***The Early Bird Submission Deadline is rapidly approaching. Submit your abstract by November 10, in order to be eligible to receive the Early Bird Registration discount.
Dear Colleague,
We invite you to join IAFOR and participants from around the world in Kobe, Japan, for The Asian Conference on Arts and Humanities 2018 (ACAH2018), March 30 – April 1, 2018.
***Conference Theme: "Recentering: Asian Spaces, Cultures and Ideas in the 21st Century"
If globalisation is characterised by simultaneous networks of information, has the concept of centres become obsolete? Or do certain recent geopolitical developments – the fading of America's "global leadership" being counterbalanced by the rise of China's, the latter's new Belt and Road Initiative promising to become a new Silk Road, Britain's exit from the EU, and the newly proposed trade agreements between Japan and Europe – put the world on the verge of a radical recentering? Will the burgeoning mega-cities in Asia displace the traditional nation-state in the competition for capital, status and enhanced technologies?
Scholars and students of the humanities have long questioned the extent to which shifts in formations of power – empires, countries, regions, cities – resonate through cultural practices that centre on literary and aesthetic meaning, expression and representation. This provokes further questions about how such centres can be identified, defined and represented; and about their relations of other types and modes of centering. Is cultural prestige dependent on political centrality? Or can it be achieved through the circulation of forms and aesthetics that operate in their own economy? For that matter, what is central to its meanings and valuations of culture?
What of the humanities themselves? Fears of their marginalisation are based on the assumption that they were once central, and that the only way to restore their former authority is to argue against their subordination to scientific, technological or vocational forms of education. Can the humanities find new life in multi- or cross-disciplinary frameworks? How can they survive the dominant trend towards more marketable or "useful" forms of education? What is central to the humanities? Should older disciplines such as Literature and Aesthetics reinvent themselves as it be Cultural Studies? Or should they now concentrate on comprehending their own historical genealogies in relation to current scholarly practices?
There is also the question of why, in the wake of postcolonial and transnational decenterings, do elite Anglo-American universities retain so much of their cultural capital? How might humanities redefine themselves if recentred in Asian institutions? Is it possible for the prevailing discourses of Western humanism to be combined with Asian values, goals and traditions? Could such a transformation help to rehabilitate the humanities' current beleaguered status in America and Europe?
Our present historical moment compels us to think through the implications of these and other modes of recentering. The Asian Conference on Arts and Humanities 2018 provides an opportunity for academics, artists, writers and students to explore the challenges of multi-faceted and interdisciplinary rethinkings of the ways we imagine, articulate and work with centres.
We invite proposals that deal with any aspect of recentering, and offer a following list of possible areas of exploration that can be found on the homepage of the conference website.
In conjunction with our Global Partners, Including Osaka University and Lehigh University, we look forward to extending you a warm welcome in 2018.
– The ACAH2018 Organising Committee
Professor Donald E. Hall, Lehigh University, USA
Professor Myles Chilton, Nihon University, Japan
Dr Yukari Yoshihara, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Professor Stephen Clark, University of Tokyo, Japan
Dr Joseph Haldane, IAFOR, Japan
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***Important Dates
– Venue: Art Center Kobe, Kobe, Japan
– Dates: Friday, March 30, 2018 ?to Sunday, April 01, 2018
– Conference Theme: "Recentering: Asian Spaces, Cultures and Ideas in the 21st Century"
– Initial Abstract Submission Deadline: November 10, 2017*
– Final Abstract Submission Deadline: January 11, 2018
– Registration Deadline for Presenters: February 09, 2018
*Submit early to take advantage of the discounted registration rates. Learn more about our registration options.
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***Keynotes and Featured Speakers: https://acah.iafor.org/speakers/
ACAH2018 is proud and excited to announce the following speakers that will present in plenary and featured sessions. For more information on these speakers, please see the speakers page of the conference website.
Dr Eun Kyung Min, Seoul National University, South Korea
Professor Li Ou, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Dr Yutaka Mino, Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan
Dr Shoso Shimbo, RMIT University, Australia
***Call for Papers: acah.iafor.org/call-for-papers
The conference theme for ACAH is "Recentering: Asian Spaces, Cultures and Ideas in the 21st Century", and the organisers encourage submissions that approach this theme from a variety of perspectives. However, the submission of other topics for consideration is welcome and we also encourage sessions across a variety of interdisciplinary and theoretical perspectives.
Submissions are organised into the following thematic streams:
ARTS
– Teaching and Learning the Arts
– Arts Policy, Management and Advocacy
– Arts Theory and Criticism
– Social, Political and Community Agendas in the Arts
– Visual Arts Practices
– Performing Arts Practices: Theater, Dance, Music
– Literary Arts Practices
– Media Arts Practices: Television, Multimedia, Digital, Online and Other New Media
– Other Arts
HUMANITIES
– Media, Film Studies, Theatre, Communication
– Aesthetics, Design
– Language, Linguistics
– Knowledge
– Philosophy, Ethics, Consciousness
– History, Historiography
– Literature/Literary Studies*
– Political Science, Politics
– Teaching and Learning
– Globalisation
– Ethnicity, Difference, Identity
– Immigration, Refugees, Race, Nation
– First Nations and Indigenous Peoples
– Sexuality, Gender, Families
– Religion, Spirituality
– Cyberspace, Technology
– Science, Environment and the Humanities
– Other Humanities
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***IAFOR's Grants and Scholarships
For information about IAFOR's new grants and scholarships for PhD students and early career academics, please visit: acah.iafor.org/grants-and-scholarships
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***IAFOR Publishing Opportunities
**Peer-Reviewed Journal: IAFOR Journal of Arts & Humanities
The IAFOR Journal of Arts and Humanities (ijah.iafor.org) is an editorially independent, peer-reviewed journal associated with ACAH2018. The editor of the journal will select the strongest papers from associated Conference Proceedings for consideration, as well as papers submitted via the open call. This Open Access journal, which conforms to the highest academic standards, reflects the interdisciplinary and international nature of our conferences.
**Conference Proceedings
After having your abstract accepted and presenting your research at the conference, you are encouraged to submit a full paper for inclusion in the official Conference Proceedings. Our Conference Proceedings are Open Access research repositories that act as permanent records of the research generated by IAFOR conferences. Further details are available here: acah.iafor.org/final-paper-submission
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***Join IAFOR at ACAH2018 to:
– Present to a global audience
– Have your work published in the Conference Proceedings and considered for peer-reviewed, Open Access journals
– Hear about the latest interdisciplinary research in language learning and culture
– Participate in a truly international, interdisciplinary and intercultural event
– Take part in interactive audience sessions
– Network with international colleagues
**Register now to take advantage of Early Bird Registration prices. Early Bird Registration is open until the end of December 12, 2017. Lunch is included in all conference registrations.
Please see the registration page for details: acah.iafor.org/registration
*If you have attended an IAFOR conference within the past year, or belong to an affiliated university or institution, we offer additional discounts in appreciation of your support. Please contact us at acah@iafor.org for details.
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***About IAFOR
To learn more about IAFOR, please visit iafor.org
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