Call for Papers for the Special Issue "Afro-Americas in Connection: Transnational and Comparative Perspectives"

The field of research devoted to the experiences and historical contexts of populations of African descent in the Americas has become an increasingly important area of scholarly inquiry. It engages not only with social, cultural, and political movements shaped by questions of race, but also with broader historiographical debates. In responding to the growing demand for critical reflections on the African diaspora, this field also intersects with the history of the Atlantic World by emphasizing the connections, circulations, and interdependencies linking Africa, the Americas, and Europe. By examining different scales of analysis, transnational flows, and the historical production of inequalities, it likewise engages with Global History, bringing together scholars from different regions of Brazil and the Americas.

Within this context, the concept of Afro-Americas has emerged as a theoretical and political construct capable of encompassing the complexity and diversity of Afro-descendant experiences across the continent, understood through a relational and connected perspective. Its genealogy extends beyond academic debates, being deeply rooted in broader historical processes and social struggles that have called for new narratives of identity, culture, and resistance, while highlighting the centrality of Afro-diasporic experiences within the Atlantic World.

The similarities and differences, as well as the continuities and ruptures, that have characterized the experiences of Afro-descendant peoples across different regions provide the basis for conceptualizing the Afro-Americas within the broader landscape of global historiography. This perspective recognizes that both symbolic and physical connections have existed—and continue to exist—across geographical and political boundaries, linking the practices and actions of individuals and communities shaped by the legacies of slavery in the Atlantic World. By examining the dynamics of the African diaspora, the field of Afro-American studies highlights the circuits of mobility, exchange, and knowledge production that have operated across multiple scales, from the local to the global.

This special issue seeks to investigate the agency, experiences, and forms of resistance of individuals and communities of African descent throughout the Atlantic World, particularly in the Americas. The experiences of Afro-descendant peoples in different parts of the continent lend themselves to meaningful comparative analysis. The movement of people, together with the circulation of political ideas, cultural practices, and forms of exploitation and resistance, challenges historiographical paradigms centered on the nation-state and contributes to the development of a relational and connected approach. By addressing transnational networks and their historical interdependencies, this special issue aims to provide a broader understanding of the processes that have shaped the Atlantic World and their reverberations in modern and contemporary history. It also invites reflection on the intellectual development of the field itself, recognizing that Afro-American studies have the potential to strengthen a critical research agenda that connects local histories with global processes.

We welcome submissions that investigate the dynamics involving Afro-descendant individuals and communities throughout the Americas during the era of slavery, as well as from the age of emancipation to contemporary debates on race, adopting a transnational perspective. Comparative studies examining different regions of the Caribbean, Latin America, and the United States are particularly encouraged. By fostering a comparative and connected approach, this special issue seeks to expand dialogue among different historiographical traditions and strengthen the theoretical and methodological foundations for the study of the African diaspora in the Americas within the broader framework of Global History. We especially encourage contributions that advance our understanding of the social and cultural history of the Americas.

Guest Editors

Letícia Gregório Canelas (University of São Paulo, Brazil), Elaine P. Rocha (The University of the West Indies), and Lívia Maria Tiede (São Paulo State University, Brazil).

Submission deadline: October 30, 2026.

Manuscripts must be submitted exclusively through the Esboços journal website.