We invite current Notre Dame/Saint Mary’s/Holy Cross undergraduate/graduate students, faculty, staff, student organizations, alumni, scholars & activists from the South Bend community, and individuals/groups associated with the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi and Bodéwadmi people to submit for publication contributions discussing these questions and themes:
- How has the University of Notre Dame acted as a colonial institution?
- What vestiges of colonialism remain in campus culture?
- In response to this history, to whom does the University owe reparations?
- What forms might reparations take, and what kinds of reparations are already underway?
- Decolonial methodologies: defining “decolonial”, methods of truth-telling and dialogue, decolonial practices within an academic institution
- Catholicism & colonialism: the Catholic moral imperative to engage decolonial practices, particularly in relation to integral human development
- Indigenous histories: Pokagon Band of Potawatomi/Pokégnek Bodéwadmik and Bodéwadmi histories, Notre Dame’s relationship to the Pokagon Band, contemporary initiatives by indigenous nations, how educational institutions like Notre Dame can better support indigenous nations, students, and cultures
- Contemporary colonialisms: colleges/universities as colonial institutions, Notre Dame’s role in gentrifying South Bend, Notre Dame’s history as a predominantly white institution (PWI)
- Reparations: proposals for what forms reparations may take, current reparations initiatives in South Bend/Notre Dame, theories and reflections on the significance of reparations by a collegiate institution, conversations with local governance and/or activists about how reparations might be enacted
Contribution Guidelines
Contributions can take many forms, including:
Traditional essay (3000 word limit)
Contributors should submit their essay with a 150 word abstract and 3-4 keywords. If essay includes citations, it should be formatted Chicago-style (footnotes/endnotes and bibliography). For students, previous coursework is encouraged.
Creative writing: poetry, prose, short story, etc. (1000 word limit)
Contributors should submit their work with a brief description (150 word limit) outlining main themes and/or messaging.
Video/film
Contributors should submit their work as an .mp4 file, YouTube, or Vimeo link with a brief description (150 word limit), run time, and all relevant credits.
Visual media: sculpture, painting, photography, digital/new media, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), interactive work, etc.
Contributors should submit photographs/video/links of their work with a brief description (150 word limit), display specifications, and a brief artist statement.
Panel discussions/roundtables (3 – 5 panelists)
A brief description of proposed panel topics and questions (150 word limit), with biographies of each panelist (50 word limit each), or a complete transcript of a previously held panel discussion/roundtable.
Other contribution
Have something that does not fit in the categories outlined above? Send it with a brief description (150 word limit) as well as a brief biography (50 word limit).
Please send all questions and/or submissions to Liam Maher, Project Manager for Accomplice, at wmaher@nd.edu with the subject line “Accomplice Submission”.