June 3, 2026

Cape Town, South Africa

Deadline: February 15, 2026

The ICA 2026 Preconference African and Global Media Representations of Africa invites extended abstracts that critically examine how Africa is narrated, imagined, and negotiated in mediated discourse, both within the continent and globally. The preconference foregrounds work that moves beyond familiar critiques of distortion to explore the institutional, material, technological, and epistemic conditions shaping contemporary media representations, with particular encouragement for scholarship grounded in African contexts, theories, and practices.

The pre-conference will take place June 3, 2026, at the University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa. There is no registration fee. Scholars are invited to submit 800–1000 word abstracts by February 15, 2026. A selection of papers will be invited for a peer-reviewed journal Special Issue. Full details, themes, and the submission link are available here: https://ica-gcsc.org/activities/prepost_conferences/african-and-global-media-representations-of-africa/