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Call for Papers Theme: All I Need Is Love? Subtitle: Nation, Affect and Aversion in a Post-Imagined-Community Asia Type: International Workshop Institution: Graduate Institute of Mass Communication, National Taiwan Normal University Monash Asia Institute, Monash University Location: Taipei (Taiwan) Date: 23.–24.10.2015 Deadline: 15.4.2015 __________________________________________________ We are observing the rise of salient expression of love and loyalty for the nation and comparable communities — accompanied often by the display of aversion against various “others.” Jingoistic thinking and action are justified in the name of national interest and dignity; criticisms of the nation-state are met with suspicion, even condemnation. In such an atmosphere, the state subtly looks for opportunities to reclaim its legitimacy. Yet a twisted sense of pride and victimhood generated among people can easily turn its back on the state. Socio-economic predicament and reformulated historical knowledge are just some triggers behind such new affective modes of belonging. Moreover, civil society and network mediation played pivotal and complex roles in the rise of nation-related affect and aversion. Often, a supreme attachment to nation-states and to other ethno-religious, communal identifications became favored at the cost of cosmopolitan engagement with cultural diversity in our globalizing world. This workshop brings the above concerns in the Asian and inter-Asian contexts under focus and intensive discussion. Some questions we hope to understand better are as follows: What are the driving forces behind the expression and performance of nation-related affect and aversion in contemporary Asia? How is this attempt at identification different from a representational paradigm of imagined communities as well as from the conventional understanding of nationalism and patriotism? How does aversion against imagined “others” turn into an attack against marginalized people within the nation (such as ethno-racial minorities, recent migrants, and those who have sympathy with an Asian country under attack)? How has the vicious circle of inter-Asian jingoism been generated with the rise of China, the popularity of Korean media culture and lingering issues of Japanese colonial history? How have the states in Asia responded to various affective developments? How have social media and internet communication mobilized nation-related affect and aversion, and how have people intervened? Is it possible to foster inclusiveness and cosmopolitan action without negating affective attachment to nation-states? How and whether would transnational collaboration work as an effective method of intervention? Confirmed speakers include: Ien Ang (University of Western Sydney), Kim Hyun Mee (Yonsei University), Kwai-Cheung Lo (Hong Kong Baptist University), Eva Tsai (National Taiwan Normal University), and Koichi Iwabuchi (Monash University). We plan to publish an edited volume from the papers presented at the symposium through Asian Cultural Studies: Transnational and Dialogic Approaches, a new book series by Rowman & Littlefield International. We invite interested presenters to send a 300-word paper proposal to [email protected] by 15 April 2015. Please include a paper title, an abstract, and a short biography of the author with affiliation and contact information. In the email subject line, please clearly indicate “PAPER PROPOSAL FOR TAIPEI OCTOBER WORKSHOP.” The selection result will be notified in mid-May. Please kindly be advised that we will not be able to offer financial support for participants’ travel expenses. There will be no registration fees for the workshop. Contact: [email protected] __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://cal.polylog.org __________________________________________________
