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Showing posts with label INDIA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label INDIA. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 26, 2023

CFP: Two Day ICSSR sponsored #International #Seminar on #Myth, #History and #Culture- 22-23 Jan 2024-DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH,BANARAS HINDU UNIVERSITY, VARANASI

 





Abstract

“Myths get thought in man unbeknownst to him” (Levi Strauss), thus opening new dimensions of understanding life. Although, for modern societies, the term “myth” stands for an imaginary tale, an untrue story, a legend, a superstition etc. for ancient societies who existed before written culture, myths were narrations of “the ultimate origin of reality” and were not tales but true stories. This fact indicates that mythology remains an essential area of interest for humanities like history, culture, philosophy, psychology, sociology and socio-cultural anthropology, whose practices developed within the framework of rituals, myths, customs and traditions, indicating that myth and mythology have pervaded into daily life, that they have turned into a reference guide, sometimes due to their guiding spirit and sometimes by being a tool for social control. Orient and Occident myths help us understand the culture and history of a particular people. For example, the study of Indian and Greek mythology can tell us a great deal about the values and beliefs of the ancient Indians and Greeks. It can help us understand the world around us providing explanations for things that we may not be able to comprehend. Many myths and legends try to explain allegorically natural phenomena, such as the changing of the seasons or the movement of the stars. Whether we realize it or not, mythology is still a part of our world. By understanding mythology, we can better understand ourselves and the world around us. Without the knowledge of mythology and iconography, the history of art can not be interpreted, nor could art criticism be done.
Through the proposed seminar, we will be able to explore the multiple dimensions that myths open
for us and how myths can be read inter-textually and inter-disciplinarily and help us understand our history, tradition and culture.

Concept Note
It It is often believed that mythology is a thing of the past, no longer relevant in our modern world. However, this could not be further from the truth. Mythology can help us understand the world around us in several ways. Every culture has its myths and legends, and these stories can teach us a lot about where we come from and what our beliefs are. By learning about the myths and legends of other cultures, we can get a better understanding of their history and their values.
Everyday experiences of modern societies, like our ancient counterparts, are shaped by folklore
and mythical discourse. Both as an individual and as a society, human experience is not only associated with its immediate physical and social environment and offers allegorical and metaphorical narratives. These stories from both the distant and near past have been influencing the political ideology of societies and reinforcing the cultural responses to particular facts and events. In his ground-breaking work Mythologies, Roland Barthes showed how the instruments of mass culture transformed the mere objects of everyday life into symbols and how a mythologist can decipher these symbolic meanings (Leak 1994). Throughout historical and cultural developments, human beings have attributed divine interpretations to the factors influencing them. By attributing such meanings to natural forces that were superior to them, humans also adopted the habit of structuring and symbolization. From worshipping Sheetala Mata during chicken-pox, measles and small-pox outbreaks to the rise of Corona Mata during covid-19 pandemic, depending on the geographic and cultural context, humans developed solutions for inexplicable events or situations such as illnesses. Traditional ecological knowledge is often transferred through religious rituals, Vrata Kathas and oral narratives. To specify, humans sought genuine solutions employing the daily practices and rituals they structured around the myths and legends, which were transmitted to them through cultural heritage.
One of the strategies to explore mythical narratives is to give an allegorical interpretation to texts, which is to apply ‘a metaphoric mode of understanding’ to the stories that do not have ‘metaphorical language’ (Gibbs 2011). This strategy has long been used in the interpretation of myths, such as Homeric poems, religious texts, such as the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Old Testament, and modern novels, like George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm (Ritchie 2017).
Metaphorical lore, archetypes and allegories still shape our discourse on themes like eco-spirituality, gender and caste inequality, and racism. Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex was a transforming book deciphering the complex and oppressive myths about female identity (Le Doeuff & Dow 2010) while Edward Said’s Orientalism criticized the Eurocentric History and deciphered the myths of colonialism about ‘the Orient’ (Young 2004).
Legends and symbols are not discoveries that ancient societies carried out on their own; rather, they are the products of a cultural whole transmitted through generations. In this way, some of these creations spread to lands far away from their root soils, like the myth of Lord Hanuman travelled to Mauritius with the girmitiyas and was absorbed in the local milieu. Storytelling is a timeless art form that has been used to entertain, inform, and educate audiences for centuries.
Many modern stories, films, and TV shows draw inspiration from mythology, incorporating elements of myth to make it more compelling and interesting by adding another layer of meaning to it.

The interaction between literature and mythology offers another interesting paradigm by shaping modern literary texts. The mythological characters of ancient South Asia, Egypt, Greece and Rome may seem exaggerated to the modern reader but by tracing the historical journey of literature, we can infer myths and legends that initially inspired tragedies and morals. From this perspective, mythology offers an essential reference for modern literature. Within the literary framework, almost all writers apply myths, mythical characters and related archetypes in their narrative for various purposes. Thus, it is difficult to understand T.S. Eliot’s The Wasteland without understanding of Orient, Occident and Biblical myths. There are some basic similarities and differences between Orient and Occident myths. In the East, the highest priority is the society, and the individual's submission to his role within that society; in the West, priority is given to the individual, his uniqueness and his freedom from obligation to any ideology or social status but what he may choose. Therefore, Plato appealed to mythos as a pedagogical means for imparting his views through the Dialogues. On the other hand, along with the transition from mythopoetic thought to cosmological arguments, irreversible diffraction occurred in the history of ideas, and philosophy parted ways with mythos for a certain while. 
Centuries later, however, many theorists in both clinical psychology and contemporary philosophy made use of myth as a symbolic means of expression and pioneered a “mythic turn” in the social sciences. 

To conclude, mythology forms an important part of culture, history and identity. Along with cultural and historical discourse, it can also be used to entertain and inspire people by exploring the deep, hidden aspects of human nature. Moreover, myths help us understand the human condition by providing us with stories and characters that we can identify with. We all have aspects of our personality that we are not proud of, and it can be helpful to see these aspects reflected in a mythological character. The myths of good and evil, and how these forces interact provide a better understanding of the world we live in and the people who inhabit it. This seminar would offer a confluence of scholars from across India and also from abroad to offer insight and share their views. Similar myths, symbols and motifs across cultures will help bridge cultural differences among various communities.

References
Gibbs, Roland. 2011. The allegorical impulse. Metaphor and Symbol, 26, 121–130.
Le Doeuff, Michèle and Dow, Suzanne. 2010. Beauvoir the Mythoclast. Paragraph, 33, 1, 90-104.
Leak, Andrew. 1994. Barthes, Mythologies. London: Grant and Cutler.
Ritchie, David. 2017. Metaphorical Stories in Discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Young, Robert. 2004. White Mythologies (2nd ed.). Routledge.

IMPORTANT DATES

Abstract submission - 28th Dec 

Abstract acceptance - 2nd Jan 2024

Registration Opens -3rd Jan 2024

Payment deadline - 10 Jan 2024
Full paper deadline - 15 Jan 2024

Conference date - 22-23 Jan 2024


Registration Charges

Faculty and Academicians 1500 INR
Research Scholar 1000 INR

Students 800 INR
International Participants 25 USD


Venue : Seminar Hall,VASANT KANYA MAHAVIDYALAYA
KAMACHHA, VARANASI-221010
(Admitted to the privileges of Banaras Hindu university)

(Institution Accredited 'A' by NAAC)

 

Submission Link

https://forms.gle/Eq4yfU2Sbxz9hs8YA

 Organized by

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

VASANT KANYA MAHAVIDYALAYA
KAMACHHA, VARANASI-221010
(Admitted to the privileges of Banaras Hindu university)

Convener:

Dr. Purnima

Email: Seminarengvkm@vkm.org.in 

Saturday, November 2, 2019

4th International Conference Migration, Diasporas and Sustainable Development Perspectives, Policies, Opportunities and Challenges 14-15 November 2020 New Delhi, India











Call for Papers
Human mobility is an age-old phenomenon, though its dynamics and character is changing over the time. Under the garb of globalization, international migration with various forms and features has been growing exponentially in the recent decades in response to global capitalistic developments. Subsequently, many migrant groups have turned into Diaspora communities across the globe. Today, Diasporasconstitutes not only a substantial but also a vital segment of population that the human civilization is experiencing today. It is considered to be one of the emerging actors that significantly influencing the socio-economic, political and cultural spheres in the national and international arena.
The multidirectional engagement between Diasporas and Diaspora and host country and home country, and engagement in transnational and virtual platforms provides a very interesting space for academician and policy experts to engage. There are multiple dynamics involved in shaping the contour of the Diaspora and engaging them with region, nations and in the transnational spheres.


In recent times female migration has been gradually growing across the globe, often faster than the male migration. The migration report of the UN (2015) mentioned that some parts of Europe and Africa the growth rate of female migration has already taken over their male counterparts i.e 51.9% in Europe, 51.6 % in Latin America and Caribbean, 51.9% in North America. Though traditionally migration from India has been male dominated, in the recent decade female migration has been rising.


With growing number of Diaspora population worldwide, there is a scope for comparative analysis. There are large Diasporas in Asian and African countries. Chinese and Indian Diaspora are two of the largest Diaspora in the world, combined together they constitute roughly 85 million (60 million Chinese Diaspora 25 millions Indian Diaspora). Spread out across the globe, these two Asian Diasporas redefined the demographic, social, cultural, political and economic profiles of many countries and significantly impacting on the home countries as well. Two Diasporas provides wonderful insights on how the Diaspora and homeland engage today. People from both the countries, having old civilizational heritage, have been migrating internationally for centuries. However, it is the colonial regime under the European power which made drastic demographic change by importing substantial number of labour from these two countries after the abolition of slavery. Subsequently, the free flow of migration continued that constituted skilled, semi-skilled and professionals. The two Asian Diasporas are very much linked to their home countries despite ideological, ethnic and identity contradictions, diversities and challenges on some occasions. There are number of evidences in several countries where Diaspora engage in skill building in China, Israel and in less developed countries such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh etc. This can be done through volunteerism and through sustainable private public participation in areas that are locally feasible and marketable as well. High Skill Diaspora can engage in public policy, research and development, business and enterprise. However there is need for more institutional platform to translate these to practice. Smaller Diasporas from Asia, Africa and Europe also provides very useful insight into the diverse range of engagement in the socio-economic and political spheres.


India having one of the largest Diaspora in the Globe has comparative advantage to undertake academic as well as policy research to engage its Diaspora. It is already evident that, besides the socio-cultural and political significance, Diaspora has immense policy significance in the current scenarioof knowledge economy that is highly networked and virtual globalised world.
Besides the Diaspora and homeland engagement that has positive developmental outcome, there are also conflict relations. The Jews, the Tamils, Sikhs and many other Diasporas in different parts of the world have conflict relations that provides a different way to look at not only the Diaspora homeland engagement but also how they mobilize the transnational space to fulfill their objectives.

As migration will continue to occur an Diaspora communities continue to form, evolve and engage, it is time to think on the broader global context of sustainability. UN Sustainable Development Goal 2030 emphasizes on mainstreaming migration by focusing on various interrelated issues such as international cooperation, vulnerable migrants, humanitarian crisis, return migration, female migration.
About the Conference
The proposed conference will bring togethernational and international experts from academics, practitioner and policy bodies. It will help is consolidating the research findings related to various emerging perspectives and policies on Diaspora that will provide better insights in to the Diaspora-home country-host country-transnational relationship. The Conference will have both conceptual as well as applied areas so as to give a wholistic approach to understand the issue. The following are the Themes and Sub themes for the Book. However, all the related issues also welcome.

Keynote Speaker:
Prof. Steven Vertovec, Director, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Göttingen, Germany.
Topic : Diversification of Global Migration and the Concept of Super-diversity
... And a galaxy of globally acclaimed scholars in the panel



Themes and Subthemes
Perspectives
· Changing nature of migration and Diaspora
· Human Development, Entrepreneurship and Knowledge
· Heritage, culture and the dynamics of change


Diaspora Policies in major countries
· Politics of Migration and Policies on Diaspora with implications for Foreign and National Security
· Impact of Politics on Emigration and Immigration
· Racism, Citizenship issue in Gulf, Visa policy of selective, USA/Developed countries,
· Diaspora and Soft power diplomacy (cultural diplomacy)
Impacts of Diaspora on Foreign Policies
· International relation and migration
· Diaspora lobby
· Transnationalism
Policies related to the Economic impacts of Diaspora
· Remittances
· Diaspora investment and Entrepreneurship
· Knowledge, Technology Transfer and International Trade
· Diaspora Philanthropy
NGOs in Diaspora, Civil Society and Human Rights
· Diaspora organisations and their role
· Marriages, Custody, Adoption, Property, Hague Conventions
· Human Trafficking
Diaspora and Global Culture
· Diaspora in the global cultural revolution- multiculturalism and Diaspora
· Indian Diaspora: Film, Literature, Language, Food


New Dynamics of Diaspora Engagement
· Virtual Diasporas and Knowledge Platforms
· Indian Diaspora, Virtual platform and development
Regional Diasporas
· Regional Diasporas in India and Other countries

Return and Integration
· Return migration and rehabilitation
· Return migration and integration
Forced Migration
· Refugee crisis
· Refugee and Gender

Outcome
The conference will generate ideas and policy perspectives in the form of research papers which can contribute to the development sectors in home and host countries. The insights from other Diaspora engagements will certainly help to see the evolution and future engagement of migration communities and Diaspora.
Stakeholders
The conference will provide a knowledge platform for scholars working in policy and academic domain to share ideas, comparative perspectives on Diaspora and international migration. A large array of stakeholders at national and international level will benefits from the conference and publications thereafter. The following stakeholders will directly benefit from the conference:
· Government Ministries: Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Culture
· Agencies/Departments: Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Reserve Bank of India,
· Development Organisations working in the Migration and Diaspora


· Corporate Sectors: Working in the area of music, films, investment, knowledge transfer, human resource training, education sector


Important Dates
Last date for receiving abstracts
30 January2020
Confirmation of Selection of Abstracts
15 February 2020
Last date for receiving full paper
30 March 2020
Date of Conference
14-15 November2020




Convenors
Dr. M. Mahalingamand Dr. Smita Tiwari
GRFDT, New Delhi



Submission Guidelines

Participants


Participant's Contribution
(to be covered for conference kits and food during the conference)
Postgraduate Students & Research Scholars
2000/- or USD 35
Other Scholars
3000/-or USD 50




Accommodation and Local Hospitality:
Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism is a not-for-profit academic research forum and we are not in a position to be able to assist with conference travel or subsistence. However, the organisers will help you to find accommodation nearby the venue and also arrange sightseeing tour on demand with the payment.


Guidelines for Abstracts
All participants are required to submit a written abstract in .doc/x or upload the abstract on the GRFDT website www.grfdt.com(link will be given shortly)
Format: 1 inch margin, 1.5 line spacing, Times New Roman, 12 font
File name: YOURNAME_INSTITUTION
The document must contain; a) author(s), b) affiliation as you would like it to appear in programme, c) email address, d) title of proposal, e) body of proposal, f) up to 5 keywords.

All abstracts will be peer reviewed and selected candidates will be invited for presentation. Please use plain text (Times Roman 12) and abstain from using footnotes and any special formatting, characters or emphasis (such as bold, italics or underline). If you do not receive a reply from us in a week please send a query


Abstracts or requests for further information should be sent to: internationalconference@grfdt.com
Kindly mention the major theme area on the top of the abstract
For more details, please visit our website: www.grfdt.com

Publication:
All the papers will be peer reviewed and published in book by reputed publishers as well as in “Migration and Diaspora: An Interdisciplinary Journal” and GRFDT Research Monograph Series.
__________________


Time and Place:
Date: Saturday, Nov 14, 2020
Venue: New Delhi
Address: New Delhi



Sunday, October 21, 2018

CFP: International Conference on Women Studies, Language, Culture and Social Sciences-28th to 29th December 2018 Goa, India















Call For Papers


The International Conference on Women Studies, Language, Culture and Social Sciences 2018 (ICWES 2018 ) to be organized by IMRF in collaboration with Carmel College for Women and other International Bodies shall be one of the significant conferences in Women Studies, Education & Social Sciences Community held in conjunction with the IMRF International Journals .

The Conference is designed with Special Invited Research Lectures, Paper Presentations and Poster Presentations. International Conference on Women Empowerment, Education & Social Sciences 2018 is honored by bringing Peer Reviewed Arts & Education International Research Journal Vol-5 Issue 1 with 2349– 1353, Peer reviewed Social Sciences International Research Journal Vol-4 Spl Issue with ISSN 2395 – 0544, with all papers accepted for publication. The main intention is to reflect the pioneering state of research in Women Empowerment, Education & Social Sciences 

Some non-technical talks connected with promotion of research in Women Empowerment, Education & Social Sciences will also be convened. 















Themes

Original research papers in the following disciplines but not confined, related to  Women Empowerment, Education & Social Sciences  from Post Graduate Students, Research Scholars, Faculty, Scientists   are invited for presentation.​

Women Studies 
Feminist method |Gender studies |Gender mainstreaming |Gynocentrism |Kyriarchy |Matriarchy |Women's studies | Patriarchy |Écriture féminine | Leadership etc., and allied subjects

Education
Primary education |Secondary education |Higher education |Vocational education |Adult education
Alternative education |Madrasa education |Woman education |Dance education |Distance education | International studies | Journalism education |Special education |Vocational education

Social Sciences 
Anthropology |Archaeology |Criminology |Demography |Economics |Geography (human) |History International relations |Jurisprudence |Linguistics |Pedagogy |Political science |Psychology |Science education |Sociology | Public Administration |Journalism etc.,  and allied subjects.
English Studies Linguistics |Sociolinguistics |Discourse analysis |Language learning and teaching | Literature American literature – including African American literature |Jewish American literature Southern literature | Australian literature |British literature |Canadian literature | Irish literature New Zealand literature |Scottish literature |Welsh literature |South African literature  | Translations
 ​














Submission of Papers
 
Participants intending to present papers in conference are requested to submit soft copy of the abstract incorporating the motivation, method of solution and important findings of their investigation to  icwlcs2018@gmail.com
 




Important Dates
Participation is for limited number. 
To reserve your participation with the notified fee and with out any late charges  register the earliest

Last date to submit Abstract :                                                                                                                          20/10/2018
Last date to Register :                                                                                                                                        10/11/2018

Optional
Last date to submit Full Paper if interested in Publication :                              20/10/2018
Submission of Papers
 
Participants intending to present papers in conference are requested to submit soft copy of the abstract incorporating the motivation, method of solution 
and important findings of their investigation to  icwlcs2018@gmail.com.
 















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