Since its founding in 1968, the non-profit, scholarly Liberian Studies Association has been a focal point for scholarly research activities on Liberia. It serves as a network for persons devoted to the study of contemporary and historical topics on Liberia and/or relevant to the African continent. LSA draws its membership from scholars, practitioners, students, faculty, and an international community committed to advancing the study of Liberia and Africa. The Liberian Studies Association is a non-profit, scholarly organization that provides a means for effective cooperation among persons interested in furthering research in all scholarly disciplines on topics relevant to the Republic of Liberia.

“To the question why study Liberia, or why a forum devoted to the study of Liberia, the answer inevitably is two-fold: one, to serve the end of disinterested pursuit and advancement of knowledge, and two, to serve the end of development of the nation and people of Liberia.”
- D. Elwood Dunn

Liberian Studies Association 57th annual conference

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

April 23-25, 2026

Recentering Liberia: Possibilities, Innovation, and Development in the 21st Century.

Since its founding in 1968, the Liberian Studies Association (LSA) has served as a platform point for scholarly research activities on Liberia. It serves as a network of specialists devoted to the study of contemporary and historical topics on Liberia and/or relevant to Liberia. LSA draws its membership from scholars, practitioners, students, faculty, and an international community committed to advancing the study of Liberia and the African continent.

The 2026 Liberian Studies Association 57th annual conference Call for Proposals invites presentations, papers and panels that examine scholarship on Liberia and the Africa region (related to Liberia), focusing on the theme Recentering Liberia: Possibilities, Innovation, and Development in the 21st Century. Proposal deadline is February 1, 2026. Presenters will be notified of the Abstract committee’s decision by Feb. 20th. Accepted presenters must register by March 20th to have their names in the final program. There is no on-site registration for presenters.

In light of the theme, presentations that posit innovative possibilities, alternate narratives, and a plurality of reimagined positions, are welcome within sub-themes including:

Literature and Language Migration, Nationalism, and Borders Music, Performance, & Visual Culture Governance, Law, & Security Popular Culture and Media Science and Technology Feminism, Gender Climate Change and Environment Education and Pedagogy Health and Disability History, Culture, and Identity Finance, Trade, and Aid Urban Planning and National Infrastructure Youth and Development

INQUIRIES: liberianstudiesassociation@gmail.com
Abstracts Submissions: Dr. Samuel Wai Johnson, Jr, Chair, Abstract Committee samwaijohnson@gmail.com

Conference Guidelines

Participants are limited to one individual presentation and one panel. No participant may serve as chair and panelist on the same panel. All proposals must be submitted, with title, abstract, main argument (s) summary, academic affiliation, and contact details (maximum 215 words). Panels should submit names of all panelists and institutional affiliation along with abstract submission. Panels should consist of a chair and a maximum of three presenters. The panel abstract should consist of a statement about the topic and a summary of the main argument(s) to be explored (approximately 250 words). The academic rigor of the panel abstracts is the main criterion for acceptance. All participants on a panel, including the chair and discussant, must be pre-registered by March 20th to be accepted and listed in the program. LSA does not provide letters for visa purposes. The invitation letter should suffice. Presenters unable to attend in person should notify the LSA Abstract Chair no later than three weeks before the conference to arrange virtual presentations. Graduated refunds may be available.

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Layli Maparyan 16th President, University of Liberia

Dr. Layli Maparyan, 16th President of the University of Liberia is a former Katherine Stone Kaufman ’67 Executive Director of the Wellesley Centers for Women (2012-15), she also served as a Professor of Africana Studies at Wellesley College. Prior to joining WCW, Dr. Maparyan was Associate Professor of Women’s Studies and associated faculty of African American Studies at Georgia State University (GSU)where she was the inaugural Chair of the University Consortium for Liberia, a regional collective of Southeastern U.S. institutions with projects in Liberia. In 2010, she served as a Fulbright Specialist at the University of Liberia, where she developed a model gender studies curriculum. Known for her scholarship in womanism, Dr. Maparyan’s publications include The Womanist Reader (Routledge, 2006), The Womanist Idea (Routledge, 2012), and Womanism Rising (University of Illinois Press, 2025). Dr. Maparyan earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from Temple University and an M.S. in Psychology from Pennsylvania State University.