Date: Mar 25, 2009

The Hofstra Cultural Center Presents An International Conference: "Between Three Continents: Rethinking Equatorial Guinea On the 40th Anniversary of Its Independence From Spain"

Thursday, Friday and Saturday, April 2, 3 and 4, 2009

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY … In honor of the 40th anniversary of the independence of Equatorial Guinea, the only Spanish-speaking nation-state in Africa, the Hofstra Cultural Center is presenting an international conference titled Between Three Continents: Rethinking Equatorial Guinea on the 40th Anniversary of Its Independence from Spain, April 2, 3 and 4, 2009.

Between Three Continents addresses the historical and cultural connections between Equatorial Guinea, Spain and the Americas. The conference will bring together a large number of scholars, cultural figures, and historical protagonists in the life of Equatorial Guinea. Several other academic institutions in the United States - including Bates College, The Catalan Center at New York University, Harvard University, Hunter College/CUNY, Instituto Cervantes New York, University of Missouri-Columbia, Queens College/CUNY, Saint Joseph’s College and Vanderbilt University - will host additional panels and events.

The conference and this collaboration between academic institutions is part of a global initiative to reshape the place of Africa in the Spanish-speaking and Atlantic worlds. Topics of discussion include political and diplomatic history, constitutional law, economics, anthropology, literature, linguistics, film, music, photography, plastic arts, ecology and ecotourism, and the politics of oil.

The Hofstra conference co-directors are Benita Sampedro Vizcaya, associate professor of Romance Languages and Literatures, and Baltasar Fra-Molinero, associate professor of Spanish, Bates College. Conference scholars are coming all over the United States and from around the world, including Austria, Belgium, Canada, Equatorial Guinea, France, Italy, Jamaica, The Netherlands, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Scotland, Spain and Switzerland.

Highlights of the Hofstra conference include:

*Screenings of several documentary films (with English subtitles), followed by Q&As with the directors, including:
•    Memoria negra by Xavier Montanyá
•    Subvaloradas, sin ser vistas. Voces literarias de Guinea Ecuatorial by Mischa G. Hendel, University of Vienna
•    Cervantes en Africa by Miguel Angel Sikota Ndjoli
•    Bajo una misma bandera by co-directors Cinta Jiménez Cárabe and Pablo Salvatierra

*An April 3 excursion to the Instituto Cervantes New York in Manhattan for a round-table discussion by Guinean writers, including:

•    Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel
•    Gerardo Behori Sipi Botau
•    Justo Bolekia Boleká
•    Juan Manuel Davies Eiso
•    Donato Ndongo Bidyogo
•    María Nsue Angüe
•    José Fernando Siale Djangany
•    Remei Sipi Mayo
•    Francisco Zamora Loboch

Registration fees for the Hofstra conference are $75 for the three days. There are discounts available for participants from co-sponsoring institutions, students and senior citizens. There is a Saturday, April 4, banquet featuring musical performances by artists from Equatorial Guinea that is priced separately at $35 per person. All conference events, with the exception of the banquet and other meals, are free to members of the Hofstra community upon presentation of a current HofstraCard.

For more information please contact the Hofstra Cultural Center at (516) 463-5669.

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students can choose from more than 145 undergraduate and more than 160 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business; engineering; communication; education, health and human services;  and honors studies, as well as a School of Law. With a student-faculty ratio of 14-to-1, our professors teach small classes averaging 22 students that emphasize interaction, critical thinking and analysis. Hofstra offers a faculty whose highest priority is teaching excellence.

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Related Link: Conference Registration Program