Call for Papers
The Inaugural Lecture of the Ameena Gafoor Centre for the Study of Indentureship and its
Legacies
Keynote speaker: Dr Nalini Mohabir, Concordia University
Special guest speaker: Dr Margaret Mishra, University of the South Pacific
Conveners: Prof. David Dabydeen (Director of the Ameena Gafoor Institute) & Dr Maria del Pilar Kaladeen (Institute of Commonwealth Studies)
Proposals for papers of 20 mins in length are requested for an online academic conference,
that will take place to launch the Ameena Gafoor Institute for the Study of Indentureship and its
Legacies on May 5th & May 14th 2021. This is an interdisciplinary forum and we invite proposals
on any aspect of the study of indentureship. In honour of the 50th year of Fijian Independence, celebrated in 2020,
and to acknowledge the date of arrival of the first Indian indentured labourers to the country,
our programme on May 14th will centre work by and about descendants of indentured
labourers from Fiji. We therefore particularly encourage proposals from scholars and artists
working on this topic. We are delighted to announce that we will be hosting contributions by
the Commonwealth Writers and dynamic public events team Nutkhut, whose project ‘Girmit’
explores the migration histories of the UK’s Indian-Fijian community.
Please send a short biography and a proposal of no more than 300 words to
maria.kaladeen@yahoo.com on or before January 18th 2021. Selected participants will be
notified on February 15th 2021
Dr Maria del Pilar Kaladeen (conference co-convener)