UK journal to publish Mzuni conference articles
Journal of Southern African Studies (JSAS), an international publication which covers research on Southern African region, says it will publish articles presented at the Second International Conference on Malawian Literature as a special edition.
Mzuzu University (Mzuni), in partnership with Birkbeck College of the University of London, organised a three-day conference, under the theme ‘Orature and its place in Malawian Literature,’ for literary gurus to share perspectives on Malawian literature.
JSAS editorial board member Mpalive Msiska, who is also the associate professor of English at Birkbeck, told The Nation that the journal has a special interest with the conference that is why they want to publish its proceedings.
But he said, before publishing, the articles will first go through peer review both locally and internationally.
Locally, the papers will be reviewed by a panel of renowned academicians David Rubadiri, Lupenga Mphande, Felix Mnthali, Boston Soko and Msiska himself at a workshop later this year.
Msiska said the articles will then be submitted for further review by an editorial board of the journal.
“A little more than half of the articles presented at the conference will be published. But it will depend with the space,” said Msiska, adding that the journal will be ready in 2016 because the process of identifying its articles is elaborate.
He said articles which will not be selected for the journal will be revised and edited to be published as a book called Conference Proceedings.
JSAS is a UK-based journal published by Taylor and Francis Group. It publishes articles on a wide range of topics, including literature.
To conform to the guidelines and conventions required by JSAS, Msiska drilled participants during the conference on how to write articles for this publication.
He involved them in a presentation titled ‘The Nature of the Beast: What Does Doing Research Mean and Entail?’
Professor of African Studies at Ohio State University Lupenga Mphande gave a keynote address on ‘Orality and Structures of African Languages’ that define literature in the indigenous languages.
He was searching on how to work on those structures to construct standards that can be used in evaluating African literature in African languages.
The gathering then culminated into a literary feast of presentations where various scholars presented their topics.
Chancellor College had representatives such as Dr Syned Mthatiwa who analysed Lucius Banda’s songs in terms of democracy, governance and power; Dr Emmanuel Ngwira was searching for new metaphors in contemporary vernacular whereas Dr Damazio Mfune-Mwanjakwa delved into traditional dances of Muwuso and Utche.
Germany scholar Micheal Kretzer, who lectures literature at the University of Justus Liebig in Giessen, also made a debut to the conference.
Writer Shadreck Chikoti had a presentation on ‘Thinking in Chichewa (local language) and writing in English’ while Mzuni’s Albert Mtungambela Harawa presented on the power of orality in Tito Banda’s Chitumbuka version of Old Nyaviyuyi in Perfomance.
Poets Qabaniso Malewezi and Jahebic Banda refreshed participants’ minds with their poetry.
