[KS] Asia on Asia conference

Kenneth M. Wells wellsk at coombs.anu.edu.au
Fri May 7 01:19:42 EDT 1999


______________________________________________________________________
CONFERENCE CALL
Approaching Asia from Asia: Journeys, Displacements, Themes

4 May 1999


A theoretically-oriented workshop will be held in North India from 20-21
February 2000, to consider approaches to the study of Asia in Asia and
develop a framework that can serve as a renewed starting point for closer
collaboration amongst scholars of Asian studies in Asia in the next
millennium.  Abstracts are now sought from those wishing to participate in
these discussions.

This workshop has arisen from a network of scholars in the Asian region
brought together by their common interest in the cross-cultural study of
Asia.  Following an initial meeting at Hua Hin (Thailand) in April 1998,
this network has sought to develop strategies for encouraging Asian Studies
in Asia.  With assistance from the Ford Foundation, it is developing a
program of exchanges and visiting professorships between countries.  This
workshop is envisaged as a vital part of that process, designed to identify
strengths and challenges which have emerged in the encounter of Asia with
Asia.

The paradigms which dominate the study of Asia, as of other areas, are
largely western, and particularly North American, in derivation.  In a
globalising world these paradigms are more forceful than ever; the prisms
they represent refract the way we view our neighbours, or even ourselves.
On the other hand globalisation multiplies the direct contacts between
Asian societies, and increasingly gives voice to dissident perspectives
which arise from that direct encounter.  We hope that the workshop will
encourage such perspectives.

Concepts often follow ground realities.  The idea of Europe emerged as
European empires shed their colonies.  The idea of Asia, too, and the
larger notion of the Asia-Pacific began to emerge as the imperial umbilical
cords of the countries of the region dried up and they began to look at one
another through their own eyes.  The process is still incomplete.  Asia,
like Europe, comprises a plurality of languages but is much more varied in
terms of race, religion, culture and environment.

A conceptual collectivity like Asia, let alone the Asia-Pacific, acquires
meaning as the sum is delineated as greater than the parts.  Only then can
the parts relate to the whole in an unconventional way, well beyond the
usual political and trade relations and even multilateral fora.  The study
of Asia in Asia cannot continue to be limited to own country studies and
studies of bilateral relations.

There is fortunately a new emphasis on broader cultural streams in the
Asian region, most of which have been on the defensive for some centuries
now.  Arguably it is the lack of confidence in indigenous cultures that
invited into Asia twentieth century fundamentalisms of non-Asian origin, as
well as imported theories of all kinds.  Asia's pluralism defies all
fundamentalisms, and its new culture-confidence can be separated from
political chauvinisms.



Potential themes include:

Intellectual journeys between countries/cultures of the Asian region.
Commonalities and coherences which emerge from looking at Asia in a broad
or comparative perspective, including the "Asian values" debate.
Revisionist and alternative perspectives which have emerged from
cross-cultural research or the encounter of Asia with Asia.
Asian intellectual traditions of engaging the other.
Displacement, hybridity and diasporic identities.
Autobiographical accounts of fieldwork experience and the battle to develop
satisfactory paradigms.

The organisers invite papers from scholars in any of the social sciences
and humanities concerned with these and other theoretical and
methodological issues concerning Asian Studies within Asia.   About 12
presenters will be selected on the basis of the quality of their submitted
abstracts.  Those chosen to present papers will need to submit them by 15
December 1999.

Selected presenters will be remunerated for their travel (to and from the
workshop venue in India) plus food and lodging for the duration of the
workshop.  A 500-word abstract (hard copy or email ) should be sent to
Professor Bob Elson, ASAA President, by 30 June 1999 and copied to the
Workshop Convenor Dr Giri Deshingkar.

Yours sincerely

Tessa Morris-Suzuki
ASAA Vice-President


Contact details:
Professor Bob Elson, President, Asian Studies Association of Australia,
School of Modern Asian Studies, Griffith University, Nathan QLD 4111
Australia.
Tel 61-7-3875 5143    Fax 61-7-3875 3731   Email r.elson at mailbox.gu.edu.au

Dr Giri Deshingkar, Director, Institute of Chinese Studies, 9 Bhagwandas
Rd, New Delhi, 110002 India.
Fax 91-11-338 8155 or 91-11-294 3450   Email :csds at del2.vsnl.net.in  OR
csds at del2.vsnl.net.in

Should you need further information about the workshop before submitting
your abstract, please contact:
Professor Tessa Morris-Suzuki, Pacific and Asian History, RSPAS, Australian
National University.
Ph 61-2-6249 2277   Fax 61-2-6254 9050   Email tms at coombs.anu.edu.au


Important dates:
30 June 1999                            Deadline for submission of abstracts
15 August 1999                        Notification of acceptance
15 December 1999                    Deadline for submission of completed papers
20-21 February 2000                Workshop "Approaching Asia from Asia:
                                        Journeys, Displacements,




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