CFP: Virtual International Conference C4P - "Comprehending #Comics: Exploring Methodologies and Approaches to #ComicStudies in History and the Social Sciences": September 8-9, 2024

 Please submit your proposal by May 1, 2024

Interest in comic studies have generated wide and varied interests from an exploration of visual language and narrative in sequential art to the use of technologies in comics, to considerations current questions in both contemporary society and history. These have led to fruitful research which cross disciplines and produced diverse and complex scholarship. Richard Scully have written extensively on political cartoons and their relationship with imperialism and colonialism. Amy Matthewson’s Cartooning China examined the British popular satirical magazine Punch and situated the series of cartoons of China and Chinese people within their geopolitical frameworks. Sheena Howard and Ronald Jackson’s Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation brought together a range of critical essays exploring contributions of Black graphic artists. Collections such as Drawing the Past Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (2022), edited by Dorian Alexander, Michael Goodrum, and Philip Smith, brought a range of scholars to unite around the broad theme of the historical imagination in American popular media. 

There is still an evolving consensus on which the methodologies that scholars specialized in fields of history and social sciences could use when engaging with comics. Often, research focused on comics-formatted primary sources is pigeonholed into literary study, or in other cases the linguistic framework of describing and analyzing comics fails to translate to a discussion of material culture. As the range of demonstrated methodologies is vast, and as the advancement of comics-based research offers new potential for the study of history and the social sciences, it is a crucial time to reflect and take stock of current practice and possible future directions. 

We are interested in all aspects of comics-format works, comics and graphic novels, and methodologies and themes that might address (but are not limited to) the following:

• Representation in comics
• The challenges of comics-based research studies as applied to the study of history
• Historical aspects of visualities and comics in particular
• The future of comics in research
• Archeology and comics
• Ancient and medieval history in comics
• The effects of digital tools in comic studies
• Comics and the politics of methodology – race, gender, sexuality, class, etc.
• The transnational, transcultural, and/or interdisciplinary nature of comic studies
• Teaching history with or through comics
• Teaching comics-based research methods
• Comics in memory studies
• Tensions and concordances between art history and history of comics and graphic novels

18%

The Routledge Companion to Comics (Routledge Media and Cultural Studies Companions)

₹4,293.00

Comics Studies: A Guidebook

18%

Urban Comics: Infrastructure and the Global City in Contemporary Graphic Narratives (Routledge Advances in Comics Studies)

₹3,993.00

Study Hall of Justice (DC Comics: Secret Hero Society #1)

20%

Muslim Comics and Warscape Witnessing (Studies in Comics and Cartoons)

₹4,125.00

15%

Understanding Genres in Comics (Palgrave Studies in Comics and Graphic Novels)

₹5,192.00

Batman and the Multiplicity of Identity: The Contemporary Comic Book Superhero as Cultural Nexus (Routledge Advances in Comics Studies)

15%

Frames and Framing in Documentary Comics (Palgrave Studies in Comics and Graphic Novels)

₹5,625.00

Representing Acts of Violence in Comics (Routledge Advances in Comics Studies)

13%

Visuality and Identity in Post-millennial Indian Graphic Narratives (Palgrave Studies in Comics and Graphic Novels)

₹4,688.00

We are now accepting proposals for papers (20 minutes) and panels (of 2 or 3 papers). Graduate students are also invited to submit a poster, which will be displayed online for the duration of the conference. The poster section will enable asynchronous comments, and a presentation session where participants give a short 3-5 minute summary of the poster content. Please submit the following to comprehendingcomics@historyincomics.org or elizabethallyn.woock@upol.cz by May 1st 2024:

• abstract of 300 words
• a biography of 50 words including your name, email, affiliation, and gender pronouns

This will be an online conference hosted by the Comics Lab at Palacky University, Czech Republic. Online networking and socializing will be enabled through various platforms. Given the international spread of contributors, participant time zones will be considered when scheduling panels. The conference will take place September 8-9, 2024. 

 

Contact Information

Please submit the following to comprehendingcomics@historyincomics.org or elizabethallyn.woock@upol.cz by May 1st 2024:

• abstract of 300 words
• a biography of 50 words including your name, email, affiliation, and gender pronouns

Contact Email

comprehendingcomics@historyincomics.org

URL

https://www.historyincomics.org/conferences-and-workshops/

Attachments

Comprehending Comics C4P

Call For Book Chapters: Beyond Networks of Domination: Rethinking Machinic Media, Digitality & Cinema of our Times

 Editors: Ananya Roy Pratihar(IMIS,Bhubaneswar), Saswat Samay Das (IIT, Kharagpur) & Shashibhushan Nayak(GP Nayagarh)

The biopolitical schemas for restructuring machinic networks of Media, Digital, and cinema do not stand as productive mimicries of mediations prerequisite for effecting an anthropological clearing (with Cracks, throws and blows, as Sloterdjik puts it) or grafting some kind of symbolic unity on chaotic materiality. Rather, such schemas act as ambivalent double-pincered mechanisms, turning loose incessant networked flows on the one hand, only to reduce them to domesticable or governable totalities on the other. If Deleuze & Guattari show how such networks lead to the creation of a control or surveillance society committed to colonizing what Husserl calls Lebenswelt (the life world), reducing its pulsations to algorithmic dividuals, Donna Haraway and Manuel Castells show how an interplay between desiring networks of media, digitality and cinema leads to the production of what they call informatics of domination when it is coupled with biopolitical agendas. Thinkers such as Nancy Fraser indicate how progressive networks in neoliberal societies bear a Janus face, hiding underneath their progressive orientation a regressive economy of ideas, opening up an uncompromising field of dialectical contradictions that turns networked flows, passages, archipelagos and routes to dispositif or worse dead ends.

However, while tracing the historical genesis of networks to colonialism or stressing their subsequent bio-politicization, materialist thinkers such as Deleuze & Guattari, Haraway, Braidotti, or Katherine Hayles do not posit de-essentialized expressions of networks as a kind of insidious metaphysical grammar. Rather, they view networks as actual expressions of machinic materiality and posit faith in the inter-related dynamism of networks to lead humanity out of the morass that humanist reductive mediation of such dynamism leads us to. Deleuze and Guattari turn towards stressing the deterritorializing capacity of networks. The stress they put on the need for finding new weapons of resistance against the biopolitical manipulation of networks only supplements this capacity, for with their conviction that even primary assemblages such as signs or senses arise out of the workings of an abstract machine immanent to these assemblages, they seem least inclined towards indicating that such weapons needs to be dialectically opposed to networks and may be used to arrive at a utopian anthropological clearing beyond them. As Guattari says, "There are material machines and immaterial machines, technical machines and imaginary machines, desiring machines and abstract machines, machine inside the machine, nested like fractals…Guattari advocates viewing machines in their complex totality in all their (networked) avatars and resists attempts to essentialize them or the assemblages they compose. 

Thinkers such as Latour stress the necessity of having broader, bigger and more effective networks comprised of human and non-human actants to release us from the humanist organization of society that leads us to deadlocks. Haraway rethinks the clarion call by Deleuze to find new weapons of resistance only to put forward the machinic and networked figure of Cyborg as the new war machine, a machinic assemblage that she calls the cat’s cradle, which synthesizes the organic and the non-organic, the machine & the body and the physical and the non-physical.

Similarly, thinkers such as Patricia Pisters foreground the machinic orientation of minor films. They view such orientation as nurturing the potential to both abolish clichés, dullness, and normative subjectivation and transform subjects puppeteered by representationalist populist cinema into what they call super-jects who might bear the potential to create a new world order.

Is then becoming a pure network, nodes of machinic connections or Haraway’s string figures, the only rejoinder against the biopolitical restructuration of Networks? One needs to remember that networked movements such as the Arab Spring, the Occupy Movement and most recently, the Gezi Park protests in Turkey have failed to bring about the required shift, let alone create fresh ethical bindings between the chaotic multitudes and that many social commentaries claim that such networked protests have large bark, but no bite.

However, then, is there any alternative to combating networks with networks, pitting open-ended ecosophical networks against crampy and claustrophobic networks of neoliberalism, with the redundancy of classical Marxist struggle against the biopolitical machinery? How does critical disclosure of schizoanalytic desire to blur the libidinal and political economy divide help us, with Berardi and Fisher putting forward such ampliative networks as effective tools, meant both for mapping and effecting a revolutionary breakthrough, a Kairos, in relation to the current scenario? With experimentations in media, digitality and cinema constituting the liminal zone of nomad science, will creating a Spherological unity among such sciences effect a deterritorializing rupture with the current predicament. With creative thinking making way for the untimely, can we have an alternative mechanism of resistance to grassroot the flows, as Manuel Castells puts it?

21%

Film Studies: An Introduction (Four Colour Edition)

₹1,395.00

TEACH YOURSELF FILM STUDIES: AN INTRODUCTION

3%

Film Studies (CC1 and CC2)

₹350.00

1%

Film Studies(2)- CC3 and CC4

₹375.00

5%

Beginning Film Studies: Sixth Edition

₹1,436.00

Film Studies, second edition: An Introduction (Film and Culture Series)

20%

FILM STUDIES Calicut University 6th Semester B.A

₹160.00

The Oxford Handbook of Film and Media Studies (Oxford Handbooks)

12%

A DICTIONARY OF FILM STUDIES 2E P OQR (Oxford Quick Reference)

₹800.00

Male Jealousy: Literature and Film (Continuum Literary Studies)

We invite papers that could both extend and critique the experimental media, digitality and cinema of our times. Simultaneously, we also need papers that reflect the potential for reinventing the schizoanalytic or experimental mode of media, digitality and cinema in order to do justice to Deleuze’s clarion call for finding new weapons of resistance.

Submissions

Abstracts of about 200 words, including six keywords, a 50-word bio-note, institutional affiliation, and contact details, should be emailed by 01 March 2024 to shashienglish@gmail.com as a single MS Word document attachment.

Chapter requirements: A chapter should be 4000-5000 words, including footnotes and bibliography adhering to the MLA 9th edition.

Important Dates:

Deadline for abstract submission: 01 March 2024

Abstract selection notification: 30 March 2024

Complete Paper Submission: 01 October 2024

Contact Information

Dr. Shashibhusan Nayak

MLA Bibliography Fellow

Contact Email

shashienglish@gmail.com

ICSSR SPONSORED TEN DAYS #RESEARCH #METHODOLOGY COURSE FOR #M.PHIL./#PH.D./#PDF #SCHOLARS IN #SOCIAL #SCIENCES

About University

Annamalai University, accredited with 'A+' Grade by NAAC in2022,is one of India's largest public residential universities with a sprawling campus of nearly 1000 acres is one of the largest residential Universities in Southern Asia comprising of 10 Faculties and 49 department's of study located at Chidambaram; The Adobe of the Cosmic Dancer Lord Nataraja . Founded in the early 1920s by Rajah Sir S.R. M. Annamalai Chennai  with the aim of promoting Tamil Literature and serving the downtrodden ,the institution evolved over rime. Jn 1929, it transitioned into Annamalai University, as per the Annamalai University Act 19:i8 (Tamil Nadu Act J of 1929).Since then, it has consistently played a pivotal role in shaping lives locally and globally. In 2013, the Annamalai University Act, 2013 (Tamil Nadu Act 20 of 201;), came into effect. This prestigious institution offers a diverse range of disciplines and departments, along with state of the art facilities such as sports pavilions, gymnasiums, libraries, and yoga/meditation balls. Annamalai University is not just a place of earning but a holistic ecosystem that fosters education, research, innovation, and community service, making it a true "university" in every sense.

About the Organizing Departments

The Department of Library and Information Science at Annamalai University , established in 1979, is a pioneering institution in India, providing modern education and practical training in Library Science. They offer various programs, including M.Lib.J.Sc., Ph.D., and more, aiming to prepare individuals for careers as librarians, information professionals , and knowledge managers. Additionally, the department offers programs such as M .Lib.Sc. (5 Year Integrated) and PGDLAN under the Directorate of Distance Education .On the other hand, the Department of Political Science & Public Administration, founded in 1981, focuses on producing well-informed citizens and offers a range of programs, including

M.A.Political Science (Integrated & CBCS) and Ph.D.programs. lt encourages curiosity about politics, global affairs. and fosters logical inquiry into the discipline, all with the aim of creating moral and model citizens of the world .

About the ICSSR

The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSRJ was established in 1969 by the Government of India with the primary objective of promoting and facilitating research in the field of social sciences within the country. It plays a pivotal role in supporting research endeavors by offering grants for various projects, facilitating fellowships for scholars. encouraging international collaborations, enhancing research capacity, conducting surveys, and promoting publications.

About the Programme

The Research Methodology course for M.Phil./Ph.D./PDF Scholars in Social Sciences comprises various essential objectives. It instructs st1adents in formulating research designs, conducting literature reviews, identifying research gaps, and defining research objectives, questions, and hypotheses. The course emphasizes conceptualizing research concepts and developing research proposals, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative research methods. It also provides practical exposure to statistical software for data analysis and covers reference management, publication processes, journal selection , database usage, manuscript handling, and citation formats. Overall, this course equips aspiring social science researchers with the necessary skills and knowledge to excel in their research endeavors, both in academic and professional contexts.

Eligibility  for Participants

A Scholar doing M.Phil I Ph.D./PDF in any branch of social sciences in a UGC-recognized university/deemed university/colleges/institutes of national importance and ICSSR Research Institutes is eligible to apply in the prescribed format given and their application should be duly forwarded by the affiliating institution. Selected candidates will be informed through e-mail. The number of seats is limited to 30 from social science disciplines, out of which ten (10) are from hosting institution, ten (10) from within the state, and ten (10) from outside the state.

How to Apply 

Interested research scholars can apply for the ten-day Research Methodology Course sponsored by ICSSR by submitting a duly filled Registration Form (See Last Page) to the Course Director on or before December 31, 2023. The scanned copy of the registration form (the original registration form should be produced on the first day of the Course), along with the following documents, should be emailed to aurmcicssr2024@gmail.com

1.M.Phil./ Ph.D./PDF registration certificates.

2..Coursework completion certificate (if applicable).

3.Caste certificate (if applicable).

4.Write a brief statement (up to 300 words) explaining your reasons for wanting to participate in the course.

There is no Registration Fee for participation in this course.

Accommodation and Travel Allowance

Accommodation will be provided only to outstation participants in University Guest House Hotels on sharing basis from 21st January, 2024 (Evening) to ist February, 2024 (Morning). Travel allowance by shortest distance (Train Fare/ Bus Fare - Sleeper Class only) will be reimbursed to the outstation participants after submitting original tickets. Food will be provided to all Participants at free of Cost.

Important Dates

 

Last date of receipt of the complete application form-  

                                                                    -31 December,2023

Intimation to selected candidates -                                       

                                                                     - 5 January, 2024

Confirmation of participation by the applicants -               

                                                                      - 10 January,2024

Contact

For any information/clarification please contact:

Course Director :

Dr.M.Sadik Batcha Professor 8r Head

Department of Library and Information Science

Annamalai University Mobile:+ 9194436 65624

Email:msbau@rediffmail .com

Course Co-Director:

Dr. C.Subramanian Professor,

Department of Political Science 8r Public Administration

Annamalai University

Mobile:+ 9194433 39194 / 7010356616

Email:drcsubramaniann@yahoo .com

CFP: Modern Education System and the Marginalized in Swaraj India -University of Science and Technology Meghalaya, February 2024

 

Concept Note:

India's journey towards independence from colonial rule was not only a political struggle but also a quest for social, economic and cultural regeneration and transformation. Education played a crucial role in this pursuit, serving as a powerful tool to reform and empower individuals, cultivate national consciousness, and drive social progress. Education was a key element in the vision of India's leaders, who recognized that knowledge and enlightenment were essential for breaking free from the shackles of colonialism. Throughout the freedom struggle, education became a vehicle for awakening and mobilizing the masses, instilling a sense of national identity, and fostering a collective spirit of resistance against British rule. Parallel to this was the vital role of education in shaping the values of democracy, equality, and social justice that India aspired to embody after attaining independence. Educational institutions became spaces for nurturing citizens who would contribute to building a new India, free from the shackles of colonialism and deep-rooted social inequalities. In the seventy-five years, education continued to be the cornerstone of India's development agenda. The government recognized the urgent need to address the country's high illiteracy rates and educational disparities. The establishment of a robust public education system, expansion of access to schooling, and initiatives like the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Education for All) program demonstrated the commitment to provide universalisation of elementary education and quality education to all children, regardless of their background.

However, the modern education system has become a significant topic of discussion about its treatment of marginalized citizens in modern India. As societies strive for progress and development, it is crucial to examine how educational institutions cater to the needs and aspirations of those on the margins of society. One of the key concerns surrounding the modern education system is its potential to perpetuate existing social inequalities. Marginalized groups, including subaltern caste groups, Tribes, women, ethnic and religious minorities, differently abled, and LGBTQ+ individuals, often face systemic barriers that limit their access to quality education. These barriers can include discriminatory attitudes, lack of inclusive policies and practices in educational institutions, limited representation of diverse voices and experiences, within the curriculum and financial constraints. These can be addressed by inclusive policies and practices in higher education which is an essential aspect for creating an equitable and diverse society. In the context of India, with its rich cultural heritage and vast socio-economic disparities, ensuring non-discrimination and inclusive programmes in higher education becomes a critical imperative.

The curriculum itself is often criticized for being pro-upper caste and class or biased towards a particular dominant culture, thereby fostering prejudice and neglecting the histories, cultures, and contributions of marginalized communities. Such biased pedagogic practices and lack of representation can result in feelings of alienation, exclusion and a distorted sense of self for marginalized students. Another important aspect is the question of educational resources and opportunities. Marginalized individuals often have limited access to quality schools, well-trained teachers, technological resources, and extracurricular activities that can foster holistic development. This disparity in resources further exacerbates the educational divide between privileged and marginalized students. Thus adopting inclusive pedagogies that emphasize active learning, participatory approaches, and the integration of diverse perspectives can create inclusive learning environments. Curricular reform should incorporate themes of social justice, diversity, and sustainable development to prepare students to become socially conscious and responsible citizens.

Addressing the question of the Marginalised in the modern education system requires a multi-faceted approach. It involves conceptualising, designing and implementing inclusive policies and practices that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. There should be efforts made to bridge the resource gap by investing in educational resources and infrastructure amongst marginalized communities, providing financial assistance, and training teachers to be culturally responsive and sensitive to the needs of all students. Further, building partnerships between educational institutions and marginalized communities can promote inclusivity. Collaborative initiatives, such as community-based learning, mentoring programs, and outreach activities, can bridge the gap between academia and marginalized groups, fostering a sense of belonging and empowerment.

Furthermore, fostering dialogue and amplifying the voices of marginalized individuals within educational institutions can lead to a more inclusive and empowering learning environment. By engaging in open discussions and actively listening to the concerns and experiences of marginalized groups, we can collectively work towards a more equitable and just modern education system. Ultimately, the question of the Marginalised in Swaraj India urges us to critically evaluate and transform the modern education system, ensuring that it becomes a catalyst for social empowerment, equality, and the realization of the full potential of all individuals, regardless of their background or identity.

Themes of the Panel 12 for the year 2024 are as follows:

Theme 1: Recognising Barriers in Education for the Marginalised: To examine the structural, social, and economic barriers that hinder marginalized communities' (SCs, STs, Women, Disabled etc.) access to quality education in Swaraj India. This section will involve papers analyzing existing literature, policies, and empirical data to gain an in-depth understanding of the challenges faced by marginalized groups.

Theme 2: Measuring the Impact of Educational Marginalisation: To evaluate the socio-economic and political impact of educational marginalization on marginalized communities such as SCs, STs, Women, Disabled etc. in Swaraj India. This section will involve empirical papers based on surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions with community members, educators, policymakers, and other relevant stakeholders.

Theme 3: Searching Strategies and Best Practices for Inclusive Education: To identify and document innovative strategies, programs, and policies implemented at local, regional, or national levels that have successfully addressed educational disparities for marginalized communities such as SCs, STs, Women, Disabled etc. This section will aim to have papers that highlight success stories and provide insights into replicable models for inclusive education.

Theme 4: Framing Policies and Programmes for Educational Marginalisation: In this section, papers will be selected based on the research findings, to formulate evidence-based policy recommendations that can help address the identified barriers and promote inclusive education for marginalized communities such as SCs, STs, Women, Disabled etc. These recommendations will be targeted towards policymakers, educational institutions, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders involved in the education sector.

Important Dates:

Last Date for Abstracts: 20^th November 2023.

Full Draft Papers:                   30^th December 2023.

Email IDs:  <conferenceissapanel12@gmail.com>

Venue: 47th Indian Social Science Congress to be held at University of Science and Technology Meghalaya, 5-9 February 2024

 

 

Contact Information

Outstation Chairperson: Prof. Yagati Chinna Rao, JNU

Outstation Convener: Dr. L David Lal, IIIT Guwahati

Email: conferenceissapanel12@gmail.com

47th Indian Social Science Congress to be held at University of Science and Technology Meghalaya, 5-9 February 2024

Contact Email

conferenceissapanel12@gmail.com

Whither #postcolonialism? New directions in #postcolonialstudies -- International Online Conference, 1-2 December 2023

 Postcolonial studies as a way of reclaiming history from the perspective of the colonised continues to uncover the myriad fraught legacies of colonialism. The emergence of newer interdisciplinary areas of inquiry, such as climate change, has further revealed tangled legacies of colonialism that continue to persist. The burgeoning field of postcolonial print culture studies, in turn, has been bringing to the fore a fascinating terrain of production, circulation and consumption of print in colonial contexts that is particularly enriching our knowledge of anticolonial resistance in various ways.  This conference aims to bring together academic work in some of the newer sub-fields of postcolonial inquiry with attention to continuities. Research papers are welcome from across disciplines on, but not restricted to, the following themes:

• Climate change, caste and gender
• Climate change and endangerment of languages
• Climate change and changing cultural practices, and literature
• Climate change and marginalized sexualities
• Ecology and literature
• Environmental humanities and postcolonial studies
• Local knowledge and climate change
• Postcolonial autobiography
• Postcolonial print culture
• Translation and postcolonial studies

Keynote speaker: Professor Robert JC Young, Julius Silver Professor of English and Comparative Literature, New York University, USA

Timeline:

• Abstracts within 250 words, upto 5 keywords, and a bio-note within 100 words due by 12 November 2023.
• Link to submit abstracts:   https://forms.gle/iJvL5XdDSKLFo4Wp9  
• Selection of abstracts and details of online registration will be notified by email by 19 November 2023.
• Registration deadline for presenters: 23 November 2023
• Full papers for presentation not exceeding 2000 words, following MLA style (9^th edition), are to be submitted by email to english.conference.sjm@gmail.com by 28 November 2023.
• Conference dates: 1-2 December 2023

Publication: Submitted papers will be peer-reviewed by experts in respective areas and published in an edited volume by a reputed national academic publisher.

Conference registration fees:

Paper presentation: Rs 350.00 (Co-authored papers require individual registration)

Contact Information

Dr Durba Basu

Assistant Professor and Head

Department of English

Swarnamoyee Jogendranath Mahavidyalaya

Amdabad, Purba Medinipur

West Bengal 721650

India

 

Contact Email

english.conference.sjm@gmail.com

URL

https://www.sjmahavidyalaya.in/

CFP: Young Researchers’ Conference on Trauma and Memory Studies: Responses from the Global South 19-21st January 2024 Department of English Jamia Millia Islamia

Memory and Trauma Studies have emerged as a key paradigm in the field of humanities, socialand cultural studies, especially towards the end of the 20th century. The intersections and interactions between these two fields have been employed by contemporary scholars to study human histories of war, atrocities, genocides, partition, displacement and discrimination. Building upon this enriched understanding of the intricate relationship between memory and trauma, scholars have extended their inquiries to explore the mechanisms through which societies and individuals navigate the aftermath of traumatic experiences. The exploration of coping strategies, memorialization practices, and the transmission of memory across generations has deepened our comprehension of how trauma reverberates through time and space. Central to this discourse is the recognition that memory and trauma are not static entities, but rather dynamic and evolving constructs. The ways in which societies remember, commemorate, and come to terms with their traumatic pasts are subject to a complex interplay of political, cultural, and social factors. The interdisciplinary nature of Memory and Trauma Studies allows for the examination of this process from multiple angles, such as artistic expressions, oral histories, or digital media.

In the Global South, where the legacies of colonialism, dictatorship, armed conflicts, and systemic injustices persist, Memory and Trauma Studies have provided a crucial framework for understanding the complexities of post-colonial and post-conflict societies. However, situated amidst such a diverse array of historical and political contexts, the theoretical frameworks emanating from Western scholarship often fall short in adequately encapsulating the intricate historical narratives pertaining to the realms of trauma and memory within the Global South. Western trauma theory often positions the Western, white subject as the universal subject of traumatic experience. This is exemplified by Steve Creps' critique of Cathy Caruth's analysis of the film ‘Hiroshima, mon Amour’. Creps argues that Western critics employ neo-colonially exported Western psychiatric concepts to postcolonial regions without considering their suitability. This entanglement between the post-colonial scholarship and trauma theory calls for a ‘decolonization’ of the theory itself. Michael Rothberg in his essay ‘Decolonizing Trauma Studies: A Response’, questions the pertinence of the Euro-centric conceptualization of trauma theory to study the ‘legacies of violence in the colonial/postcolonial world’. He calls for a reformation or an expansion of the contemporary conceptualizations within the literary trauma theory which remains stuck within EuroAmerican historical frameworks. Theorists like Jay Rajiva are also working on decolonising  the field by tackling the eurocentric, monocultural bias of Trauma theory. In his work “Postcolonial Parabola”, Jay Rajiva focuses on the need to represent decolonization as a traumatic event, along with identifying the challenges of situating the heterogeneity of postcolonial experience while developing new ways of representing it. As compared to the traditional trauma theory which is focused on isolated, individual and exceptional events, postcolonial trauma is not exceptional (or unusual) as it is woven into the political structure of a nation and expressed as a daily reality. It is characterized as the trauma of the everyday. Jay Rajiva thus focuses on the cross-cultural ethical engagement with postcolonial trauma. The thrust of works on Memory and Trauma Studies have been largely on national/international cataclysmic events such as Partition (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) and Holocaust to name a few. Some examples of creative works that have emerged from these cataclysmic events which have this inherent focus on the individual traumas and memories of central characters involved are Attia Hossain’s Sunlight on a Broken Column (1961) or Nayanika Mookherjee’s The Spectral Wound: Sexual Violence, Public Memories, and the Bangladesh War of 1971. The partition also laid bare gendered vulnerabilities. When one looks at autobiographies, memoirs and other forms of nonfiction that emerge from areas such as Kashmir, the North East, Punjab and Bengal, they narrativize individual instances of memory and trauma. The latest example of this is a book by Farah Bashir titled Rumours of Spring (2021). To contest the Eurocentric exclusivity which stands culpable for shadowing the universal application of trauma studies, it is incumbent that we cater to more accounts from the Global South- be it the complex history of violence, slavery, racism or marginalization in the Caribbean, the issues of internal displacement, Civil War and natural disaster in Sri Lanka, or the historical and transgenerational repercussions faced by the Africans. 

The works of Sri Lankan Tamil Poet Cheran are marked by the shrieks of resistance, anger,

and grief that lend a unique perspective on the suffering faced by Sri Lankan Tamils during the extensive civil war. The Anthologies- Two Times Removed Volumes I and II (2021-22) by Tiara Jade Chutkhan is another important recent work which highlights the nuances of Indo-Caribbean identity, intergenerational memory and trauma. Works like Traumatic Storytelling and Memory in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Performing Signs of Injury (2019) by Christopher J. Colvin and Trauma, Memory, and Narrative in the Contemporary South African Novel (2012) edited by Ewald Mengel and Michela Borzaga also focus on the complex relation between trauma, memory and narrative. These works see trauma as a consequence of an historical condition – in the case of South Africa, that of colonialism, and, more specifically, of apartheid.

This Call for Papers invites scholars and researchers to probe into the ongoing negotiations

between dominant historical narratives and marginalized voices, with a focus on the Global

South. This conference strives to look into how memory and trauma actualizes in the

psychological, social, cultural, historical, philosophical, religious, economic, political and

other aspects. A regional focus will help us unveil the disparities and imbalances in terms of

the representation of suffering in the Global South- South Asian, Caribbean, African and the

Arab world. In a world shaped by diverse historical narratives, the Global South stands as a

repository of unique experiences, memories and struggles. Therefore, there exists a pressing

need to unearth a novel analytical framework that can comprehensively emphasize on the years of violence and identity politics unique to the Global South.

Topics could include but may not be limited to:

•  Regional Representation: Conflict and Protest Literature in the Global South

• War and Post-war Atrocities in the Global South
• Decolonizing Trauma theory
• Re/Presentations of Trauma and Memory in Popular Culture in the Global South
• Digitizing Trauma and Memory in the Global South
• Reading the Global North from the Global South
• Theorizing the Other: Experiences of the marginalized communities in the Global South
• Contextualizing the disenfranchised in the Global South: Women and Children
• Trauma, Memory and Multilingualism in the Global South
• Bearing Witness: Perpetrators, Survivors and Bystanders in the Global South
• Institutionalizing Memory and Trauma in the Global South
• Memory Activism in the Global South
• Narratives and Representations in the Global South: Retellings, Censorships and
Contestations
• Resilience, Neuro-plasticity and Coping Mechanism in the Global South
• Indigenous ways of Healing: the Global South perspective
• Memory traces and Memory entanglements in the Global South
• Trans-cultural/ Trans-national/ Trans-generational perspectives and Migrant trauma
• Post-Pandemic Trauma and Trauma of the everyday in the context of the Global South

Important Dates:
Submission of Abstracts: 30th November, 2023
Intimation of Accepted Abstracts: 5th December, 2023
Submission of Full-Length papers: 5th January, 2024

Guidelines for Abstract and Paper Submission:
We invite abstracts of about 300 words along with a short bio-note of 100 words to be sent via email to yrcjmi2023jmi@gmail.com on or before 30th November, 2023. Full-length papers of accepted abstracts, of 4500-6000 words, in citation style MLA 9th Edition, should reach the same on or before 5th January, 2024.
Selected papers will be published in a collection of conference proceedings with a leading
international publisher.

 For further queries and submissions, kindly write to us at yrcjmi2023@gmail.com 

 

Call for Papers_ Book on -Cultural Studies on #Chocolate_ #Paradigma #Akademi #Press

Cultural Studies on Chocolate

Deadline: August 10, 2023

 Paradigma Akademi Press invites book chapter proposals to be included in a forthcoming scholarly volume on “Chocolate and Media".

Scholars working in the fields of Social Sciences, Media and Communication Studies, Liberal Arts, Cultural Studies, Political History, Humanities Studies, Gender Studies and Advertisement are invited to submit papers on the following topics (but not limited with them):

 

-History of Chocolate

-Chocolate and Capitalism

-Child Labor and Chocolate

-Chocolate advertisements

-Are children prey for industry?

-Class and status of chocolate

-Chocolate in the cinema

-Chocolate and Gender

-Chocolate in your local area 

Contact Info: 

Dr. Kazım Tolga Gürel

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaz%C4%B1m-tolga-g%C3%BCrel-874ba2253/

Contact Email:kazimtolgagurel78@gmail.com

URL:https://www.paradigmaakademiyayinlari.com/