2 inch margins.
Submission Guidelines
Global Garveyism will emerge out of a multi-stage process. In April 2016 (dates TBD), the editors will host a conference at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. Papers presented at that conference will be submitted for publication in an edited volume. Submit paper abstracts (up to 250 words) to stepher87@purdue.edu and aewing2@vcu.edu by May 1, 2015. Abstracts should include the paper’s title; the author’s full name, title, department, institutional or professional affiliation, return mailing address, email address, and telephone number; and the full names of co-authors, along with their titles, departments, institutional or professional affiliations, mailing addresses, and email addresses. Accepted authors will be contacted promptly and invited to participate in the conference. Full manuscripts should be submitted by March 10, 2016, and will be circulated prior to the conference.
