0
0
Gendered Storytelling across Digital Spaces: Exploring African Creative Expressions of Gender Identity in the Digital Age
Photo-Toyin Akinosho
Conference: African Theatre Association (AfTA) 2025 Conference
Venue: University of Stuttgart, Germany
Date: 10-12 July, 2025
Convener: Dr. ‘Tosin Kooshima Tume, Department of Theatre and Media Arts, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria
Chair: Prof. Yvette Hutchison, School of Creative Arts, Performance and Visual Cultures, University of Warwick, UK
Short abstract
This panel seeks to explore the dynamic interplay between African storytelling, performance, and the negotiation of gender identity in the 21st century. It welcomes diverse creative expressions of gender experiences from Africa and African diaspora, with specific considerations for new stories and new storytelling forms.
Long abstract
Gender is an important discourse in the 21st century. In recent times, it has evolved to become an interdisciplinary research area, thereby attracting considerable scholarly and creative attention. With the advancement of technology, there is a surge in gendered stories as well as new ways of transmitting them. More than ever before, African voices are redefining gender narratives in the modern world, with ideas of identity formation and contestation being distilled and unpacked in diverse storytelling forms. Issues emanating from gender identity find easy expression in popular culture and the various contemporary storytelling forms via the new media. In the foreground of Shah’s (2008) assertion that “stories are a communal currency of humanity”, this panel seeks to unravel new perspectives on gender narratives through the lens of Africa and African diaspora. It seeks to examine how the notions of gender identity across the homeland and foreign land spaces are written, performed, and disseminated digitally. It is acknowledged that traditional storytelling forms may not capture the range of gendered experiences in this computer age, hence, the panel aims to discover modern African ways of storytelling and contemporary approaches to sharing African stories. It hopes to reveal the innovative ways African storytellers are reclaiming and reinterpreting their gendered experiences in the digital age. The panel encourages the showcase of diverse storytelling forms including but not limited to plays, short stories, and digital content creation on social media platforms. It welcomes contributions in the form of academic papers, screenings, staged readings, recorded and live performances, and performance lectures.
To participate in this panel, please send a 300-word abstract and a short bio by February 28, 2025 to: kooshima.tume@fuoye.edu.ng
