2008 Association for Cultural Studies
Crossroad
Second Call (Papers)

2008 Association for Cultural Studies
Crossroads in Cultural Studies Conference
University of the West Indies 
Jamaica

Date: July 3-7, 2008

CALL FOR PAPERS
Proposals are invited for PAPERS (and a limited number of SESSIONS) at the 7th International Crossroads in Cultural Studies Conference, scheduled for July 3 to 7, 2008 in the Caribbean.

The Caribbean could well be regarded as one of the first crossroads of the modern era, where Africa and Asia met Europe on Amerindian soil. The conditions were a forced and bitter crucible. The results of that encounter contributed not only to the making of the modern western world but also to the dynamism that is central to all the cultures of the Western Hemisphere.

Of Sacred Crossroads
Being a site of conquest, dislocation, crossings, enslavement and rebellion, but also of memory and survival, hope of return, culture-building, in-between-ness, and immense creativity and heritage, the Caribbean is a relevant site for hosting the 7th International Crossroads in Cultural Studies Conference, under the theme Of Sacred Crossroads.

Contemporary emphasis on materialism and consumerism as measures of our humanity, arising from the unbridled excesses to which science and technology have been sometimes put, is of growing concern, putting under duress the intangibles embodied in the values by which we live as human beings. Out of these concerns has sprung deepening dialogue at the interface between science and spirituality. UNESCO’s celebration of the intangible heritage of humankind is a timely reminder that civilizations rise not only on great edifices, monuments and artefacts that defy time, but also on those moments of ‘livity’, or human relationships, that last only as long as they are lived, without which human life would have little meaning.

Of Sacred Crossroads captures many of these concerns in a manner that allows for the broadest of interpretation and accommodation across disciplines and forms—religion, art, dance, song, orature, healing, re-creation, performance, ritual, belief systems, ethics, globalization, communication, among others. 

Key themes for the Conference include: Rituals of arrival and contact; Crossings—the art of the crossroads; Spirituality and identity; Language rituals; Globalization and the spirit; Indigenous spiritualities; Rituals of conflict - rites of rebellion; Virtual realities; virtual spiritualities; (Spiritual) Tourism; Rituals, substances and sacred geographies; The spirit of music; Cultures of reconciliation; Storytelling; Crossroad deities and divination; Geographies of the body and spirit.

General areas of interest include:
Body,
Identity and difference
Media
Gender and sexuality
Popular culture
Cultural industries
Performance and gender
Youth culture
Religion and culture
Nation states
Power and knowledge
New information technology
Globalization and diaspora
Nationalism and locality
Consumerism and fetishism
Culture and economy
Fundamentalisms
Cultural Studies pedagogy
Policing the crisis
Culture and ethics
Critical methodologies
Politics of opposition
Cultures of everyday life
Social and cultural theory
The city
Cultural policy
Centre and periphery
Space and culture
Imagined communities

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF PAPERS
Proposals on any key, general or related theme will be considered. Please submit abstracts of no more than 150 words in length via the website. All abstracts are being accepted via the website at www.crossroads2008.org . The absolute deadline for submission of abstracts for consideration by the programme committee is Friday, November 30, 2007. 

Please note that accepted SESSION proposals can be viewed on the website. Potential participants are invited to view the list of accepted sessions and send abstracts to the Organizers of open panels if there is a fit with your paper. Additional sessions will be created based on the papers proposed. 

Be sure to include the following information on the website where indicated: author(s), affiliation, email address, title of abstract, and body of abstract. We will acknowledge receipt of all paper proposals submitted. 


If your paper proposal is accepted you will receive notification no later than February 1, 2007. Papers for presentation should be no more than 8 or 9 pages long and ready for a 20 minute (maximum) presentation during the conference.


THE VENUE
The 7th Crossroads Conference will be held at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus in Kingston, Jamaica, the largest of the three UWI campuses. The Campus is situated in a suburb of the city of Kingston, itself a cultural magnet, with excellent communications and telecommunications systems, accessibility through two international airports, and a highly developed road network. 
                           
The campus, with a student population of over 15,000, has a rich tradition in hosting international conferences. Nestled in the Hope Valley under the Blue Mountains, the campus is itself culturally diverse, drawing on regional as well as international students and boasting its own choir, steel band, dance group and rich nightlife. There is accommodation in student Halls of Residence as well as the Mona Visitor’s Lodge, and interconnectivity including an extensive wireless network is a feature. 

Given Jamaica’s appeal as a tourist destination we encourage international participants to plan a vacation which can include excursions to famous beaches in Negril, Ocho Rios, Montego Bay or Portland. Various cultural and natural sites of interest include, in Kingston, the Bob Marley Museum and the National Gallery of Art, and elsewhere in the island the spectacular Dunn’s River Falls, the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park, Seville Heritage Park, and Treasure Beach, among many others.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION
For registration information see www.crossroads2008.com 
Note: To avoid no-shows and guarantee the quality of all sessions, all paper presenters will be asked to register before April 30, 2008.


For further details on the Conference
or on the Cultural Studies Initiative and Programme 
at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus,
please email: [log in to unmask]


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