Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Call for Papers on Literature and the Mystical Foundations of Authority-UGC-SAP-DSA-I sponsored National Young Researchers’ Conference 2017 22-23 February 2018; JNU, New Delhi.
‘No, you don’t understand,’ the Knight said, looking a little vexed. ‘That’s what the name is called. The name really is “The Aged Aged Man.”’
‘Then I ought to have said “That’s what the song is called”?’ Alice corrected herself.
‘No, you oughtn’t: that’s quite another thing! The song is called “Ways and Means”: but that’s only what it’s called, you know!’
—Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
Concept Note:
The White Knight’s formula, which is characterized by Giorgio Agamben as ‘the name of the name is not the name’ sums up the problem of the mystical and ineffable in language. Is it possible in language to express the very fact of the existence of language? The ineffability that all mystical literature essentially discloses is the unnameable opening that must precede language. Walter Benjamin, in a letter to Martin Buber, admits that he ‘can understand writing as such as poetic, prophetic, objective in terms of its effect, but in any case only as magical, that is as un-mediated’. Poetry and prophecy alone are capable of the ‘purest disclosure of language’s dignity and nature’. If literature as such has a relation to the mystical, not through its transmitted content but as pure disclosure, the study of its effectiveness must be channelled through certain critical considerations which this conference will try to outline.
Contemporary religious discourse in the Indian subcontinent assumes a monopoly over the mystical but in most cases only to legitimize power. The discourse of godmen and saints is almost always willingly co-opted by the state. Literature, on the other hand, now more than ever, is under attack and censorship, usually in the name of ‘hurting religious sentiments’. In a world where censorship has become commonplace, both by state and religious authorities, it is crucial to ask what exactly is the nature of the threat art poses to power? How are we to understand the contemporary prevalence of censorship as rooted in a conflict over the provenance of the mystical?
Stephen Mallarme once wrote that ‘nothing takes place but the place’. Only the work of poets, writers and mystics, is able to bring about the manifestation of language as the space on which the political can be founded. Can the existence of state power and control over literature thought to be premised on a complicated relationship of jealousy, rivalry, dominance, and subservience? In Indian history we have stories of Sufi saints like Baba Shah Palangposh in the seventeenth century whose miraculous powers and knowledge of the ghaib or the unseen was used to prop up the military campaigns of various sultans and satraps in the Deccan. As Azfar Moin has pointed out in his book The Millennial Sovereign, the Mughal Emperors relied on Sufi saints of various orders, like the Nakshbandis and the Chishtis, to legitimize their rule. Even today, godmen and saints play a vital role in propping up political parties and solidifying vote banks. How does their mystical and spiritual appeal translate itself into the political? Can the ever-expanding corpus of what Srinivas Aravamudan called ‘Guru English’ be considered as a form of the literary utilized by such godmen to propagate their creeds and sell their products?
The triumphant return of the mystical can be seen in popular culture’s fascination with the elaborate mythologies of cinematic franchises like The Avengers among others. Can the popularity of such a hyper-technologized cinema be reconciled with its various mystical elements? The relation of the mystical to violence, law, and even technology is also what we wish to consider in this conference. What needs to be proposed are concepts of art and literature which do not merely subvert an existent authority. Rather, literature has to be thought as the provenance of the mystical and thus authority’s inaccessible ground. Can a critique of power be developed which proceeds from this perspective? This conference thus invites papers that engage with the mystical disclosure of literature and art from India and the rest of the world. Our aim is to open up, in a critical and rigorous way, the questions of ineffability, violence, law, language, and sovereignty. We invite papers on mystical texts, esoteric and religious works, popular religious literature, and any other texts which engage with the problems we have outlined above.
Papers can include but not be restricted to the following themes:
• Modern interpretations, adaptations or translations of Sufi and Bhakti texts
• Popular religious literature
• Problems of censorship and laws protecting religious sentiments
• Questions of sovereignty and political repression of literary texts
• Mystical elements in literary texts
• Scientism and pseudo-scientism in religious discourses
• Esoteric and occult practices or texts
• Discourses surrounding madness and insanity
• ‘Guru English’
• Messianic and pseudo-messianic discourses
• The space of literature and the role of the university
• Secularism and its discontents
• Subaltern mystical and occult practices
• Superstition and the magical
• Cinema and the technological mystical
Abstracts: of not more than 300 words, along with a brief bio (100 words) of the presenter, must be emailed to the conference coordinators at ces.sap.ugc@gmail.com. Please write ‘NYRC 2018 Abstract’ in the subject heading of the e-mail while sending the abstract.
Important Dates:
Last date of submission of abstract: 5 January 2018
Notification of acceptance of abstract: 10 January 2018
Last date of submission of full paper: 5 February 2018
Note:
• Participants must be registered MPhil/PhD candidates at a recognized university, postdoctoral fellows, young career academics, or independent researchers. Unfortunately, BA/MA students cannot present papers in this conference.
• Accommodation for outstation candidates (on a twin-sharing basis) will be arranged and paid for by the organizers from 21–24 February 2018.
• Outstation participants will be provided a travel allowance based on return railway Sleeper Class fare between their point of origin and New Delhi, or actual fare incurred, whichever is less, irrespective of whether the participant has travelled by air, or by a higher class in rail. Please note that, if the travel has been conducted by rail, for reimbursement the tickets must have been booked directly from the IRCTC website or the railway counter, and no rail tickets booked from an intermediate site or through a travel agency will be reimbursed. The participants must provide copies of their tickets (and boarding passes, if the journey is conducted by air) for reimbursement.
• Queries can be addressed to the Conference coordinators at ces.sap.ugc@gmail.com
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
The Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies April 6-8, 2018 Green State University Bowling , Ohio
Concept Note:
Borders are meant to separate. They delineate one from another. Issues of power arise when that delineation creates or exploits a marginalized “other.” Recent debates across the US and the world illustrate the importance of borders to establish and protect concepts of nationalism and safety; the plan for a “transparent” wall on the southern border of the United States, the refugee crisis which led to the limit of free movement in Europe, and the ethnic cleansing in Myanmar are all examples of the rise of xenophobia and global humanitarian crises.
These debates have shed light on the porous nature of geographical borders, forcing citizens to decide who gets to come in and who gets forced out. Because the world is full of such borders, it is also full of borderlands, geographical and cultural areas occupying multiple physical spaces at once. Gloria Anzaldúa uses the term borderlands to refer to the geographical area that is most susceptible to “la mezcla” [hybridity], neither fully of Mexico nor fully of the United States. Those who occupy borderlands frequently occupy multiple geographical and cultural spaces.
Anzaldúa also expands the concept of border, defining it as, “a dividing line, a narrow strip along a steep edge. A borderland can be a vague and undetermined place created by the emotional residue of an unnatural boundary. It is in a constant state of transition. The prohibited and forbidden are its inhabitants.”1 In this sense, “border” and “borderland” accommodate people who do not identify with and within established borders, who instead occupy both worlds simultaneously and are expected to abide by compound cultural expectations. Many people occupy multiple cultural landscapes, identifying with all and none. This liminality between nation, bodies, flesh and machine, living and dead, and the fluid spectrum stretching between binaries can be political, geographic, imposed, claimed, and used for pride or marginalization (or both). These liminalities are sites of critical exploration that illuminate what it means to occupy cultural, personal, and spiritual borderlands. There are countless voices that do not bear one identity, but multiple, and those identities are often shifting from moment to moment. Bringing these voices and stories forward is crucial to understanding the relationship between borders and borderlands.
Through examination of cultural representations, treatments, and uses of borders in the arts and social justice movements, we can understand ourselves, our futures, and our relation to one another and to ourselves. The tasks of defining and dismantling concepts of borders have never been more important. Through multiple theoretical lenses and the exploration of popular culture, we can take a critical look at how and why borders, borderlands, and their usefulness as a means of engaging with intersectional identities are emerging as vital areas of study.
We welcome papers, panels, art presentations/installations, and other creative work, including but not limited to the following subject areas:
- Global Borderlands
- Cross-Disciplinary Discourses
- Liminal Identities
- Refugee Crises
- Media (film, television, video games, music and music videos, news, comic books, literature, social media, fan fiction, humor)
- Imagination and Representation
- Alternative Time (dystopian futures, alternative presents, apocalypse narratives, time travel narratives)
- Science Fiction (technology, humanity, the Uncanny Valley, cyborg liminality, artificial intelligence)
- Material and Visual Culture; and Fashion (trends, vintage, historical styles)
- Politics (rhetoric, ideology, policy)
- Popular Culture (representations of borderlands in film, television, and popular fiction)
- Gender and Sexual Identity (binary and non-binary conceptions of gender and sexuality)
- Race and Ethnicity (multi-ethnic identities, immigration)
- Disability Studies (neurological spectrums and other binary and non-binary borders)
- Digital Humanities
- Spirituality and Religious Studies
Abstracts should be up to 250 words and should be submitted no later than December 22, 2017. Questions may be directed to raybrowneconf@bgsu.edu.
To submit your abstract, use the BGSU ScholarWorks page for this event at the link below.
http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/rbc/2018conference/
CONTACT
Dr. Susana Peña, Director
School of Cultural and Critical Studies
228 Shatzel Hall
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH 4340
419-372-2796
susanap@bgsu.edu
Website:https://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/cultural-and-critical-studies/news-events/ray-browne-conference.html
Research Travel Grants 2018-19: -Rubenstein Library, Duke University
Call For Applications:
The David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library is now accepting applications for our 2018-2019 research travel grants:
The Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture, the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture, the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History, the History of Medicine Collections, and the Human Rights Archive will each award up to $1,500 per recipient to fund travel and other expenses related to visiting the Rubenstein Library. The Rubenstein also offers the Eleanore and Harold Jantz Fellowship, a $1,500 award for researchers whose work would benefit from use of the Jantz Collections. Please review the guidelines for each Center regarding which collections and what topics are eligible.
Anyone who wishes to use materials from the designated collections for historical research is eligible to apply, regardless of academic status. Writers, creative and performing artists, film makers and journalists are welcome to apply for the research travel grants. Research Travel Grants support projects that present creative approaches, including historical research and documentation projects resulting in dissertations, publications, exhibitions, educational initiatives, documentary films, or other multimedia products and artistic works. All applicants must reside beyond a 100-mile radius of Durham, N.C., and may not currently be a student or employee of Duke University.
Grant money may be used for: transportation expenses (including air, train or bus ticket charges; car rental; mileage using a personal vehicle; parking fees); accommodations; and meals. Expenses will be reimbursed once the grant recipient has completed his or her research visit(s) and has submitted original receipts.
The deadline for application is January 31, 2018 by 5:00 PM EST. Recipients will be announced in March 2018. Grants must be used between April 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019.
Contact Info:
Kelly Wooten
Research Services and Collection Development Librarian
Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture
David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library
Duke University, Durham, NC
Contact Email:kelly.wooten@duke.edu
Sunday, December 10, 2017
Global Conference: Music &....Nationalism. 29- 30 June 2018 Palermo, Italy
Concept Note:
The spectre of national anthems being sung at mass events, political rallies and the use of pop music and established musicians providing endorsements at political rallies suggest that the relationship between music and the spirit nationalism is as strong as it has been since its emergence as a feature of 19th century romantic music. This conference aims to bring together interdisciplinary research perspectives on the relationship between music and nationalism.
Current political change and visions of the reconfiguration of political landscapes at the local and global scale provide the opportunity for a new critical reassessment of the relationship between music and nationalism. Has music become such a transnational force that the effect of music as tool to engender nationalism in the public psyche no longer has any efficacy? What are the current trends in the relationship between music and political movements? Is the role of sentimentalism as a counter to intellectualism still the same in nationalistic music as it was in the romantic period? Is the relationship between the use and abuse of music and nationalism still fraught with the dangers common to the political propaganda of the 19th and 20th centuries in the glorification of the nation state? Does music have a role to play at all in contemporary politics? It is the aim of this conference to explore these and related questions and issues.
Part of the Progressive Connexions series Music &…., we invite submissions that may deal with but are not limited to:
- ~ National anthems
- ~ Nationalism, music and identity formation
- ~ Music and the building of the nation state
- ~ Specific political ideologies and music (e.g.Fascism, communism, anarchism)
- ~ Composers
- ~ Nationalism and the choral tradition
- ~ Historical perspectives
- ~ Music and political propaganda
- ~ Sentimentalism, emotionalism and anti-intellectualism
- ~ Transnational music
- ~ Mythologies
- ~ Opera and nationalism
- ~ Music as a tool for assimilation
- ~ Music, nationalism and ethics
- ~ Aesthetics
- ~ Protest music, activist anthems, musics of resistance
- ~ Folk music traditions, folk idioms and heritage
- ~ Nationalism and popular music cultures (e.g. Brit pop, J-pop, punk music, heavy metal etc.)
- ~ Nationalism, music and mass events
- ~ Nationalism, music and sport
- ~ Musicology and nationalism
- ~ Media representations of music and nationalism
- ~ Lyrics and meaning
- ~ Warfare and conflict
- ~ Memory, remembrance, emotion
- ~ Music, nationalism and film
Our main goal is to facilitate dialogue and spark innovative collaborations and discussions at an international level, in a dynamic and interactive setting. Thus, we welcome participants from all relevant disciplines, professions and vocations (NGO personnel, aid workers, researchers, mental and physical health professionals, educators, human rights activists, counsellors, social workers, policy makers, journalists, lawyers, politicians, business owners, military personnel, composers, customs workers and members of the border patrol, labour specialists, historians, sociologists, psychologists, economists, anthropologists, ethnographers social media experts, artists and many more)
What to Send
The aim of this interdisciplinary conference and collaborative networking event is to bring people together in the context of a variety of formats: papers, seminars, workshops, panels, q&a’s, performances etc.
300 word abstracts, proposals, presentations, scores, compositions, mp3’s/flacs and other forms of contribution and participation should be submitted by Friday 19th January 2018.
Whilst we welcome proposals for live performances, our options are unfortunately limited by the facilities available at the venue as well as any cost considerations relating to staging the performance. If you are interested in staging a live performance, please contact us and let us know what you have in mind.
All submissions will be minimally double reviewed, under anonymous (blind) conditions, by a global panel drawn from members of the Project Team and the Advisory Board. In practice our procedures usually entail that by the time a proposal is accepted, it will have been triple and quadruple reviewed.
You will be notified of the panel’s decision by Friday 2nd Feburary 2018.
If your submission is accepted for the conference, a full draft of your contribution should be submitted by Friday 11th May 2018.
Abstracts and proposals may be in Word, PDF, RTF or Notepad formats with the following information and in this order:
a) author(s), b) affiliation as you would like it to appear in the programme, c) email address, d) title of proposal, e) body of proposal, f) up to 10 keywords.
E-mails should be entitled: Music and Nationalism Submission
Where to Send
Abstracts should be submitted simultaneously to the Organising Chair and the Project Administrator:
Dr Niall Scott: NWRScott@uclan.ac.uk
Project Administrator: palermomusic@progressiveconnexions.net
Please note: Progressive Connexions is a not-for-profit network and we are not in a position to be able to assist with conference travel or subsistence, nor can we offer discounts off published rates and fees.
Enquiries: palermomusic@progressiveconnexions.net
Sponsored by: Progressive Connexions
Contact Info:
Dr Robert Fisher
Progressive Connexions
Contact Email:
Thursday, December 7, 2017
International Conference on Translation: An Art of Examining Cultural Proximity and Political Transmission across Boundaries-22nd & 23rd February 2018, SRNM College, Tamilnadu
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
in collaboration with
Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi
Concept Note
The main objective of this conference is to explore the major concepts and themes of Translation studies. Boundaries/Shadow lines of the nations have disappeared due to globalisation and translation. Classics of the country become a part of the world classics through translation. It is an art which opens up a new world for readers to enjoy novels, short stories, fiction, non-fiction, poems, prose and other literary and non-literary works by the global writers. Music, literature, films and other various art forms transcend global boundaries because of the way; they are effectively translated to reflect the local sentiments, language, culture and politics. Without translation, people are deprived of other cultures accumulated with them and ancient knowledge. A writer of the country receives universal attention due to the translation of his works into many other languages. Rabindranath Tagore, a localised poet became a well recognized globalized bard due to the translation of his immortal work Gitanjali which fetched him the Nobel Prize for literature. It is through the translated works, readers get an idea of literatures and cultures across the world. Translation is not just the activity of translating word by word from the source language to another language. In fact, there are differences between the meanings built-in and the meanings that must be captured and expressed. In spite of difficulties, issues and challenges, translation is an art which gives an international identity to a text or a write-up by making accessible to all. This Two-Day International Conference will enable the scholars, teachers and students meet in a common platform and exchange their ideas on “Translation: An Art of Examining Cultural Proximity and Political Transmission across Boundaries”.
Topics to be covered in the Conference:
- Linguistic and psycholinguistic problems of translation
- Ethical and cultural problems of translation
- Translation techniques
- Semiotics and translation
- Value education, culture and translation
- Postmodern Translation
- Prerequisites of a Proper Translation
- Meaning, Truth and Morality in Translation
- Reception and translation of Indian literature
- Cultural impact of the process of translation
- Impact of Indian culture on world literature
- Translation in the age of Postmodern Production
- Innovative translation for cultural understanding
- Translating Cultural Identities
- Translation: A Culture-specific Experience
- Theatre and Translation
- Film Adaptation
- Radio Adaptation
- Television Adaptation
- Visual Culture and Translation
- Deconstruction and Translation
- Postcolonial Theory and Translation
(Other related themes of the concept)
Guidelines for Submission of Abstract and Paper
The abstract and paper should be typed in MS word with Times New Roman – 12 font size and 1.5 spacing. The abstract should be limited to 300 words. The abstract must have title, author(s) – underline the name of the presenting author, affiliation, e-mail address(es) and phone number(s) and keywords (upto five). Abstract should be submitted as soft copy through e-mail to transinternationalconf2018@gmail.com on or before 5th February 2018.
The typescript of the paper in MS word with Times New Roman – 12 font size and 1.5 line spacing. The length of the paper should not exceed 5 pages of A4 size including references. The paper should be submitted as soft copy through e-mail to transinternationalconf2018@gmail.com on or before 14th February 2018. Papers in absentia will also be accepted.
Registration Fee
Delegates can send the duly filled registration form, along with the registration fee in Cash/DD drawn in favour of ‘The Principal, Sri SRNM College, Sattur’ payable at Sattur or credit to Account No: 35718735409, IFS Code: SBIN0000961. Regulation fee for co-authored papers should be paid individually. Outstation participants can avail of accommodation at reasonable rates after making a request for the same on or before 5th February 2018.
For Faculty and Research Scholars Rs. 1000/-
For Students Rs. 600/-
For Participants Rs. 500/-
Key Dates
Last Date for submission of abstracts 5th February 2018
Last Date for submission of papers 14th February 2018
Dates of Conference February 22-23, 2018
Note:
Only those abstracts sent on or before 5th February 2018 will be compiled and published, though on the spot submission of abstract with full paper is also accepted. The papers will be peer reviewed and selected papers shall be published with ISBN/ISSN number. Publication fee will have to be paid separately on intimation.
For Further Details,
Mrs. B. Ajantha, Organising Secretary,
Mobile No: 9566716554/8838943927.
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
CIIL Funded 5 day Workshop-cum-Training Programme on Testing & Evaluation and Question Item Writing in Hindi/India -26-30 Dec-2017.
Call For Applications:
A five-day Training cum Workshop on Testing and Evaluation for Assistant Professors / Lecturers / Teachers / Research Scholars, etc. in Hindi Language & Literature, working in School / Colleges / Universities in Lucknow, Kanpur and Barabanki regions.
When: 26 Dec 2017 to 30 Dec 2017
Where (Venue):
Urdu Teaching and Research Centre, (UTRC), TC / 42 - V, Vibhuti Khand, Near Indian Oil Bhavan, UPSO, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow-226 010
Who can participate?
Minimum Education Level: MA
Assistant Professors/Lecturers/Teachers/ who are engaged in teaching of Hindi (Language & Literature) in recognized schools /colleges (Preferably Government or Government Aided Institutions) and at University level.
or:
Post doctoral / doctoral research scholars pursuing research in Hindi (Language & Literature) at Institutions / Universities are eligible to participate in this training programme.
Note : Those who are willing to attend the training cum workshop should get official deputation from their College / department for the period of training programme at UTRC, Lucknow (5 days).
Purpose:
The purpose of the programme is to provide the teachers with the training in the area of testing and evaluation so that teachers themselves can identify the defects in the syllabus, textbooks, methods of teaching, etc., and can make appropriate modifications/changes and thereby making the teaching learning process more effective.
Compensation:
The participants will be paid nominal TA / DA / Honorarium as per the institute rules (vegetarian working lunch will be provided). Full attendance and active participation in the programme is essential to become eligible for compensation of any kind (i.e., TA / DA / Honorarium).
Accommodation:
Accommodation will be provided for outstation participants at concessional rates, given availabillity.
How to apply:
Those who are willing to attend the Training cum Workshop can download the prescribed registration format (Annexure I) by clicking the link " Annexure I (Registration Form)" given on the website. Take a printout, fill the form and send the scanned copy of the form (with the signature of the Head of the Department /Institution.) to the headnts
gmail.com on or before 20.12.2017.
gmail.com on or before 20.12.2017.
Registration: 24-Nov-2017 to 24-Dec-2017
Contact Person: Pankaj Dwivedi
Email: conf.ws.nts@gmail.com
Apply by Email: conf.ws.nts@gmail.com
Registration Instructions: See Below Website
Coordinating Institution: Central Institute of Indian Languages
Website: http://www.ciil-ntsindia.net/A-5-day-Trainning-Hindi-26-12-2017.aspx
Monday, December 4, 2017
International Conference on Northeast India and Southeast Asia: Exploring Continuities- 25-26 October 2018, Ambedkar University Delhi, New Delhi, India
Synopsis
Northeast India, located on India's periphery, is a region whose socio-cultural world exhibits more similarities with Southeast Asia region than with that of South Asia. Such perceptive characterisation of the Northeast region, however, has had been scuttled by the constricted imagination induced by the nation-state paradigm and related ways of writing history. The uncritical reliance on colonial discourse to understand the region reinforces the colonial conceptions while simultaneously marginalising the cultural-historical legacy of resident communities. This has led to the creation of an idea of an insular (Northeast) region on the one hand while reinforcing the image of India as the mainland constitutive of a larger Indic/ South Asian culture on the other.
The proposed conference seeks to question this entrenched way of understanding Northeast India by way of situating it contiguously with Southeast and East Asia. In doing so, it will take a multi disciplinary look at lived reality, insider perspectives and experiences of transformation to identify the threads of interconnectedness between these regions. The conference will thus highlight the inter-regionality of Northeast India while culturally positioning it in a larger Southeast/East Asian tradition.
Concept Note
Human societies share common traits, including myths and values, materials and traditions, language and practices. The uniqueness of each arises partly from the way dynamics of power operate in the geographical spaces they occupy, and how societies negotiate, manipulate and control the direction of their development. The highlands of Northeast India, Yunnan and Southeast Asia offers a vantage point to look at this from the viewpoint of societies that till the 20th century stayed away from the statist political systems of a dominant mainland polity.
Referred to as ‘people without history’ due to the lack of written language, communities in these regions use orality as a conscious societal choice to transmit shared memories of an ancient past as well as the insights from the present. In a similar way, shaping the land through the widespread use of the jhum or swidden agriculture is a societal response for mobility and autonomy while maintaining food security. In the cultural sphere for example, many scholars of Northeast India suggest that the customs and traditions of many communities in the region in many aspects resembles those of tribal communities in Southeast Asia, from Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Taiwan. Similarly, the Tai-Ahom of the Brahmaputra valley in Assam finds many similarities with communities from Thailand. The shared palette of colours, patterns and motifs in textiles tells us how the rich cultural traditions of the peoples across the larger region have been intricately linked to the political economy at different points in time.
The study of cultures is today an interdisciplinary field incorporating a wide range of participants, approaches, and topics. The contextual study of structures, monuments, artifacts and oral literatures provides a methodology to understand the beliefs and attitudes of societies other than our own, and opens up possibilities for comparative investigation along the ‘Asian axis’.
These and other connections between the main aspects of life in the Northeastern Region of India, and the larger Asian cultural landscape can be substantiated from a transnational perspective. Conventional representations of Northeast India glosses over this history of cultural continuity and its connections, that has remained partly because of being in a marginal borderland over time. Highlighting the cultural continuities in the larger region, it is important to look beyond political boundaries, and reconsider the manifestations of identities in terms of geographical continuities and cultural dynamics.
At a time when the study of multidimensional cultural aspects has been attracting scholars and policy makers across the world, an engagement with the cultural axis between Northeast India and Southeast Asia becomes indispensable. In this connection, the need for a cultural mapping of the region has been suggested by various academic and professional cultural institutions. This would include establishing linkages between researchers and scholars from diverse disciplines, and promoting communication between various communities across national boundaries.
Contextualising Northeast India with the contiguous regions of Southeast Asia and Yunnan (South China), the conference aims to develop a multi disciplinary appreciation at experiences of transformation, identity (re)construction and the threads of interconnectedness between these regions. The intent is to critically engage and reflect on the larger historical trajectories that shaped societies and communities in these spaces using a comparative lens. In the process demanding multi-level engagement that questions preconceived notions around nature, culture and people in todays politically charged environment.
This conference invites scholars from diverse disciplinary backgrounds across the social sciences and humanities to share understandings of societies in the region. We invite papers embedded in empirical case studies which explore one or more of the following lines of inquiry.
- Material cultures of the past and present
- Orality, language and literature
- Performance, ritual and practice
- Trade, market and state making in the region
- Regional similarities and differences – aspects of traditional life
- Colonialism, globalisation and the process of modernity
- Identity construction and power dynamics.
- Post-colonialism and its impact on gender relations.
- Peace, conflict and governance
- Environment, society and health
- Biodiversity, conservation and society
- Culture, psyche, morality and innovation interface
Conference Registration fee: Rs. 500/- for research scholars and students
Rs. 2000/- for Faculty (National and International)
Submission Guidelines:
Abstract (in English) of 250 words along with a short bio-note of 150 words should be sent to nefaud@aud.ac.in on or before 30th January 2018. Full papers need to be submitted by 30th June 2018.
Young research scholars working in the area are specially invited to present their work. We will be organising a special sessions for their participation.
Poster presentations are also welcome. They will be displayed during the conference and time will be allotted for an interaction between the poster presenters and others participants.
Travel Support: Limited assistance for travel support is available and may be considered for research scholars, independent researcher and early career faculty. Please send your request by 30th January 2018 clearly mentioning Travel Support in the subject line, along with your name and abstract title in the body of the email.
Accommodation Assistance: Participants requiring help in finding accommodation in Delhi during the conference may write to the organiser clearly mentioning Accomodation Support in the subject line, along with your name and abstract title in the body of the email.
IMPORTANT DATES
Abstract Submission Deadline: 30th January 2018
Notification of Acceptance: 28th February 2018
Full Paper Submission: 30th June 2018
Email for Abstract Submission and other Information: nefaud@aud.ac.in
Contact Info:
Lovitoli Jimo / Surajit Sarkar
NEF / Centre for Community Knowledge
Ambedkar University Delhi,
Lothian Road, Kashmere Gate, Delhi 110006 , India
Contact email - nefaud@aud.ac.in
Contact Email: nefaud@aud.ac.in
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