HomeDecolonial Studies 2015-2025 – State of the Field: Africas – Americas – Europe

Decolonial Studies 2015-2025 – State of the Field: Africas – Americas – Europe

Études décoloniales 2015-2025 – Etat des lieux : Afriques – Amériques – Europe

Estudos decoloniais 2015-2025 – Balanço da Situação: Áfricas – Américas – Europa

Estudios decoloniales 2015-2025 – Balance de situación: Áfricas – Américas – Europa

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Published on Friday, March 21, 2025

Abstract

In 2015, the first conference dedicated to decolonial studies was held at Lumière University Lyon 2. Ten years ago, decolonial studies, born in South America, were little known in France. The Toulouse conference, to be held in October 2025, aims to take stock, ten years later, of decolonial studies in European, American, and African spaces (Francophone, Lusophone, and Anglophone).

Announcement

Argument

In 2015, the first conference dedicated to decolonial studies was held at Lumière University Lyon 2. Ten years ago, decolonial studies, born in South America, were little known in France. Although they were more recognized in Spain or Belgium, in the rest of Europe, Africa, or Asia, postcolonial and subaltern studies predominated. The main objective of this first meeting was to analyze and question the epistemological shifts brought about by decolonial studies within the framework of an interdisciplinary, participatory, and constructive dialogue. This conference welcomed various contributors from South America, Europe, and Africa. Several workshops focused on decoloniality, postcoloniality, transmodernity, decolonial theories and literatures, epistemologies of the South, arts and music, as well as policies stemming from decolonization. Topics such as different modes of coloniality—of the mind, class, gender, and race—were explored, along with ways to rethink language, education, anthropology, and philosophy.

The 2015 conference was not intended to be merely a space for ephemeral exchanges, characteristic of many academic gatherings, but rather the realization of a space-time leading to concrete initiatives, resulting in the birth of the Journal of Decolonial Studies, which has since published 8 thematic issues (https://etudesdecoloniales.press). Additionally, the RED has organized various conferences in Africa and South America on the representations of Africans and Afro-descendants from Afro-decolonial perspectives (Saint Louis, Senegal, 2017; Salvador de Bahia, 2019; Luanda, 2023).

The Toulouse conference, to be held in October 2025, aims to take stock, ten years later, of decolonial studies in European, American, and African spaces (Francophone, Lusophone, and Anglophone). It will seek to understand how their manifestations in these different spaces, each confronted in its own way with the violence and contradictions of the colonial world- system, and their circulation between these differentiated spaces, have provided keys to political analysis and highlighted original forms of collective action capable of challenging the hegemony of the Euro-Western perspective on modernity.

The conference will also pay special attention to the theme of resilience and healing, combining art, history, and political engagement through multidisciplinary and artistic workshops that will address artivism (the intersection of activism and art), Indigenous knowledges, and Afro-diasporic and Amerindian ancestrality.

Participation guidelines

Like the themes, the expected contributions are diverse in nature and may fall into one of the following categories:

  • Reports and analyses of experiences
  • Scholarly papers
  • Participatory and artivist workshops

Submission and selection of contributions

The languages of communication may be French, Spanish, Portuguese, and English.

Each oral presentation will last between 15 and 20 minutes, followed by a discussion of equivalent length.

The presentation of a paper should not take the form of a reading of a written text.

All contribution proposals must be submitted: email: revuedetudesdecoloniales@gmail.com

no later than Aprilh 20, 2025. 

The proposal text should not exceed 500 words.

All contribution proposals must include a title, bibliography, the selected category (one of the three above), a list of keywords, and a brief CV (5 lines) of the author(s).

All papers may be considered for subsequent publication (proceedings in electronic format and a scientific publication project). Authors who wish to do so may submit the full texts of their articles (maximum 10,000 words, APA format) by September 30, 2025.

Calendar

  • Deadline for submission of proposals: April 20, 2025
  • Notification of acceptance: April 30, 2025

Registration fee and link

(corresponds to the costs for meals and coffee breaks) Attendee: free

Student speaker: 25 euros Lecturer speaker: 50 euros

Registration link.

Dates and venue of the conference

  • October 13–17, 2025 - Toulouse Jean Jaurès University, France

Organizing committee

  • Mille Caroline Fernandes, Universidade de São Paulo
  • Paul Raoul Mvengou Cruzmerino, Université Omar Bongo
  • Christian Hounnouvi Koffi, Université de Nantes
  • Abdourahamane Seck, Université Gaston Berger
  • Sébastien Lefèvre, Université Gaston Berger
  • Raisa Inocêncio, Universidade Federal Rio de Janeiro

Scientific committee

  • William Mina Aragón, Universidad del Cauca
  • Wilmer Villa, Universidad Distrital José Caldas- Pedro Leyva, Universidade da Integração Internacional de Lusofonia Afro-Brasileira
  • Leonardo Moreira, Paris VIII Université Vincennes Saint Denis
  • Rogerio Mendes, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco
  • Fábia Barbosa Ribeiro – Universidade Federal de São Paulo (Unifesp)
  • Juliana Barreto Farias – Universidade da Integração Internacional da Lusofonia Afro- Brasileira (Unilab)
  • Lidia Lima da Silva – Universidade da Integração Internacional da Lusofonia Afro- Brasileira (Unilab)
  • Rosemberg Ferracini – Universidade Federal do Triângulo Mineiro (UFTM)

Event attendance modalities

Full on-site event


Date(s)

  • Sunday, April 20, 2025

Keywords

  • études décoloniales, état des lieux, Afrique, Europe, Amérique, Asie

Contact(s)

  • SEBASTIEN LEFEVRE
    courriel : revuedetudesdecoloniales [at] gmail [dot] com

Information source

  • SEBASTIEN LEFEVRE
    courriel : revuedetudesdecoloniales [at] gmail [dot] com

License

CC0-1.0 This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

To cite this announcement

« Decolonial Studies 2015-2025 – State of the Field: Africas – Americas – Europe », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Friday, March 21, 2025, https://doi.org/10.58079/13jf8

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