CFP: Multiculturalism, Pluralism, and Globalization (4-5 Oct 2007; La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA)

An interdisciplinary conference sponsored by The Wisconsin Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Office of International Education and the Department of History

Keynote Speaker:
Harvey Sarles, Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, University of Minnesota

We invite proposals for individual papers and entire panels for an interdisciplinary conference that deals with various aspects of multiculturalism, pluralism, and globalization. Papers and presentations from all disciplines and time periods are welcome.

From ancient times to the present, people have sought to understand and create their identities both as individuals and as groups. In so doing, they not only define who they are, but also who they are not. What makes one group different from another? Who defines those differences? And what are the consequences of such definitions? To what degree do these definitions create opportunities for conflict and for peace?

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
immigration and diasporas; “clash of civilizations”; diversity; definitions of community; economic class and property; race, ethnicity and language; nationalism and the nation; separatism, tolerance, and integration; identity politics; national or tribal membership and identity; ecologies of place or of culture; human rights, civil rights and natural law; religious/ethical values and identity; class, caste and gender.

Please send a short (approx. 150 words) abstract, along with a 1-2 page c.v. and contact information by March 8, 2007 to:

Dr. Deborah Buffton
Department of History
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
La Crosse, WI 54601
608-785-8359
Fax: 608-785-8370
buffton.debo@uwlax.edu