SPECIAL ISSUE: 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF GHANA’S INDEPENDENCE

2026-09-01

SANKOFA: GHANA JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY AND HERITAGE STUDIES

SPECIAL ISSUE: 70^TH ANNIVERSARY OF GHANA’S INDEPENDENCE

TOPIC: Ghana’s Independence: Archives of Optimism and the Trauma of Unfinished Freedom

On this eve of Ghana’s 70^th Anniversary of independence, the Editorial Team of Sankofa: Ghana Journal of Archaeology and Heritage Studies invites a wide array of critical interdisciplinary essays for its Special Issue to be published in 2027 (see previous volume here). Upon attaining independence on March 6, 1957, Ghana became Africa's drumbeat, a rhythmic insistence that history, memory, and heritage are cosmopolitan lenses for renewal and revitalization. The moment was at once national, continental, and universal. Ghana’s independence was an ontological rebellion: a refusal of history's assigned script of rites of passage and a declaration that those long confined to the footnotes of empire would henceforth become authors of their own becoming at the core of history.

To celebrate this milestone in Ghana’s postcolonial struggle, we invite contributions that explore, among other topics, broadly conceived themes in the disciplinary fields of Archaeology, Heritage Studies, Anthropology, History, Sociology, Religions, Politics, Economics, Education, Classics and Philosophy, Environment and Ecology, and Gender and Sexuality. We envision contributions that refurbish African ontologies and epistemologies and realistically address the challenges and prospects of Ghana within the contemporary milieus of global world systems. Possible topics include, but are not limited to the following:

The Atlantic Slave Trade, World Systems and Reparations
Colonial Rule and African Responses
Landscapes of Slavery, Colonialism and Post-colonialism
Decolonization Processes and Postcolonialism
Archaeological Theory and Practice in Post-Colonial Ghana
Religion, Medicine and Colonial Encounters
Indigenous Philosophies and Education
Transformations in Academia and Scholarship
Globalization, Popular Culture and Social Media
Dynamics of Agrarian Lifeways
Gender and Social Change
Environment, Ecology and Spatiality
Technology and Social Change
Migration and the Urban Space
Democracy and Legal Pluralism
The Language Factor in Ghana’s Development Agenda
Democratization of Religious Plurality
Decolonization in the Heritage Space
Digital Archives, Oral Traditions and Cultural Heritage
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Academy
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Heritage Management
Transformations in Museology
Heritage and Nation Building
Sankofa and Revitalization Movements
Academic Colonialism and Epistemic Dis/Rupture
Heritage Management, Tourism and Heritage Commodification
Climate Change Adaptations and Cultural Resilience
Restitution, Repatriation, and Illicit Cultural Property
Climate change and heritage management

Abstracts Deadline (300 words maximum): November 30, 2026

Abstracts Deadline (300 words maximum): November 30, 2026

Topics and abstracts should be sent to: sankofagjahs@ug.edu.gh

Further details on the Journal’s Scope and Submission Guidelines can be found at this portal, University of Ghana Online Journal Management Services (UGOJMS)., Prospective authors should register here for instructions regarding the submission of their manuscripts.

Sankofa: Ghana Journal of Archaeology and Heritage Studies is Open Access (ISSN 2961-0486 Online) and published by the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana. The journal is hosted by the University of Ghana Online Journal Management Services (UGOJMS).

Topics and abstracts should be sent to: sankofagjahs@ug.edu.gh

Sankofa: Ghana Journal of Archaeology and Heritage Studies is Open Access (ISSN 2961-0486 Online) and published by the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana. The journal is hosted by the University of Ghana Online Journal Management Services (UGOJMS).