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CALL FOR PAPERS
The insistence of journalistic discourse to refer to Asia today as to a continent in transformation, on the rise, in motion, in progress, in transfer and transition can but make one wonder about the seemingly irresistible need to resort to the metaphor of movement to convey the world’s opinion on the changes Asia has been undergoing in recent decades. Still, movement implies a journey and journeys map out the roads – those more and less taken. And while moving us forwards, the same roads may in fact lead us back into the past. To a journalist this may well seem yet another opportunity to invoke the famous “Asian Paradox” – a useful turn of phrase coined to express practically every aspect of Asian culture that escapes Occidental logic. For has it not been already declared that Tradition stands in the way of Progress and the two are mutually incompatible? How is one then to comprehend the notion of a modern traditional society – as an oxymoron, a paradox, or perhaps as just one of the many observations that can be made about contemporary Asia?
This conference seeks to explore new ways of understanding Asian traditions and transitions, inviting contributions reflecting on the changes in reading and representing Asian literatures, cultures and societies. We invite papers and presentations on Asia-related aspects in literature, language, literary criticism, film & media, theatre & performing arts, art & design, architecture, new media, cultures & societies, gender, race & ethnicity, popular culture, martial arts, religion, philosophy, ideology, semiotics, critical theory and any other forms of cultural expression. All critical approaches are welcome. |
