The Journal of Contemporary African Philosophy is a new peer-reviewed journal that aims to provide a venue for the “formulation and presentation of African philosophy in a contemporary form that directs the field into the future.”

The journal is edited by Bernard Matolino of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

The following comes from its call for papers:

The journal is interested in contributions that specifically link philosophy to the contemporary needs of Africa (from philosophy) as well as contributions that are imaginative in their attempt at shaping African philosophical discourse beyond affirmations of its existence. With its myriad branches and competencies, African philosophy can contribute to the well-being of this continent through a rigorous reflection of our current state, how we got here, and most importantly how we can map a new direction from here.

While it is not possible to prescribe how a discipline or field has to unfold, this journal seeks to further reflections on the purpose and use of philosophy in the daily grind that ordinarily we go through. While philosophy is mostly understood as an abstract concern, the journal believes that to be just but one form of understanding. There is an alternative understanding of philosophy, and the philosopher, as also involved in the affairs of everyday men and women. Such an awareness and involvement is not synonymous with abandoning the core concern of philosophy but is a mode of reflection that is useful for the here and now. Thus the journal encourages scholarship that shows the intersectionality of theorization and concern for the practical effect of philosophical speculation. African philosophy has always been comfortable with these two dichotomies. What the journal seeks to achieve, is to bring these dichotomies together for a contemporary expansion of African philosophy that will aid our understanding of present-day Africa both as an idea and as a lived-out experience.

There are plans for the inaugural issue to be published in the beginning of 2020. The journal will be initially online but they are considering hard copies for subsequent issues. The first issue will likely be open-access, I’m told, yet whether that will be the norm has yet to be determined.

There is more information about the journal here.