CALL FOR WORKSHOP PROPOSALS - The 12th METROPOLIS Conference: Melbourne (Closes 15 Feb 2007)

CALL FOR WORKSHOP PROPOSALS FOR THE 12th METROPOLIS CONFERENCE (MELBOURNE 2007)

Closing date for workshop proposals: 15 FEBRUARY 2007

www.metropolis2007.org

In October 2007, the prestigious Metropolis conference will be held for the first time outside the Northern Hemisphere in Melbourne. The theme for the conference is Migration, Economic Growth and Social Cohesion. The Melbourne Metropolis conference is being organised by the Monash Institute for the Study for Global Movements and the Australian Multicultural Foundation, with financial support from both the Victorian and Australian governments. The Scanlon Foundation is also providing support for a major study on social cohesion, which will be launched at the Conference. The Metropolis conference focuses on immigration and settlement issues around the globe. Melbourne won the right to host the 2007 conference partly because of Victoria's long history of successful multiculturalism. Plenary sessions will be held each day, with high profile Australian and international speakers. The conference will therefore give us the opportunity to also hear from European, North American, New Zealand and Asian colleagues about how immigration and settlement is changing in their countries and regions in this timeof increasing global population movement.

CALL FOR WORKSHOP PROPOSALS http://www.metropolis2007.org/workshop.php

The backbone of Metropolis Conferences is the workshop program, consisting of topics proposed by participants. Conference organisers are now calling for workshop proposals on topics related to migration, settlement, and diversity from researchers, policy-makers, NGOs and other interested delegates both in Australia and overseas. Participants are particularly encouraged to put forward proposals where a number of perspectives are represented. For example, as a researcher, you may be interested in providing a perspective on identity and social cohesion issues for Muslim women in Australia, and may wish to include in your presentation a representative of an Australian Muslim womens group, and/or a relevant State or Australian government representative. Alternatively, you may have colleagues from overseas or interstate who would be interested in presenting with you a topic on comparative issues between Australia and their country. This type of workshop has been very useful in previous Metropolis conferences to present a range of perspectives on a topic. Conference organisers are eager to have as many applications as possible, so please give some thought to this. Please note that the deadline for proposals is 15 February 2007 and that all proposals should be submitted through the website:
www.metropolis2007.org

Special announcement - Call for AAI 2 Postgraduate Workshop Proposals: ANU House (27 June 2007)

AASRN Special Announcement:

*urgent reminder for workshop proposals*

AAI 2 Postgraduate Workshop
(27 June 2007) at ANU House, 52 Collins Street.

Postgraduates wishing to take advantage of a special opportunity to present works-in-progress for focused discussion with key Asian Australian studies scholars at the above workshop should submit their material as soon as possible to:

aasrn-events@asianaustralianstudies.org

NOTE: Workshop numbers are limited. Applicants should describe their area of research and methodology (max 200 words) and a short bio (max 200 words).

Workshop enquiries should be directed to Jacqueline Lo at email: Jacqueline.Lo@anu.edu.au

For details see: http://www.asianaustralianstudies.org/AAI2/pgradworkshop.html

For more information on the Second Asian Australian Identities Conference (AAI 2) please visit:
http:// www.asianaustralianstudies.org/AAI2/index.html

Earlybird discounts for the conference are offered up to COB Friday 27 April 2007.

EXHIBITION - Chutney Generations: Forum - The Hybrids of Culture and Identity in Multicultural Sydney (10 Feb 2007)

Chutney Generations: Forum - The Hybrids of Culture and Identity in Multicultural Sydney (10 February 2007)

Saturday, 10 February 2007 1pm - 4pm
Free
Liverpool Regional Museum Bookings essential -
9824 1121 or reception@casulapowerhouse.com

A fusion of ideals and ideas will be the order of the day as academics, researchers, journalists, lawyers and cultural artists come together for a round table discussion on issues of assimilation, migration, multiculturalism, values and spirituality.

Chutney is used as a metaphor for the blending of identities of the twice displaced migrant Fiji-Indians in Australia. The forum will provide a platform for an enriching exchange of enlightening views on topics that are the focus of political debate and social unrest.

The forum will be chaired by Wendy Monaghan, editor of Australian Mosaic.

Speakers:

* Professor Brij Lal, Australian National University.
* Professor Bob Hodge, Centre for Cultural Research, University of Western Sydney.
* Dr Elaine Lally, Centre for Cultural Research, University of Western Sydney.
* Avi Kumar, Fiji-Indian Lawyer
* Asha Chand, Fiji- Indian Journalist and Academic, University of Western Sydney.

CFP - International Interdisciplinary Conference: Centre for Critical and Cultural Theory: 'Theory Faith Culture' (4-6 July 2007; Cardiff University)

'Theory Faith Culture'

an international interdisciplinary conference

Centre for Critical and Cultural Theory

Cardiff University 4 - 6 July 2007

Second Call for Papers

Religion is one of the most contested aspects of twenty-first century life. How can we understand and theorise the power of religion in the constitution of subjects and in its social, cultural and political manifestations?

This conference will look at the interface between Theory, Faith and Culture. It will explore a range of theoretical approaches to the subject and attempt to further our understanding of some of the most important and pressing issues of the day.

To date we have received over 80 exciting proposals from all over the world. Given this enthusiastic response to our first call for papers, we are extending the deadline for the submission of proposals for further papers until 15 April 2007.

Papers are welcomed from all relevant disciplines.

Confirmed Keynote Speakers:

Haleh Afshar, University of York, UK. Luke Gibbons, University of Notre Dame, USA. Glenn Jordan, University of Glamorgan, UK. Richard Kearney, Boston College, USA. Laurent Milesi, Cardiff University, UK. David Nash, Oxford Brookes University, UK. Mohammad Seddon. Cardiff University, UK. Gauri Viswanathan, Columbia University, USA.

Confirmed Panels as of January 2007:

* Religion and Postmodernism * Fundamentalisms * Theorising Belief * Philosophy and Religion * Religion and Language * Philip Pullman and Religion * Islam in the West * Religion and Utopia * Religion and Post-colonialism * Derrida on Religion * Religion and the New Right * Politics of Belief * Religion and Education * Religion and Gender * Religion and Social Cohesion * Religion and National Identities * Religion and Nationalism * Religion and Colonialism * Religion in Multicultural Societies.

Further proposals for papers are particularly welcome in the following areas:

Race and Religion * Fundamentalisms * Islam in the West * Religion and Colonialism * Religion and Partition * Religion and Emancipation * Religion and Patriarchy * Religion and Sexuality * Religion in Wales * Religion and Utopia * Atheism.

Abstracts of 150 words should be sent along with a brief CV to the following email address: tfc@Cardiff.ac.uk

Deadline for Proposals: 15 April 2007

CONFERENCE - 6th ISSCO CONFERENCE (Beijing, China; 21-23 Sept 2007)

First Announcement

The 6th Conference of the International Society for the Study of Chinese Overseas (ISSCO) will be held for the first time in China. Its sponsor and host is Peking University (Beida).

Conference flyer: FLYER (pdf; 585Kb)

Conference theme: Recent Trends in the Relations between Chinese Abroad and Their Ancestral Homeland

NEW PUBLICATION: Latest MAI Press Publication on Australia-Japan Relations

PUBLICATION:
Latest MAI Press publication on Australia-Japan relations out now.

"Unexpected encounters: neglected histories behind the Australia-Japan relationship"

edited by Michael Ackland and Pam Oliver

2007, $34.95,
ISBN: 978 1 876924 50 8.

For more info visit:
http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/mai/press/jsmonographs.html#encounters

Or contact MAI Press: Ms Emma Hegarty, Publications Officer,
emma.hegarty@adm.monash.edu.au

CONFERENCE: "Transitions: "Health and Mobility in Asia and the Pacific" (ARC APFRN), Abstracts Deadline: 2 March 2007

CONFERENCE: Call For Abstacts

"Transitions: Health and Mobility in Asia and the Pacific"

3rd Signature Conference, Australian Research Council

Asia Pacific Futures Research Network (ARC APFRN)

Deadline: 2 March 2007

The ARC APFRN Local Organising Committee is inviting submissions for oral, poster, performance, and session abstracts for the 3rd Signature Conference to be held at Monash University, Caulfield Campus, from Sunday June 24 until Tuesday June 26, 2007.

For more info email: kathleen.j.nolan@med.monash.edu.au
or see:
http://www.med.monash.edu.au/spppm/arc/index.html

ONE DAY WORKSHOP: On "The Chinese in the Pacific: Where to Now?", 9 Feb 2007 at ANU.

ONE DAY WORKSHOP:

A one-day workshop on "The Chinese in the Pacific: Where to Now?"

9 Feb 2007, at the University House, ANU.

This workshop is sponsored and organized by The Centre for the Study of the Chinese Southern Diaspora, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies.

For more info contact:

Hong Yu
Administrator
Contemporary China Centre
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
Email: hong.yu@anu.edu.au
or visit URL: http://rspas.anu.edu.au/ccc/

CALL FOR ARTICLES - "Autographics": A Biography Special Issue (Deadline for submissions: 15 Aug 2007)

The Winter 2008 Special Issue of Biography: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly will be devoted to Autographics.

Guest editors Gillian Whitlock and Anna Poletti seek to explore the diverse forms of visuality and conjunctions of image, text, and materiality in contemporary life narrative. Graphic forms include visual elements such as drawings, images, and pictures, as well as elements of design and physical features of the text--for instance, the diverse use of materials in such DIY autobiographical forms as personal zines, installations, and websites. Other examples of autographics include autobiographical comix and sequential art, graphic memoir, writing on the body and body maps, self portraiture, auto/biographical uses of found objects in collage, assemblage and installation, and contemporary uses of craft.

TO SUBMIT:
Manuscripts should be double spaced and ideally between 3,000 and 10,000 words. A double-blind submission policy will be followed; the author's name should not appear anywhere on the manuscript, but an accompanying cover letter should contain the author's name and address. Consultation on manuscript ideas is welcomed. Inquiries and submissions may be sent by email to biograph@hawaii.edu, or to the Center for Biographical Research, University of Hawai'i at Mänoa, 1800 East-West Road #325, Honolulu, Hawai'i 96822 USA (Tel./Fax 808 956-3774).

DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF SUBMISSIONS: 15 Aug. 2007

JOB: Academic Level C in Performance Studies in The Communication and Cultural Studies program at Curtin University (placement ASAP: Feb/Mar)

Position: Academic Level C in Performance Studies in The Communication and Cultural Studies program. Faculty of Media Society and Culture, Curtin University.

Placement as soon as possible (February/March). Appointment by invitation to 1-2 year contract at level C.

Contact Person - Email: R.Blaber@curtin.edu.au

A brief description of the position requirements:

Higher Degree Co-ordination of discipline area
Background in the canon
Background in directing

Core Units that are offered in Performance Studies:

Creative Writing and Performance 111
Performance Studies 111
PS 211 – Comedy and tragedy
PS 212 – Stanislavski and Brecht
PS 311 – International Theatre
PS 312 – Recent Australian Theatre

Options in Directing, Technical Theatre, Movement, Voice, Devised Theatre, Vocational Practice

Electives from other areas Scriptwriting, Screen Acting.

If people are interested they should contact:

Dr Ron Blaber
Head Of Program Communication and Cultural Studies Faculty of Media Society and Culture Curtin University
GPO BOX U1987 Perth Western Australia 6845
Tel: +61 8 9266 7080 Fax: +61 8 9266 7726
Email: R.Blaber@curtin.edu.au

Fellowships in the Graduate Certificate Program at the Asia Pacific Leadership Program at the East West Center, Hawaii (Deadline: Feb 15 2007)

NEW FELLOWSHIPS AVAILABLE

Entering its sixth year, the Asia Pacific Leadership Program (APLP) is the center of excellence for leadership education in the Asia Pacific region. The APLP is a graduate certificate program combining the development of regional expertise with the enhancement of individual leadership capacity. Based at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, the program is creating a network of dynamic leaders from around the world who are familiar with the critical issues and cultures of the Asia Pacific region and trained to work collaboratively. The program involves intensive coursework and field studies. All participants receive an APLP Entry Fellowship valued at approximately $10,000.

Participants
The Asia Pacific Leadership Program seeks outstanding individuals with high leadership potential from across the Asia Pacific region, North America and beyond. All participants have at least a Bachelors degree with the majority having graduate degrees as well. At least 20 countries are represented in each cohort. APLP Fellows come together from all walks of life, including areas as diverse as government, business, NGOs, health sciences, media, monastic orders, and the academe. Participants will gain a broad regional perspective, become knowledgeable about the critical challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region, and be trained to exercise collaborative leadership and promote cooperation toward the well-being of the countries and peoples of the region. The APLP empowers future leaders with the knowledge, skills, experiences and supportive community needed to successfully navigate personal and regional change in the 21st century. The program was established through generous funding support from the Freeman Foundation.

Application Forms and Fellowships
For more information about the Asia Pacific Leadership Program, as well as application forms and fellowship opportunities, please visit our website at: http://www.eastwestcenter.org/aplp <http://www.eastwestcenter.org/aplp>

Recruitment for 2007-08 is open. Places are limited. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. The deadline is February 15, 2007.

East-West Center
The East-West Center is an education and research organization established by the U.S. Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations and understanding among the peoples and nations of Asia, the Pacific, and the United States. The Center contributes to a peaceful, prosperous, and just Asia Pacific community by serving as a vigorous hub for cooperative research, education, and dialogue on critical issues of common concern to the Asia Pacific region and the United States. Funding for the Center comes from the U.S. government, with additional support provided by private agencies, individuals, foundations, corporations, and the governments of the region.

JOB: Position in Gender Studies at the SOAS, University of London (Closing date: 16 Feb 2007)

New position in Gender Studies (with emphasis on Asia, Africa and the Middle East) at the SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN STUDIES, University of London.

Lecturer in Gender Studies, Faculty of Languages and Cultures
Lecturer A/B Scale: £27,467 - £40,582 p.a. inclusive of London Allowance.

Vacancy No. 100217

We propose to appoint a Lecturer in Gender Studies to support and develop the existing MA programme in Gender Studies at SOAS, and to help to create a PhD programme in the field. The appointment will be from 1 September 2007.

You should be able to address issues of gender studies and gender theory with reference to Africa, Asia and the Middle East and contribute to core theoretical courses in gender studies. You will have a good record of publication and research, and the capacity to use a relevant language in the conduct of your research. You will be expected to supervise PhD students and should have relevant teaching experience.

Your post will be attached to an appropriate department depending on your discipline or area specialism.

The Centre for Gender Studies at SOAS is a major new initiative in the study of gender theory and practice in a non-western context. The range of topics covered by existing members of the Centre includes the major theoretical traditions, cultural studies, sexualities, literature, postcolonial studies, diaspora studies, film, development economics, development studies, religion, anthropology, and law. This new appointment represents a significant investment in the further development of the Centre.

You can obtain further information about SOAS and the Centre for Gender Studies from Dr Rachel Harrison (rh6@soas.ac.uk).

An application form and further particulars can be downloaded from www.soas.ac.uk/jobs.

Alternatively, write to the Human Resources Department, SOAS, University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London, WC1H OXG, fax no: 020 7074 5129 or e-mail: humanresources@soas.ac.uk stating your name, address and the vacancy reference number. CVs will only be accepted when accompanied by an application form.

Closing date: 16 February 2007

University Postgraduate Fellowships for PhD Candidates 2007-2008 at The University of Hong Kong (Applications close: 31 Jan)

University Postgraduate Fellowships in 2007-2008 from Hong Kong University.

Application Deadline: 31 January 2007

University Postgraduate Fellowships for outstanding students from universities all over the world who would like to pursue full-time PhD studies at HKU.

The Fellowships of HK$70,000 (US$8,900) is in addition to our full studentships (currently HK$150,000 (US$19,230) per annum).
Details of the Fellowships are given below.

Contact: gradsch@hku.hk.

Successful applicants may pursue PhD studies in the following Faculties/Centres: Architecture, Arts, Business and Economics, Dentistry, Education, Engineering, Law, Medicine, Science, Social Sciences, Asian Studies, Urban Planning and Environmental Management.

The University's political, cultural and geographical proximity to mainland China and East Asia will avail students of different disciplines of data, research subjects and research opportunities in the area. We are uniquely positioned as a study center of the East and West.

Students will be offered grants to attend international conferences or exchange programmes. Students may also be offered the opportunity of spending part of their study period away from campus.

The University Postgraduate Fellowships is a cash award of HK$70,000 (US$8,900) granted during the 3 to 4-year candidature on top of the full studentships [currently at HK$150,000 (US$19,230) per annum]. Qualified applicants who have not been awarded the Fellowships due to keen competition will be considered for admission to the PhD programme with full studentships.

Eligibility: Applicants should have an honours degree with excellent academic records. Students in their final year of study may also apply.
Application ProcedureThere is no separate application form for the Fellowships. Applicants are required to submit an application for admission to the PhD programmes and indicate their wish to apply for the Fellowships by ticking a box in the application form. Applicants are also required to submit a short essay on why they think they should be awarded the Fellowships together with the application form.

The application form and more details on the application procedure are available at the Graduate School web site: www.hku.hk/gradsch/apply.

Application Deadline: 31 January 2007

JOBS - Centre for Research on Social Inclusion - Macquarie University, 2 x Part-Time Research Assistants (Closes Thursday 8th February)

Expressions of interest are sought from suitably qualified candidates for two research assistant positions in the Centre for Research on Social Inclusion at Macquarie University.

* Position 1: Project Manager / Research AssistantProject: ‘Community Harmony’ Toolkit for Local Government.

We seek a research assistant for a project which involves the development of anti-racism and ‘community harmony’ / ‘social cohesion’ projects models for local government. The research assistant will be primarily involved with researching international initiatives, collating and refining information,report writing and preparation of material for an online toolkit. The position will also involve some travel to visit council stakeholders in other states.

Skills: Good written and spoken communication skills; computer skills; experience as a research assistant or a higher degree such as an MA or progress towards a PhD; or experience working in the local government or community sector.

Hours: 2 days per week for 9 months. Starting late February.

* Position 2: Research AssociateProject: Muslim Communities and Local Government.

We seek a research assistant to work on a large project researching how local government (and local community organisations) can better engage Muslim communities. It will involve research into a range of issues, including how to improve consultation, dialogue, and communication between local government and local Muslim communities; improving political and civic participation among Muslim communities; and how to foster positive inter-ethnic/interfaith relations between Muslims and non-Muslims at the local neighbourhood level. Issues such as youth, gender, ethnicity and other community differentials will be taken into account.

Skills: We seek an experienced researcher, preferably someone with an MA or progress towards a PhD (or recently submitted). However we would also welcome applications from those with experience in the community sector, applicants who have experience working with Muslim communities. Arabic language skills are highly desirable, but not essential. The position will involve extensive interviews with a range of Muslim community members from a variety of ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. Research will be concentrated mostly in Sydney but will involve some research in Melbourne and possibly other states.

Hours: 3 days per week for 9 months. Starting late February.

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Note: There is a possibility to combine the two positions into one full-time position for a period of 9 months. If you are interested in this option,please state so in your application. Salary will be in the range of $30 to $35 per hour depending on skills and qualifications.

Enquires should be directed to Dr Amanda Wise: Amanda.wise@scmp.mq.edu.au or ph: (02) 9850-8835

Applicants should email a CV and covering letter to Amanda.wise@scmp.mq.edu.au by Thursday 8th February 2007.

JOBS - University of Wollongong, 2 x Lecturer B in Faculty of Arts (Closes 30 Jan 2007)

UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG, NSW
Lecturer opportunities within English Studies Program
Faculty of Arts

• Lecturer (Level B) English Literatures (Ref No. 21659)
• Lecturer (Level B) Transcultural Literatures (Ref No. 21660)

The School of English Literatures, Philosophy and Languages is seeking to appoint two full-time
Lecturers (Level B) to undertake teaching and research in its English Literatures Program.

For more information, view this PDF - Jobs at University of Wollongong (48kb), or visit the U of Wollongong "Current Vacancies" listing.

Applications close 30 January 2007.

For more information about this position, please contact Professor Wenche Ommundsen +61 2 4221 3676.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS - Protect Australia Fair: International Perspectives on Australian Culture (Deadline for abstracts: End of March 2007)

Australian Studies Project
Editors: Nathanael O'Reilly, Jean-François Vernay, Robyn Walton

Australian Studies project:
Nathanael O'Reilly, Jean-François Vernay, and Robyn Walton are seeking international submissions on fear and protection, or related topics, within the scope of Australian Studies for an essay collection with the working title Protect Australia Fair: International Perspectives on Australian Culture.

Contributors might wish to consider the following leads, which we’ve provisionally divided into three spatial zones of fearfulness, or explore challenging new ones.

National and International Fears

• Pluralism and multiculturalism fears
• Population and natural resources fears
• Law and authority
• The besieged complex
• Civil unrest, violence, riots
• Terrorism and counter-terrorism
• Xenophobia, past and present
• Invasion narratives
• Immigration: refugees, asylum seekers, detention centres and fear
• Science and technology fears
• Complacency warnings versus ‘Relaxed and comfortable’ lifestyle

Culture, Local, Regional and State level Fears

• Fear and spirituality
• Fear and collective identity
• Fear and indigenous issues
• Fear and critical whiteness studies
• Fear in city, inner-urban and suburban environments
• Fear in regional and country Australia
• Fear in and of the natural environment
• Fear in cinema and literature: the thriller, the horror genre, disaster movies, speculative fiction, dystopias, post-nuclear and post-millennium themes
• Fear and language, communications, media
• Affluence, employment and fear of material loss
• Fear and performance
• Fear and fashion

Individual and Personal Space Fears

• The threatened body
• Selfhood, identity, representation
• Fear and desireFamily and domestic fears
• Homophobia in a heterocentric society
• The paranoid mind
• Psychoanalytic fears
• Self-protectiveness, exposure anxiety

The suggested length for essays is 4,000 words. Essays should be suitable for an interdisciplinary and international readership.

All submissions will be refereed by an international panel of distinguished scholars in the field.

Style guide: refer to the MLA sixth edition.

You may submit your enquiry, expression of interest or finished essay to the editors at the following address: fearozproject@yahoo.com.

Editors' Bionotes:

Nathanael O'Reilly was born in Warrnambool, Victoria and attended Monash University and the University of Ballarat before leaving Australia to work overseas. He teaches Australian literature and writing classes at Albion College in Michigan while completing a Ph.D. at Western Michigan University; his dissertation examines suburbia in contemporary Australian fiction. His articles, interviews, reviews and poetry are published in North American, European and Australasian journals. Nathanael is the Secretary, Newsletter Editor and Webmaster for the American Association of Australian Literary Studies.

Born in New Caledonia, Jean-François Vernay was educated at the Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie and at the Université Toulouse-Le Mirail, from which he holds a PhD. As Founding Editor of Correspondances Océaniennes, a Nouméa-based postcolonial journal focussing on Oceanic cultures, he has been editing articles on postcolonial societies for five years, while regularly publishing articles in refereed journals and collections. His latest publication is a monograph entitled Water From the Moon: Illusion and Reality in the Works of Australian Novelist Christopher Koch (New York/ London: Cambria Press, 2007).

A doctoral candidate in the English Program at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Robyn Walton completed her previous degrees at the University of Sydney. She then worked as a book editor and taught at University of Technology, Sydney, for fourteen years whilst also writing fiction. She was awarded the Australian Vogel literary prize in 1986. Her fiction, essays and chapters on utopianism and cultural history have been published in Australia and Europe in several languages. Forthcoming: a chapter on utopianism and post-colonialism in Histoire transnationale de l'utopie littéraire et de l'utopisme (Honoré Champion) and, with Rosaleen Love, a section in Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy: An Encyclopedia (Greenwood).

Due dates:
Date for expressions of interest: end March 2007.
Date for final submissions: end June 2007.

CFP - The Graduate Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies (Deadline for Submissions: 15 February 2007)

CFP - The Graduate Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies - 'Resisting, Reclaiming and Rewriting the Asia-Pacific'

Graduate Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies from the Faculty of Arts, University of Auckland, Auckland, NZ [ISSN 1176-2152, est. 2003] is currently accepting submissions from graduate students for a special issue addressing the theme - 'Resisting, Reclaiming and Rewriting the Asia-Pacific'.

Contributions are welcome from all fields of the arts, social sciences, and humanities, including anthropology, literature, art history and visual culture, film and media, cultural studies, gender studies, geography, queer theory, history, linguistics, political studies, psychology, and sociology.

See the Call for Papers on our website at www.arts.auckland.ac.nz/gjaps.

Email submissions to the Editors at gjaps at: auckland.ac.nz as attachments in RTF or DOC format using a standard word processor. Submissions should be received by 15 February 2007.

CFP - ASAL Conference 2007: 'The Colonial Present : Australian Writing for the 21st Century' (1-4 July 2007; University of Queensland)

The 2007 ASAL (Association for the Study of Australian Literature) conference will explore 'the temporal continuum of a past that "is not even past", and the austral convergences of literatures across the Southern hemisphere'.

Proposals for 20-minute papers are invited on the following themes:

• legacies, complicities and implications across the South;
• transnational and postcolonial frameworks in current criticism;
• the role of testimony, memoir and life narrative;
• the presence of poetry;
• the historical novel and millennial writing.

Please send 300-word abstracts along with a brief biography to:

Gillian Whitlock (g.whitlock@uq.edu.au) or

Chris Tiffin (C.Tiffin@uq.edu.au)

by 23 February 2007.

==========================

Notice for Postgraduates: Partial Financial Assistance

Postgraduates may apply to the conference convenors of ASAL 2007 for financial assistance towards the cost of essential travel and accommodation.

Applications should include:

• details of the degree in which you are enrolled;
• an estimate/quote of anticipated expenses; and
• notice of any financial support that may be provided by your institution (or other sources).

ASAL's policy is to award financial assistance to postgraduates on the basis of:

a. The demonstrated necessity of the funding.
b. The applicant's distance from the proposed activity.
c. The acceptance of the abstract detailing the applicant's proposed conference paper.

Preference will be given to applicants who are not in a position to receive funding from other sources. Postgraduates wanting to apply should signal their interest when they submit their abstracts to the convenors.

CFP - Edited book - Everyday Multiculturalism (Deadline for abstracts: 16 Feb 2007)

EVERYDAY MULTICULTURALISM
Amanda Wise & Selvaraj Velayutham (editors)

Following a successful conference on Everyday Multiculturalism organised by the Centre for Research on Social Inclusion at Macquarie University, Australia, we have received expressions of interest from a number of publishers keen on publishing a collection on this topic. They have encouraged us to attract a good international spread of papers. While research on multiculturalism and racism is well developed, qualitative research into everyday modes of lived multiculturalism remains fairly limited. We invite papers that explore quotidian experiences of cultural difference and diversity. Quotidian diversity has been variously described as 'togetherness-in-difference' (Ang 2000), and 'inhabiting difference' (Hage 1998). We take the term to mean those perspectives on cultural diversity which recognize the embodied or inhabited nature of living with cultural difference.

We welcome expressions of interest from scholars doing grounded research on the topic of multiculturalism which explores the ways in which people experience and (dis)engage with cultural difference using case studies from around the world but which also make broader theoretical points relevant beyond the locality involved. Accessible theoretical papers which engage with the concept of the everyday are also welcome.

We are interested in papers that explore the intersections and relationships between cultural groups, rather than research taking a single ethnic group as a focus.

Papers can also examine:

• Interconnections between the everyday and larger discourses of multiculturalism and nation;
• Everyday affinities and solidarities
• Everyday disjunctures, discomforts, and racisms between cultures;
• Modes of living with and across difference in cities, suburbia or regional areas;
• Food, neighbouring, shopping, school, sport, etc. as sites for multicultural encounters and negotiations at the neighbourhood level;
• Multicultural place-sharing and battles over place identity and belonging.

Perspectives from any discipline are welcome, especially sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, and human geography. Please send a proposed title, a 500 word abstract and a short bio by 16 February 2007 to Banu Senay - banu.senay@scmp.mq.edu.au

Accepted contributions (5-7,000) words will have to be completed by 31 July 2007 with a view to publication in early 2008.

For all enquiries please contact:
Dr Selvaraj Velayutham - selvaraj.velayutham@mq.edu.au
or
Dr Amanda Wise - amanda.wise@mq.edu.au

REPORT - "Transnational Dialogues on Bollywood" by Amit Sarwal (Conference held 30 Nov 2006; Melbourne)

On Thursday 30th November 2006, The Australian National University and Monash University jointly organised a one-day conference titled “Transnational Dialogues on Bollywood: Australian Perspectives” at the Monash Law Chambers, Melbourne.

The convenors of this conference, Debjani Ganguly (ANU) and Andrew Hassam (Monash University) succeeded in bringing together a group of scholars from India (Makarand Paranjape, Anjali Gera Roy, Nagamallika G.) and Australia (Andrew Hassam, Debjani Ganguly, Vijay Mishra, Goldie Osuri) to “explore the transnational impact of Bollywood on public spheres around the globe and to assess its contribution to creative industries in Australia.”

The conference addressed the following themes, with particular reference to the Australian context:

• Transnational circulation of Bollywood as a marker of Indianness
• Bollywood as a shared cultural idiom among the Indian diaspora
• Translation of Bollywood themes, genres, styles into various popular cultural forms around the world (e.g. the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, new media art, intercultural youth films)
• Impact of Bollywood on material culture, such as food, fashion and fitness
• Production, distribution and reception of Bollywood films
• Bollywood’s contribution to creative industries

>>> READ AMIT SARWAL'S FULL REPORT (MS-Word doc).

Please Note:
A follow-up workshop is in the process of being planned for January 2008 at the Centre for English Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Scholars who are interested in participating can contact Prof. Makarand Paranjape for more information: makarand@mail.jnu.ac.in or makarand.paranjape@gmail.com

CFP - Moving Cultures, Shifting Identities conference (3-5 Dec 2007; Flinders U, SA)

This conference will examine issues of migration, transnational connection, displacement heritage, global space and cultural memory created by the movements of peoples between cultures in the modern world.

Moving Cultures, Shifting Identities will explore the cultural connections between homelands and new lands, and the complexities of reshaping cultural identities and shifting allegiances between cultures of departure and cultures of arrival. The conference will have three main streams:

1. The public policy stream will cover issues of economics, population, forced migration, security, “core values”, education and the managing of cultural impacts of migration.

2. The history of migration stream will include sessions on pre- and post-World War Two migration, recent arrivals and diasporic communities.

3. The Cultural Migration stream will include sessions on memory, writing, language, cultural maintenance and sustainability, and the plurality of migrant identities.

Conference themes
Papers are invited on the following:
• The demographics of people flow: who moves where? And why?
• Forced migration in the Asia Pacific
• Cultural, political and economic factors shaping migration. How are connections made?
• Bordering the nation: migration and national security
• Transnationalism, citizenship and sovereignty
• Gender and generational issues in the migration experience
• Linguistics, diaspora and migration• Settling down, settlement patterns and return migration
• Can multi-cultures and multi-ethnicities produce one nation?
• Multiculturalism
• Language maintenance in the new culture
• Foodways
• Migration, place and situated identities
• Connections with the new place and (re)negotiating with the old
• Home and Away: What is transferred from the home culture to the new culture? What cannot fit in the baggage?
• Imaginary homelands: life-writing, creative writing and film responses to the migration experience
• Unsettlement: the idea of the settler colony
• Cultural memory: heritage and exchange
• Transplanted cultures as tourist attractions
• Fusion, “cultural hybridity”, cosmopolitanism

Guest speakers
The conference will feature plenary session addresses by leading international scholars in the field, as well as parallel presentations by researchers and policy-makers.

Proposals for panel sessions will be considered as well as abstracts for individual papers. Panel proposals should include a theme for the session, the names of all speakers, the titles of their papers, and a session summary of 250-300 words.

Abstracts of 250-300 words should be submitted for each paper, whether they are included in a panel session proposal or not. Where abstracts are intended for a proposed panel session, this should be indicated on the abstract.

Abstracts and session proposals should be sent to:
Nena Bierbaum
School of Humanities
Flinders University
GPO Box 2100
Adelaide, South Australian 5001

or by email to nena.bierbaum@flinders.edu.au by 31 March 2007.

All abstracts will be refereed. Further information may be obtained from the Flinders Humanities Research Centre for Cultural Heritage and Cultural Exchange website.

Moving Cultures, Shifting Identities is a conference organised by the Flinders Humanities Research Centre for Cultural Heritage and Cultural Exchange, the Centre for Research into New Literatures in English (CRNLE) and Flinders International Asia Pacific (FIAP).

CONFERENCE CONTACT
Nena Bierbaum, School of Humanities, Flinders University, SA.
Ph: (+61 8) 82012578 or 82012257
Fax: (+61 8) 82013635

NEW SPECIAL ISSUE - ACRAWSA E-Journal "Queer Race"

NOTE: For access to full text, ACRAWSA membership is required. Visit the ACRAWSA site for more information.

Special Issue: "Queer Race" 2.2 (2006)
Edited by Damien W. Riggs

You can view issue abstracts HERE.

Of particular interest to Asian Australian Studies are the following:

"THE (GAY) SCENE OF RACISM: FACE, SHAME AND GAY ASIAN MALES"
GILBERT CALUYA
As adept as we have become in tracing the discursive and institutional contours of contemporary Australian racisms, such a focus sometimes shifts attention away from the ‘lived experience’ of racism, in Fanon’s sense. What does it mean to face racism? What does it mean for gay Asian men to face racism on the gay scene? How is it possible to face racism? Indeed, do we face racism or does racism ‘face’ us? Drawing on autoethnographic research, this essay focuses on the lived experience of anti-Asian racism on the gay scene. It analyses cultural examples of racial wounding on the gay scene to tease out the constitutive role of shame for gay Asian men’s racial-sexual subjectivities.

"WHAT A DRAG! FILIPINA/WHITE AUSTRALIAN RELATIONS IN THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT"
ELAINE LAFORTEZA
This paper tracks the ways in which the deployment of Orientalist logic (in)forms the Australian film The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert (1994) and responses to the film. I argue that Orientalism within Priscilla privileges a white hegemony that denies the potentialities of queer as destabilising normative coherence. I focus on the white protagonists’ relationship with Cynthia, the Filipina character, in order to interrogate how whiteness and Orientalism (in)forms their contact with one another, and I process queer (to a heterosexist social order) characters as normative protagonists because of their whiteness. Here, I insinuate my own readings of the film to show that while Orientalist whiteness shapes the film, it also produces and is produced by perceptual practices that deploy investments in and/or resignify the scope of white Orientalism. I track this simultaneous affirmation and reconceptualisation of normative structures through the characters’ use of drag. Such impermanence maintains whiteness as the speaking/subject position. Consequently, queer potentialities for extending the scope of white Orientalism cannot eventuate. This paper pushes towards recognising whiteness and Orientalism as integral facets of queerness within Priscilla and through responses to the film. With this, the multiple ways in which queer identities are experienced can be addressed.

"I THINK YOU’RE THE SMARTEST RACE I’VE EVER MET: RACIALISED ECONOMIES OF QUEER MALE DESIRE"
ALAN HAN
This paper explores how queer white men become both the desiring subjects and desirable objects of the queer male gaze. By analysing the personal experiences of queer Asian men, this paper argues that queer white men claim possession of desire as capital through racialised economies of queer male desire. These economies privilege queer white men by racialising queer Asian men and other non-white queer men, and ascribes them desirability according to the queer white male gaze. By racialising nonwhite queer men, queer white men’s whiteness is unracialised, and so, conceals their possession of desire as a white possession. I argue that it is only by exploring how queer white men claim possession of desire as capital within these racialised economies of queer male desire, that we can consider how they dominate the queer male gaze.

CULTURAL EVENT - Chutney Generations (Liverpool Regional Museum, NSW; 16 December 2006)

Join us for Chutney Generations> on Saturday 16 December from 4 - 8pm
Liverpool Regional Museum, cnr Congressional Drive and Hume Highway.

Chutney, a salsa of tamarind, mint, coriander or tomato ground together into a tangy flavour is the metaphor for the cultural extravaganza that is Chutney Generations.

The exhibition celebrates the heritage of the Australian-Fijian-Indian commmunity, Liverpool’s largest ethnic group, while highlighting their contribution towards multicultural Australia.

Join us for what promises to be a fun and interactive day of dancing, live music, fashion parades, food sampling, henna painting and sari wearing.

To be officially launched by Paul Lynch MP, Member for Liverpool.

Free event. RSVPs appreciated by Wed 13 December.
phone: (02) 9821 1121, email: reception@casulapowerhouse.com
www.casulapowerhouse.com

RECENT SPECIAL JOURNAL ISSUE - Journal of Chinese Australia ("Rituals, ceremonies and processions")

The special issue of Journal of Chinese Australia titled, "Rituals, ceremonies and processions," was published in October 2006.

Articles include:

• Michael Williams, "Departed friends."
• Kevin Wong Hoy and Patricia Monaghan-Jamieson, "Chinese feasts and festivals in colonial Australia."
• Drew Cottle and Angela Keys, "Building the bridge of solidarity: The politics of the Chinese Youth League in Australia, 1939-73."
• Cora Trevarthen, "After the gold is gone: Chinese communities in northeast Victoria, 1861-1914."

JCA is an online journal dedicated to providing access to research and resources on the history and culture of Chinese people in Australia. It is a place for family and community researchers, historians and students to share their ideas and questions.

NEW JOURNAL ISSUE - Issue 2 of Aotearoa Ethnic Network Journal launched

Issue 2 of the AEN Journal was formally launched yesterday at Creative New Zealand's Auckland Office.

Now available online, the issue focuses on creativity, identity and ethnicity. A timely topic considering that national identity is one of three strategic policy goals of government. This new issue is infused with contributions from writers, poets, visual artists and film makers. We contextualise this with writing by leading academics, an architect and from creative organisations and the museum sector.

The AEN Journal includes poetry, prose and visual arts. It presents a diverse array of ideas, with twenty articles drawn from Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii and the UK.

Contributors include the Governor General Anand Satyanand, Athena Gavriel, Catherine Nesus, Ellen Altschuler, Fe Sarmiento, Helen Bartle, Hye Rim Lee, Ian Clothier, Jameela Siddiqi, Julie Roberts, Karlo Mila, Mallika Krishnamurthy, Manase Lua, Natasha Beckman, Nigel Murphy, 'Okusitino Mahina, Pip Cheshire, Robert Sullivan, Sandor Lau, Sapna Samant, Sean Cubitt, Te Aouru Biddle and Vicky Te Puhi-o-Te Arawa Rangi.

This issue of the AEN Journal makes the point that creativity builds bridges and creates understanding within and between people.

Edited and designed by Wairua Consulting's Andy Williamson and Ruth DeSouza, the AEN Journal aims to create a space for critical conversations that help us shape an exciting and ethnically diverse New Zealand.

Wairua Consulting is proud to be a member of Te Ngira: The NZ Diversity Action Programme.

The AEN Journal is a free open-access journal and can be read online or download as individual articles or in full from http://journal.aen.org.nz