Inter-Asian Connections IV: Istanbul is the fourth conference in a series, following on conferences held in Dubai in February 2008, Singapore in December 2010, and Hong Kong in June 2012. As with the preceding events, this four-day conference aims to effect a paradigm shift in the study of the Asian expanse, re-conceptualized as a dynamic and interconnected historical, geographical, and cultural formation stretching from the Middle East through Eurasia, South Asia and Southeast Asia, to East Asia. Workshops will have the dual aim of showcasing innovative research from across the social sciences and related disciplines as well as exploring themes that transform conventional understandings of Asia.
The Inter-Asian Connections Conference Organizing Committee – composed of representatives from the Social Science Research Council, Yale University, the National University of Singapore (NUS), the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (HKIHSS) at the University of Hong Kong, Göttingen University and Koç University – is pleased to announce an open call for proposals from faculty members at accredited universities and colleges in any world region to organize and direct one of four-to-six thematic workshops at the Istanbul conference.
Proposals are invited from faculty interested in organizing and directing a workshop that addresses one of the following broadly conceived fourteen themes:
1. The Social Life of Capital in Asian Cities
2. Green and Brown in Asia
3. Hubs and Hinterlands
4. Connected Empires
5. Food and Foodways
6. Universities and New Transregional Classes
7. Politics of Racialization
8. Land Speculation across Asia
9. Media and the Politics of Accountability
10. Aging Societies : public policies, intimate dynamics, and biotechnologies
11. Inter-Asian Tourism
12. The Post Neo-Liberal State
13. Refugees in the Making of Asia
14. Picturing and Fictionalizing Asia
Each workshop should have two directors (with different institutional affiliations and preferably representing different disciplines) who, if selected, will be expected to help recruit and choose ten international workshop participants (senior and junior scholars, graduate students, other researchers) competitively from across relevant disciplines in the social sciences and related fields.
The full text of the request for proposals, along with information on the application process and eligibility, can be found on the program’s website.