FYI...

>>>>        ANNOUNCEMENT
>>>>
>>>>        Problematising "Asia":
>>>>        The First Inter-Asia Cultural Studies Conference
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Date and Place: July 13-6, 1998, Yue-han Hall, National Tsing Hua
>>>>                University, 110 Jing-hua St., Taipei
>>>>
>>>>Purpose: 1) How, we as critical intellectuals living in, or
>>>>concerned with, "Asia" respond to the "rise of Asia" problematic?
>>>>2) The conference attempts to gradually construct a "critical
>>>>inter-asia subjectivity", that is, to insert long over due voices
>>>>into global intellectual communities.  3) The project self-
>>>>consciously makes global links with cultural studies leadership
>>>>so as to enhance the communication and exchange between inter-
>>>>asia and other regions of the cultural studies world.
>>>>
>>>>Conference Statement:
>>>>
>>>>        The "Problematizing `Asia"' conference is intended as a
>>>>critical response to "the rise of Asia" problematic.  Since the
>>>>mid 1980's, this rhetoric has surfaced and resurfaced again and
>>>>again in the mainstream scholarship almost in every front.  But
>>>>for years, there is virtually no critical scholarship effectively
>>>>set in response to the situation.  As a whole, we aim to
>>>>intervene in the debate and fill in the gap in the critical
>>>>scholarship.
>>>>        The current project of the conference, of course, comes out
>>>>of the local geographical space of Taiwan.  The great local
>>>>transformation since the lifting of martial law in 1987 has come
>>>>to an end; a new nation-building and state-making project is
>>>>being pursued by the authorities.  This change coincides with the
>>>>great transformation of Asia, the Third World and global
>>>>capitalism in the so-called post-war era.  In this conjuncture,
>>>>we as a group of intellectuals feel the urgent need to reexamine
>>>>local and global situations. What do these transformations at
>>>>various local, national, regional, international, and global
>>>>levels mean?  How do we place "Taiwan" in these contexts?  Does
>>>>the contemporary rise of nationalism?  What are the mechanisms of
>>>>nationalist discourse operating within each specific context of
>>>>the nation-state?  What are the changing hierarchical structures
>>>>of neo-colonial capitalist formation?  Are we coming to a
>>>>ruptural, new era of capitalist formation?  Or, is this a
>>>>deepening of the long term historical configuration?  Can we, by
>>>>working collectively, map out a fluid map of the new world?  Can
>>>>we begin to think and propose new strategies moving beyond the
>>>>boundaries of the nation-states?  What are the future
>>>>possibilities for popular democratic culture throughout the world?
>>>>Of course, this is not an either/or problematic.  For better or
>>>>worse one thing sure: we are facing a new reality and new world;
>>>>and there is urgent necessity to understand the world at least in
>>>>structural terms, to begin with.
>>>>        Through this conference we hope that we can begin to answer
>>>>these questions under the rubric of "problematising Asia".
>>>>
>>>>Suggested Themes
>>>>
>>>>        To make the complexities involved in the problematic
>>>>manageable, we propose the following "themes" as focus for
>>>>interrogations:
>>>>
>>>>1. Historical-Discursive Formation of the Imaginary "Asia"
>>>>
>>>>        We understand "Asia" not simply as a geographical term but
>>>>also as a historically constructed category; and in the present
>>>>context, "the rise of Asia" has largely been referred to East and
>>>>Southeast Asia regions.  How was "Asia" first imaged in colonial
>>>>geography and then in the history of imperialist expansionism?
>>>>How has this constructed figure defined identities inside and
>>>>outside "Asia" and has then been articulated to political
>>>>projects with cultural consequences?  How is this wave of
>>>>discourse on Asia different from the earlier "East Asia Co-
>>>>Prosperity Sphere" project, for instance?
>>>>
>>>>2. Capital Flow and Labor Migration
>>>>
>>>>         From the first instance, "the rise of Asia" is essentially
>>>>capital driven.  We would like to identify the flow of capital
>>>>historically and geographically.  How is the inter and intra-
>>>>regional capital flow affecting local and national economy?  With
>>>>the flow of capital, we have also seen the unprecedented labor
>>>>migration within the continent, from the South to the North, from
>>>>rural areas to the urban centers, from economically disadvantaged
>>>>countries to the rising economic zones.  How are the conditions
>>>>of migrant labor?  What are the political and cultural effects on
>>>>national and international politics?  Are there possibilities of
>>>>labor union alliance across regions?
>>>>
>>>>3. Local Responses to the "rise of Asia" question
>>>>
>>>>        In different places, within and outside "Asia", various forms
>>>>of responses to the "rise of Asia" have emerged.  In certain
>>>>instances, the "yellow peril" fear has resurfaced, such as in
>>>>Europe and the US; in others, especially within the continent,
>>>>"Asianization" has become state policy to enforce changes on
>>>>various levels.  How does this relate to local history and affect
>>>>local politics and cultural identity as well as global politics?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>4. Global City
>>>>
>>>>        "City"(-state) has gradually emerged to compete with the
>>>>symbolic power of the nation-state.  What are the implications of
>>>>this formation?  When cities are globalized, what are the
>>>>elements being globalized?  Behind the "cleaning up" of
>>>>poverty/shelter zones, who are the victims of global cities?  Is
>>>>there any new possibility opened up by global link of cities(-
>>>>states)?
>>>>
>>>>5. Sexualizing Asia
>>>>
>>>>        Gender and sexual issues have not been adequately analyzed in
>>>>relation to "the rise of Asia" question.  Does it mean the
>>>>coincident rise of gender and sexual equality or deepening the
>>>>patriarchal structure?  With urgently debated issues such as AIDS,
>>>>has NGOs work and regional alliance been effectively challenging
>>>>the silencing tendency of the State?
>>>>
>>>>6. Colonialism, Nationalism and Cultural Identities
>>>>
>>>>        Almost everywhere across the continent, we have observed
>>>>another wave of the rise of nationalism.  Ethnic conflicts,
>>>>intra-regional nationalist contests for leadership, and even an
>>>>increasing tendency of reproduction of colonialism, etc.  We
>>>>would like to examine whether these phenomena are connected with
>>>>regional economic integration from "above"?  Will regionalization
>>>>consolidate or weaken nationalism?  Will the emerging "Asian"
>>>>interpellation (such as in Singapore) bear impacts on existing
>>>>cultural identities?
>>>>
>>>>7. Social Movements
>>>>
>>>>        If (new) social movements are one of the possibilities to
>>>>construct socio-politico-cultural subjectivities and to formulate
>>>>alternative forms of democratic lives, then, when "globalization",
>>>>imperialist or otherwise, social movement sectors, what are the
>>>>problems to be confronted?  Can social movement remain purely
>>>>"local"?  What have been the problems with border-cross movement
>>>>alliances?  Can movement avoid the question of nationalism,
>>>>nativism and civilizationalism?  What have been the experiences
>>>>of failure and success to be learned and handed down to the next
>>>>generation of activists?  How could critical scholars interact
>>>>with activists?  Is there possibility "to movementize scholarship,
>>>>to theorize movement"?  Will new form of knowledge production and
>>>>critical practices emerge through this interaction?
>>>>
>>>>8. Alternative Cultures: alternative cinema, music, photography,
>>>>painting, video, public arts, advertising, inter-net, satellite
>>>>tv, intellectual magazines, travel, etc.
>>>>
>>>>9. Others
>>>>
>>>>Deadlines:
>>>>
>>>>1. October 15, 1997: Indicating the will to participate
>>>>(presenting, responding, chairing, etc).
>>>>
>>>>2. December 15, 1997: Submitting paper abstract along with a
>>>>short version of c.v.
>>>>
>>>>4. February 15, 1998: Preliminary agenda to be announced.
>>>>
>>>>5. March 1, 1998-June 1, 1998: Registration
>>>>***hotel will only be arranged for invited partipcants (US$50-60
>>>>per day for single room; US$60-80, double room)
>>>>***participants other than S.E., S. Asia and China will not be
>>>>paid by the conference
>>>>
>>>>a. invited participants: US$150 (including proceeding, agenda
>>>>book, poster, banquet, local music (CD), T-Shirt, and local
>>>>publications); US$100 for students; 0 for unemployed
>>>>***donation of one's own publications (in all forms) to the
>>>>center could waive registration fee
>>>>
>>>>b. local registration: NT$2000 (proceeding and agenda book);
>>>>NT$1000 for students
>>>>
>>>>c. outside voluntary participants: US$250; US$150 for students
>>>>(materials distributed equivalent to a.)
>>>>
>>>>d. special conditions are negotiable for free charge
>>>>
>>>>6. May 15, 1998: Paper due (***for translation, responses and
>>>>distribution on site for local audience, please submit paper on
>>>>time)
>>>>
>>>>7. June 15, 1998: Agenda finalized
>>>>
>>>>8. July 9-12, 1998: Arrival
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Publication Plan: Conference papers will be selectively published
>>>>internationally.  The presenters should grant the conference
>>>>priority/right to publish work collectively.
>>>>
>>>>Immediate Goals: 1) preparing publication for the first three
>>>>issues of A Journal of Inter-Asia Cultural Studies.  2) preparing
>>>>a Inter-Asia Postcolonial/Cultural Studies Reader for the book
>>>>series, "Inter-Asia Cultural Studies".
>>>>
>>>>Languages: If funding is available, the conference will operate
>>>>at least in 4 languages: Chinese, English, Japanese and Korean,
>>>>unless the participants could provide mechanism for translating
>>>>into other languages.  However, for the convenience of
>>>>publication, we encourage written papers to be submitted in
>>>>English, but not necessarily.
>>>>
>>>>Organizer:
>>>>The Center for Asia-Pacific/Cultural Studies
>>>>College of Humanities and Social Sciences
>>>>National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>A Journal of Inter-Asia Cultural Studies--MOVEMENTS
>>>>(in preparation)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Addressed to:
>>>>
>>>>The Center for Asia-Pacific/Cultural Studies
>>>>College of Humanities and Social Sciences
>>>>National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
>>>>
>>>>tel: 886-3-572-4876 fax: 886-3-572-3869
>>>>e-mail: [log in to unmask]
>>>>
>>>>Co-Sponsor: Institutional co-sponsorship is called for.
>>>>***If the cost for travel and accomodation will be paid by the
>>>>home institutions for invited participants, the home institution
>>>>could be listed as co-sponsor.
>>>>
>>>>Funding Support: We are actively seeking funding support for
>>>>international travel and accommodation; funding sources will be
>>>>acknowledged as supporting agencies in all forms of publicities.
>>>>In principle, international travel and accommodation for
>>>>participants outside China, Southeast Asia and South Asia will
>>>>NOT be covered by the conference; funding should be sought from
>>>>one's home institution.  The Center will actively seek funding
>>>>for Participants from China, Southeast Asia (excluding Singapore)
>>>>and South Asia, and senior plenary speakers.
>>>>
>>>>Administrative Unit:
>>>>
>>>>LU Cheng-hui, Ying-chun TSAI, Tsun-shing Cheng, Chih-chung YU,
>>>>Jen-peng LIU, Ding-tzann LII, Kuan-Hsing CHEN
>>>>
>>>>International Organizing Committee:
>>>>
>>>>Kuan-Hsing CHEN (National Tsing Hua U), CHENG Tsun-shing
>>>>(National Tsing Hua U), CHUA Beng Huat (National U of Singapore),
>>>>Seong-Nae KIM (Sogan U, Seoul), Brian MASSUMI (Canberra), MUTO
>>>>Ichiyo (Institute of People's Plan, Tokyo), OTA Yoshinobu (Kyushu
>>>>U), TOMIYAMA Ichiro (Osaka U), ZHANG Jingyuan (Georgetwon U),
>>>>SUGIHARA Toru (Osaka U)
>>>>
>>>>Local Organizing Committee:
>>>>
>>>>David BARTON (National Central U), Steve BRADBURY (Central U),
>>>>Hsiao-hung CHANG (National Taiwan U), Kuan-Hsing CHEN, Wen-ling
>>>>CHEN (National Chengchi U), Naifei DING (Central U), Chu-jeo HSIA,
>>>>Shien-hau Liao (National Taiwan U), Jon SOLOMON (Central U), WUO
>>>>Young-I (Labor organizer; Taipei)
>>>>
>>>>International Advisory Committee:
>>>>
>>>>Han-liang CHANG, Tsuen-chi CHENG, Hae-joang CHO, NISHIKAWA Nagao,
>>>>KANG Sang Jung, Myungkoo KANG, Surichai Wun'Gaeo, FUKADA Taku,
>>>>SAKIYAMA Masaki (Kyoto U) Partha CHATTERJEE, HANASAKI Kohei,
>>>>IKEGAMI Yoshihiko, Kiyoshi KOJIMA, Fred CHIU, Kinchi LAU, Stuart
>>>>HALL, Masao MIYOSHI, Hanno HARDT, Meaghan MORRIS, Jeannie MARTIN,
>>>>Larry GROSSBERG, Andre FRANKOVITS, Rebecca BARDEN, Paul WILLEMEN,
>>>>David MORLEY, Sandra BUCKLEY, Rob WILSON, Donald LOWE, Chris
>>>>CONNERY, Mitsutoshi KATO, David PICKELL, Angelina YEE
>>>>
>>>>Invited Planery Speakers:
>>>>
>>>>Stuart HALL (Europe), Masao MIYOSHI (America), NISHIKAWA Nagao
>>>>(East Asia), CHO Hae-joang (East Asia), CHANG Han-Liang (Inter-
>>>>China), Renato CONSTANTINO (Southeast Asia), Partha CHATTERJEE
>>>>(South Asia), Meaghan MORRIS (Australia)
>>>>
>>>>Other Invited Prominent Intellectuals include:
>>>>(150-200 participants outside Taiwan will be invited)
>>>>
>>>>CHEN Pingyuan (Peking U), DAI Jinhua (Peking U), Ariel HERYANTO
>>>>(National U of Singapore; Indonesia), (Central U), LI To (editor,
>>>>Beijing), OGURA Mushitaro (writer/street activist), OGURA
>>>>Toshimaru (Toyama U), OKA Mari (independent, Tokyo), Dessa
>>>>QUESADA (PP21 Rural-Urban Alternatives), Ashish RAJADHYAKSHA
>>>>(Center for the Study of Culture and Society, Bangalore, India),
>>>>UENO Toshiya (Chubu U), UKAI Satoshi (Hitotsubashi U, Tokyo),
>>>>WANG Hui (Chinese Academia of Social Sciences, Beijing), XIA
>>>>Xiaohung (Peking U)
>>>>
>>>>Tani BARLOW (U of Washington), Joe CLEARY (Ireland), Chris
>>>>CONNERY (UCSC), HUANG Ping (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences),
>>>>Juha KOIVISTO (Tampere U, Finland), Eric LOUW (south africa;
>>>>Charles Sturt U), Arief BUDIMAN (Indonesia; Melbourne U), Kohei
>>>>HANASAKI (Hokaido), Ignas Kledan (Indonesia), Rajni KOTARI
>>>>(India), KOGAWA Tetsuo (Tokyo), MUSHAKOJI Kinhide (Japan), SUH
>>>>Sung (Seoul/Kyoto), Surichai WUN'GAEO (Bangkok), Akira ASADA
>>>>(Kyoto U), Simon DRUING (Melbourne U), John FROW (Queensland U),
>>>>Lysa HONG (National University of Singapore), Toshio IYOTANI
>>>>(Hitotsubashi U, Tokyo), JI Xian Lin (Chinese Eastern Normal U),
>>>>Kojin KARATANI (Kiuki U, Osaka), Tessa MORRIS-SUZUKI (ANU), Ashis
>>>>NANDY (Center for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi),
>>>>Francisco NEMENZO (U of the Philippines), NISHIKAWA Yuko (Kyoto
>>>>Bunkyo U), Suthy PRASARTSET (Chulalongkorn University, Thailand),
>>>>SHAMSUL A.B. (Universit Kebangsaan Malaysia), SUH Kyang-shik
>>>>(Hosei U), Jomo Kwame SUNDARAM (U of Malaya), WANG Yuanhua
>>>>(Peking U), YEH Daiyuan (Peking U)
>>>>
>>>>Perry ANDERSON (UCLA), Catherine GALLAGHER (UCB), Dick HEBDIGE
>>>>(CIA), Donald LOWE (independent), Mark REID (U of Florida),
>>>>Andrew ROSS (NYU), Michael TAUSSIG (Columbia U), TU Wei-Ming
>>>>(Harvard U), Ling-chi WANG (UCB), George YUDICE (NYU)
>>>>
>>>>Johannes FABIAN (U of Amsterdam), Paul GILROY (U of London),
>>>>Catherine HALL (Essex U), John Hill (Ulster, N. Ireland), Peter
>>>>HULME (Essex U), Angela McROBBIE (U of London), Kaarle
>>>>NORDENSTRENG (Tampere U), Anthony Woodiwiss (Essex U)
>>>>
>>>>Editorial and Advisory Board Meeting:
>>>>
>>>>In conjunction with the publication of A Journal of Inter-Asia
>>>>Cultural Studies (in preparation for publication in October,
>>>>1999), editorial and advisory board meetings will be held in July
>>>>18-19.  ***Funding for Board members to stay until the end of the
>>>>meetings should be also sought from home institution.
>>>>

---------------------------
Dr. Kris Olds
Department of Geography
National University of Singapore
10 Kent Ridge Crescent
Singapore 119260
Tel:  65-874-6811 (w)
Fax:  65-777-3091 (w)
Email:  [log in to unmask]




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