Rethinking Interdisciplinarity: Bridging the Rift

Workshop on the Interface of the Sciences & the Humanities
When | 18-19 May 2016
Where | The National Institute of Technology, Silchar
With the increasing formalization of knowledge, higher education and pedagogy have inherited a separation between the study of the ‘natural worlds’ (Naturwissenchaften), which is material/biotic, and that of the ‘world of humans’ (Sozial/Geistes-wissenchaften). As a result, these two domains have developed as two insulated and divorced bodies of knowledge systems. Again, the ‘natural world’ is further separated into natural sciences and technology, while the ‘world of humans’ diverge into humanities and the social sciences. However, this natural/human science binary, and more generally speaking, the dyadic logic in the taxonomy of knowledge system are typical products of post-Enlightenment/ Rationalist Western modernity (cf. Descartes, Kant) and have no resonance whatsoever in the context of the ‘pre-modern’ non-West (say, for example, Greece, Persia, Arab, India). How we study our world is often grounded in systems of values and beliefs emergent from our dispositions. Family structure, religion, state politics, economics, social class etc. among other things shape these systems of value, the very ‘paradigms’ upon which choose our objects and frame our methods of inquiries. The point, therefore, is to re-visit and understand these separations, rather the premise upon which these separations are valued, and situate them in history and context, and in so doing, rethink how this new (interdisciplinary) understanding may contribute towards transforming how we perceive the world, not as a fractured entity but as an organic whole.


Invoking ‘modern’ Science’s reliance on non-empirical/’fictional’ stuff – think of, say, the String Theory among others – the workshop questions the fundamental value system that renders possible the divorce between the Sciences & the Humanities based on dyadic values. The fact/value, analytical/perceptive, objective/subjective, nature/culture binaries retain the disciplinary separation, although these obscure a holistic vision toward an(y) ‘object of study’. The workshop intends to probe into issues of subjectivity and social constructivism in the Sciences (cf. Poincare), and in light of the separatist worldview in the realm of pedagogy, insist on the need for a genuinely integrationist model instead.
Prof. Sasheej Hegde, University of Hyderabad and Dr. Esha Shah, ex-faculty Maastricht University, Netherlands have generously agreed to serve as resource persons for the workshop. We invite submission of abstracts, not exceeding 300 words, relevant to the theme of the workshop. The following pointers, which are by no means exhaustive, might help you frame the abstract.

• Scientific Fiction & Literary Reality (cf. Sundar Sarukkai)
• Alternative Sciences (cf. Ashis Nandy)
• Science, Technology & Augmented Reality
• Historicism in Science & Techno-determinism
• Science as Narrative
• Science, State & Ideology
• Mathematicization of Science/Technology
• Models and Reductionism
• Science/Technology & the Anthropocene

Abstracts should be sent to interdisciplinarity.nits@gmail.com by 28 March 2016 with the subject heading ‘Abstract for the Interdisciplinarity Workshop’. Authors of the selected abstracts ONLY will be notified by 5 April 2016. The venue for the workshop is NIT Silchar. The institute will not be able to offer accommodation for or travel support to the participants. However, select presenters may qualify for contributing to an edited anthology on the same theme. There is no registration fee for the workshop.
Non-presenters who want to participate/audit are very welcome and should send their expression of interest to interdisciplinarity.nits@gmail.com by 8 May 2016. Participation certificates will be issued to all participants (presenters and non-presenters alike).
Reaching NIT Silchar: NIT, Silchar, located on the Silchar-Hailakandi road, just 8 kms off the Silchar town. To reach NIT, Silchar campus, one has to first reach Silchar which has direct flight connections with Kolkata, Guwahati and Imphal; and direct train connections with Kolkata and Delhi via Guwahati. By road, Silchar is well connected with nearly all major cities in the North-east.

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Call for papers-   Bangalore University March 2016

Call for Papers:  BANGALORE UNIVERSITY

Department of Performing Arts

Bangalore 560056

in Collaboration with

Association for Theatre Research

as part of University’s

Golden JubileeYear Celebrations

is organizing a

International Conference

On

Theatre and other Performing Arts: Aesthetics, Polity, Economy, History and Space

Date: 29th to 31st March, 2016

The Department
The Department of Performing Arts was started in the year 1973. The Department is located at Sneha Bhavana, Jnanbharathi Campus, Bangalore. The Department has well equipped class rooms and labs. It also has‘theatre on wheels’, a programme that provides a platformfor students to perform plays based on contemporary issues in different parts of Karnataka. The syllabi and the performances of the Department focus on modern trends and innovations in the field of Performing Arts. Along with this, the Department also has important outreach activities like the annual National and International conference, World Theatre Day, Drama productions and presentation of Ballets and Music concerts.
Call for papers
Theatre research is and alwayshas been an interdisciplinary area of research. The present conference continuing this tradition would like to place the theatrical performances along with other performing arts such as Dance, Music (both vocal and instrumental) and its aesthetics in an interdisciplinary perspective by exploring its inter-linkages with aesthetics, polity, society and economy in terms of both chronos and topos. This dual axis of time and space would reveal the dynamics of change across culture in performing arts and its aesthetics.The conference aims to bring together scholars from both humanities and social sciences to reflect on the changing dynamics of theatre across the globe.
Like any other social/aestheticphenomenon, performing arts arealso a part and parcel of social realities.It depicts/sustains the social inequalities as well as political resistance against such inequalities. It is in this context that the performing arts come alive to people. Thus, as a creative art, performing artspush towards social change and tries to find space to reinvent the civic aptitude for a better future. Responding to the society, polity and economy around it, performing practices too have undergone a lot of changes,sometimes leaving long lasting changes, sometimes vanishing after a mere experiment. A holistic understanding of these changes/experiments is possible only bydrawing on the methodologies of other disciplines. We invite academicians/scholars from the humanities and beyond, and artists and performers working in different genres and media, to contribute to an interdisciplinary exploration of the ways in which creative production—whether scripted, improvised, devised, choreographed, or spontaneous—expands/alters the civic imagination and summonsand configures new understandings of public spaces.
The broad themes for presentations could be as follows:
o Performing Arts and Linguistic Nationalism
o Performing Arts and Nation, Caste, Gender
o Performing Arts and Sexual-minorities
o Public Spaces and Performances
o Question of Representation in/through Performing Arts
o Performing Arts and Multi-culture
o Performing Arts and Social change
o Changes in Performing Arts
o Dance and Theatre
o Music and Theatre
o Musical Play
o Dance Drama
o Fine Arts and Theatre
o Fusion of Various Arts
o History through Performing Arts
o History of Drama, Dance and Music
o Economic Aspects of Performing Arts
o Political Aspects of Performing Arts
o Issues of patronage to Performing Arts in past and present
• 20 minutes will be given for each presentation
• There would be theatre and folk performances as part of the seminar in the evenings
Last date to send abstracts: 10thMarch 2016
Last date to send full papers: 20thMarch 2016
Last date for registration: 20th March 2016
Selected papers will be published with ISBN
Registration fee
General Conference: Rs. 2500/-
Research Scholars: Rs.1000/-
Send abstracts and full papers to buconference@gmail.com
For details contact
Prof.Nagesh V Bettakote
Conference Coordinator
Department of Performing Arts, Bangalore University,
Jnanabharathi Campus, BANGALURU-560056
Phone: (O) 080-22961708/1701,
Email:drvnb1965@gmail.com

CFP -URBAN IDENTITY, SPACE STUDIES

 AND CONTEMPORARY ARTS

CONTEMPART '16 is an annual multidisciplinary conference dedicated to study new approaches in contemporary arts worldwide. In 2015, contemporary arts will be focused on the basis of urban life and identities. Individual examples and tendencies dealing with urban identities will be discussed, while the transformation of cities and urban cultures will also be mentioned in terms of their share to shape the current scene of art in different places of the world.

CONTEMPART '16 Conference opens its doors to studies on contemporary arts related to urban identities representing different identities and tendencies and, of course, on theory of art since 1960s. 

PUBLICATION
All submitted papers are subject to double blind peer review. Conference proceedings are going to be available on DVD as e-book and DAKAM's digital library with an ISBN number before the conference and will be sent to be reviewed for inclusion in the "Thomson & Reuters Web of Science's Conference Proceedings Citation Index" (CPCI) and Google Scholars.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

TBA

AGENDA
Deadline for abstract submission: February 19, 2016
Deadline for registration: April 15, 2016
Deadline for full papers submission: April 22, 2016
Please control our website to see the last updates

THEMES
TRACK 01: SPACE, URBAN IDENTITY AND CONTEMPORARY ARTS
City as a Scene
- Forms of Urban Art
- Galleries, Museums and Art Market
- Citizens as Audience
- Space and Place in Contemporary Arts
- Artists’ biographies in the City

City as an Atelier
- Artist's Atelier
- Cafe as a Meeting Point
- Politics in the city: Rebellion & Oppression
- Technology and Art
- Art in the Digital Communication Age

City as a Subject
- City as a Source of Inspiration
- City versus Nature
- Psychology of Urban Living
- Architecture and Art
- Cities in the Transformation and Urban Culture
- Cities and Art throughout History

This track is connected to the Space Studies Research Direction of DAKAM

TRACK 02: NEW APPROACHES, NEW TECHNIQUES 
New Approaches
- Art and Everyday Life
- Non-traditional Forms of Exhibition
- Environmental Art
- Public Art and City
- Curatorship, Sponsorship and Art Criticism
- Multicultural and Interdisciplinary Issues and Sociological art
- The concept of "new" in Contemporary Art
- Ideology, Resistance and Art
- Affects of Political and Social Changes

New Techniques
- New media Art
- Interactivity in Art
- Computer-generated and Cybernetic Art
- Video Games as Works of Art
- Happenings and Performance Art
- Kinetic Art
- Experiments in Art and Technology
- Collaborative Art Projects


TRACK 03: BOUNDARIES BETWEEN ART AND EVERYDAY LIFE
- Spatial Order and Art
- The Art of Possibility
- Being a Flaneur/Flaneuse
- Cultural Politics of Everyday Life
- Design and Everyday Life
- Routine Practices: Arts of Doing
- Strategies vs. Tactics
- The Procedures of Everyday Creativity 
- Aesthetics in Everyday Life

This track is connected to the Everyday Life Research Direction of DAKAM

TRACK 04: GENDER, RACE, ETHNICITY AND CONTEMPORARY ARTS
- Ethnic Identity Representation in Arts
- Gender Studies and Arts
- Gender Roles in Arts 
- Feminist Theory and Feminist Art
- Multiculturalism and Art 
- Visualizing Racism
- Colonialism and Art
- Art Against Racism 
- Ethnographic Turn in Arts
- Social Justice and Inequality
- Violance and Arts

This track is connected to the Gender & Social Equality Studies Research Direction of DAKAM
http://www.contempartconference.org/p/themes.html 

TRACK 05: MATERIALS AND MEDIUM
- Different textures, surfaces, collage elements, papier collé and photomontage
- Electronic Media
- Animation and Video Art
- Installation Art
- Mixed Media
- The Body and New Forms of Performance Art
- Found Objects
- The Impact of Culture and Geography on Artists' Material Choices 

This track is connected to the Infrastructure Studies Research Direction of DAKAM

VENUE
The conference will be held at Cezayir Meeting Halls:
http://www.cezayir-istanbul.com/en/index.php
Cezayir building was built in 1901 as a school by the Italian Workers' Society. The building, with its 2005 renovation, has been transformed into a landmark establishment serving under the Cezayir Garden, Cezayir Lounge and Cezayir Rooms brands on its three floors. Housing a restaurant, a lounge, a bar and meeting rooms as well as providing a wide range of cultural events in its halls.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
António Gorgel Pinto / University of Lisbon
Milia Lorraine Khoury / Cape Peninsula University of Technology

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION
You can submit your abstract by entering the online registration system EASYCHAIR at 
https://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=contempart16 
You will receive a reply to your proposal within three weeks following a double-blind review process.

The Asia Symposium on Culture, Policy and Education 
April 24-26, 2016 at the KKR Hiroshima

Submissions Extended to Friday, March 11, 2016

Click Here to Submit Your Proposal Today

Have a Question? secretariat(at)esdfocus.org

The 2016 Asian Symposium on Culture, Policy and Education »

In an increasingly globalized Asia, the impact of social change because of the economic, industrial and political developments among the nations that are located within it has been rapid and immense. Within a span of just over a century, Asia has been a major site of colonialism and decolonization; global warfare; political upheaval and regime change; the rise of new nations; ongoing ethnic and religious conflict; economic boom and recession; population explosion; cultural diasporas; viral epidemics; technological advancement; and severe environmental pollution and disasters.

While commentators and analysts have rightly recognized the vast changes that have shaped the Asian continent, it is also crucial to understand the continuities that are maintained even in the face of such impetus for change. Apart from change, what are the constants that are still resistant to change? In addition, what are the factors that have contributed to such ongoing resilience? Although it may be argued that the forces of globalization and development have set in motion a number of positive changes in the ways we live our lives, this has also been counterbalanced by the continuities of inequality and suffering for many others. More than often, the tide of change exists in a state of tension with the forces of continuity. Hence, in order for us to comprehend the forces of change, we must also engage the other forces that hold it back.

At the same time, attempts to mediate the tension between change and continuity have given rise to growing diversities. Driven partly by the forces of migration within a global economic order often guided by transnational markets of production or consumption, new political and social-cultural fragmentations and intersections within nation-states in Asia have emerged. In the face of such developments, the implications and challenges to efforts at sustainability are numerous. While it is increasing recognized that sustainability entails dimensions far beyond the ecological sphere, the next step is to examine and understand the impact of change and continuity and the resultant diversities that are contained within.

This inaugural 3-day symposium will provide an interdisciplinary platform for academics, researchers, policy makers, students and interested community members.  With the theme Culture, Education and Policy: Agents of Change, the symposium will be a wonderful opportunity to explore current research, trends, and insights about this phenomenon while expanding your professional networks.

We welcome submissions of 250 words in English by Friday, March 11, 2016 on these areas:

Area Studies Asian Studies Cultural Studies Cultural and Human Geography Diaspora, Migration and Identity Education Educational Measurement and Evaluation Education Technology and Globalization Energy and Environmental Policy Equity and Social Justice ESL / EFL Education Further / Higher Education Gender and Sexuality

Healthcare and Social Support Human Rights, Poverty and Hunger Linguistics, Literature and Culture New Social Movements Politics and Conflict Popular Culture Population and Aging Public Policy Sociology and Social Work Sustainable Development Teacher Education Urban Studies Other Areas (please specify)

SYGMA 2016 will be held at the KKR Hotel
Hiroshima, Japan
April 24-26, 2016

Deadline for Abstracts Extended to Friday, March 11, 2016

Click Here to Submit Your Proposal Today

Have a Question? secretariat(at)esdfocus.org

The International Symposium on Globalization and Media in Asia (SYGMA 2016)»

There is no term these days with greater salience and complexity to describe the modern world than “globalization.” Although it is most prevalent in discussions on economics, its manifestation and influence span political, social, cultural and ideological realms as well. But what does “globalization” actually mean? The sociologist Roland Robertson first defined it in 1992 as “the compression of the world and the intensification of the consciousness of the world as a whole,” clearly transforming our ideas of space through complex social relations and other processes.

Recent advances in information and communication technologies such as the digitalization of information coupled with sophisticated cable and satellite systems have helped the mass media advance the pace of globalization, shattering our notions of isolated societies by enabling unprecedented communication worldwide. This integration of societies has created an increased global interdependence or at least an interconnectedness whereby a nation’s actions have global effects, whether they are political, economical, cultural, etc. Furthermore, the mass media intensify this interconnectedness through the rapid flows and exchanges of information via radio, newspapers, television, film and the Internet, allowing media organizations to operate and distribute their products globally. In short the mass media are key agents in altering how humans think individually and collectively, transforming societies today.

Globalization and the proliferation of information and communication technologies by the mass media have brought many blessings; however, as these forces are sustained under the veil of desirable progress, inequality, conflict, poverty, and environmental/climate change, among other ill-effects, are often overshadowed and exacerbated. Moreover, the concentration of media firms in the hands of a few owners has serious consequences for the distribution of power and wealth both within and between countries.

As globalization and the role of the mass media intensify in the 21^st century, it is crucial we deepen our understanding of them by challenging our assumptions and analyzing the changing dynamics they create. This inaugural 3-day symposium will provide an interdisciplinary platform for academics, researchers, policy makers, students and interested community members.  With the theme Globalization and the Mass Media: Agents of Change, the symposium will be a wonderful opportunity to explore current research, trends, and insights about this phenomenon while expanding your professional networks.

We welcome submissions of 250 words in English by Friday, March 11, 2016 on these areas:

Advertising & Multimedia Campaigns Business Communication Communication Theory and Methodology Corporate Identity and Branding Critical and Cultural Studies of Communication Film Studies Gender and Communication Global Issues and Public Policies Globalization and Economic Policies Globalization and Health Issues Globalization and Social Issues History ICT, Telecommunications and Digital Media International and Global Communication Internet, Online News and Social Media Mass Communication, Globalization and Society

Media and Democracy Media and Sport Media Education and Research Media Ethics Media Management Media Regulation and Policy Media, Climate Change and Environmental Studies Media, Music and Entertainment Media, Religion and Culture Political Communication and Satire Print Media (Newspaper, Magazines, Advertising) Public Relations Radio-TV Journalism Scholastic Journalism Visual Communication Other Areas (please specify)

International Visual Culture and  Contemporary Photography Conference International Visual Culture and Contemporary Photography Conference is a interdisciplinary event dedicated to study the visual culture, visual communication, documentation of the urban environment and photographic arts. The conference will be held in Istanbul on April 1-2, 2016, coordinated by DAKAM (Eastern Mediterranean Academic Research Center), organized by B?LSAS (Science, Art, Sport Productions) and hosted by Cezayir Conference Halls. 3rd International Visual Culture and Contemporary Photography Conference CONTEMPHOTO ’16 Conference aims at achieving a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective on identity in the form images with special focus on gender issues, immigration, urban issues and memory. Multiple roles of visual culture are going to be explored in relation to urban psychology, daily life, the self and expression of the identities in urban landscapes as a document, art, advertisement or hobby. PUBLICATION All submitted papers are subject to double blind peer review. Conference proceedings are going to be available on DVD as e-book and DAKAM's digital library with an ISBN number before the conference and will be sent to be reviewed for inclusion in the "Thomson & Reuters Web of Science's Conference Proceedings Citation Index" (CPCI) and Google Scholars. THEMES 01. VISUAL CULTURE, PHOTOGRAPHY AND IDENTITY 01.1. Photography as an art and Identity 01.2. Identity and Visual Culture 01.3. Social Stratifications and Image 02. SPACE, URBAN ISSUES AND PHOTOGRAPHY 02.1. City as a Scene 02.2. City as an Atelier 02.2. City as a Subject 03. DOCUMENTATION & MEMORY 03.1.Documenting the Memory 03.2.Documenting the Present 03.3. Documenting the History of Visual Culture 04. VISUAL CULTURE, COMMUNICATION AND POLITICS 04.1. Media and Visual Culture 04.2 Politics and Image 04.3 Visual Communication VENUE The conference will be held at Cezayir Meeting Halls (Hayriye Caddesi 12, Galatasaray, Beyoglu) http://www.cezayir-istanbul.com/en/index.php Cezayir building was built in 1901 as a school by the Italian Workers' Society. The building, with its 2005 renovation, has been transformed into a landmark establishment serving under the Cezayir Garden, Cezayir Lounge and Cezayir Rooms brands on its three floors. Housing a restaurant, a lounge, a bar and meeting rooms as well as providing a wide range of cultural events in its halls. SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE The scientific committee consists of significant scholars, Orhan Cem CETIN- Bahçe?ehir University Murat GERMEN- Sabanc? University Is?k SEZER- Izmir Dokuz Eylul University Beyhan OZDEMIR- Izmir Dokuz Eylul University Fulya Ertem BASKAYA - Izmir University of Economics F?rat ARAPOGLU- Kemerburgaz University Gary Roderick McLEOD- Izmir University of Economics http://www.contemphotoconference.org/p/committees.html ABSTRACT SUBMISSION You can submit your abstract by entering the online registration system EASYCHAIR at https://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=contemphoto16 You will receive a reply to your proposal within three weeks following a double-blind review process.