Application Deadline

August 1, 2026

Institution or Organization

African American Studies

Website

https://www.cfplist.com/CFP/48100

Salary or Compensation

None

Description and Requirements

Our Vision: Throughout Africa, the Americas, Europe, Asia, Black people have shared values and beliefs about God, the Cosmos and each other embodied in our spirituality. This edited volume is a celebration of shared African and African Diasporic Spirituality in all its vibrant, beautiful, and powerful iterations. We are inspired by the life-giving guidance of Harriet Tubman, Howard Thurman, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Octavia Butler, Cheikh Anta Diop, Lama Rod Owens, Malidoma Patrice Somé, Sobonfu Somé, Tricia Hersey, Kaira Jewel Lingo, Cole Arthur Riley, Alice Walker, bell hooks, Thomas Sankara, Rev. William J. Barber, Jawanza Eric Clark, Flora Wilson Bridges, Dwight N. Hopkins, Peter J. Paris, Audre Lorde, Toni Cade Bambara, June Jordan, Lucille Clifton, and many, many others. This volume will include prayers, poetry, short stories, personal narratives, sermons, recipes, art, and other forms based on a list of shared precepts found across Africa and the Diaspora.

What we are looking for:

A variety of pieces on diverse expressions of Africana spirituality and traditions:

• Reflective essays and short memoir chapters, 1000-3000 words
• Creative Writing including Poetry, Songs, Short Stories, Fables, Parables, etc. up to 3000 words
• Other Creative Pieces that Reflect Black Spirituality, which may be in the form of Visual Art Work, Culinary and Curative Recipes, Sheet Music, Playlists, and Others
• Pieces may reflect any type of spiritual tradition that Black people practice: African Traditional Spirituality, Spiritual Healers and Mediums, Christianity, Hoodoo, Voodoo, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Bahai, Afro-Futurism and Kemeticism, liberation theology, Africana Womanism, Rastafarianism, etc.
• Pieces that explore individual experiences of de-colonizing religion and spirituality; family and community spiritual traditions; how we integrate our spirituality, passion, work and family lives; Dreaming; the Role of Imagination, Science Fiction and Afro-Futurism

Our Target Audience: Those with interests in Spirituality, African Traditional Religions, Christianity, Black History, African American Studies, Afro/Eco-Womanism, Black theology, Afro/African-Futurism, African/Diaspora Cultural and religious traditions, pre-Christian, pre-Muslim, pre-Colonial Africa, African diaspora studies, anti/de-colonial studies, history, literature, and mythology.

Subject Matter: Proposed pieces should reflect upon the following themes/precepts

• There is one God, with many names
• The Sacred Cosmos/A unified worldview: Spirituality is inseparable from daily life
• Ancestor reverence and generational unity
• Ubuntu and Kinship
• Spirit of tolerance and unity in diversity
• Africana concepts of Freedom
• Covenantal relationships, the cyclical nature of time, and everlasting life
• The great importance of History and Griots
• Music, art and creativity as necessities of sacred expression
• The centrality of Afro-futurism and Black Imaginaries in our spiritual cultures
• Expressions of joy, laughter, and exuberance as necessities of life
• The importance of dreams
• The sacred nature of Change
• Gender and sexuality are expressed in many ways
• Our vital connection to our own bodies and to all the Earth–plant, animal, mineral, other
• Africa is the root of all people, spirituality, science, exploration, philosophy, civilization including Africanisms in Eastern Religions and Western Philosophy
• Decision-making is a community responsibility
• Rest, self care, community care are non-negotiable and powerful

Application Instructions and Contact

Submission Guidelines: Please send a proposal (no more than 500 words), a short bio (no more than 150 words) and short c.v. or resume to shughes3@scu.edu and klampley@scu.edu

Timeline

• Proposals Due: August 1, 2026
• Notification of Acceptance: December 1, 2026
• Full papers Due: March 15, 2027
• We will submit this collection to the press: July 31, 2027

We look forward to hearing from you!

Sakina Hughes, shughes3@scu.edu