Iincoko (isiXhosa) | Same(n)spraak (Afrikaans-Dutch) | Conversations (English)
Background and focus
In a world where global and multicultural exchanges are increasingly common, reading culture plays a key role in promoting multilingualism and cultural interaction. In South Africa’s diverse literary landscape, there is a wealth of examples of translingual and multilingual poetics. During the second semester of Samespraak, we aim to further explore and strengthen this richness.
We want to pay particular attention to how initiatives from the Low Countries, such as those by Stichting Lezen and Iedereen Leest, can guide us in building a strong reading culture in South Africa. The Netherlands and Flanders have successfully implemented programmes that enhance the reading experience of children and adults, from structural stimulation programmes to digital reading environments. What can we learn from these approaches, and how can we apply them to improve reading promotion in South Africa?
Call for contributions
We invite researchers to present papers during the second semester of 2024 that address the following themes:
- The influence of translingual and multilingual poetics on promoting a reading culture in the South African context.
- Investigation of successful initiatives for establishing and expanding a reading culture in South Africa, including talks, interviews, and other research approaches.
- Examples of successful reading promotion programmes in the Low Countries and their applicability in South Africa.
- Discursive approaches to promoting reading in multicultural and multilingual communities.
- Practical implementation of reading promotion initiatives that involve the roles of schools, libraries, and communities.
Presentation schedule: August, September and October 2024 – South Africa Time (UTC+2)
- Wednesday, 28 August 2024
- Wednesday, 25 September 2024
- Wednesday, 30 October 2024
Last date to book a time slot: 14 August 2024. Please send your proposed time slot to erouxap@unisa.ac.za.
This call aligns with Samespraak’s first semester presentations and the call for contributions for the Journal of Literary Studies’ special issue (eds. Alwyn Roux & Yves T’Sjoen, 2025) on the exploration of translingual poetics and multilingualism in South African literature.
Read here for more information: https://unisapressjournals.co.za/index.php/jls/announcement/view/156.
Feel free to contact the Samespraak organising committee for more information:
Alwyn Roux: erouxap@unisa.ac.za
Unathi Ngada: ngadaun@unisa.ac.za
Yves T’Sjoen: yves.tsjoen@ugent.be
