Call for Panels and Roundtables: Association for Asian Studies in Asia Conference

The Association for Asian Studies (AAS) and Academia Sinica are pleased to invite colleagues in Asian studies to submit proposals for organized panels and roundtables (no individual paper proposals accepted) to be presented at the second AAS-in-ASIA Conference to be held June 22-24, 2015 at Academia Sinica in Taiwan.  The Program Committee for the AAS-in-ASIA conference seeks proposals dealing with all regions of Asia on subjects covering a wide range of scholarly disciplines and professional fields under the theme "Asia in Motion: Ideas, Institutions, Identities."

Panels are welcomed from scholars throughout the field of Asian studies, wherever they may be based academically, and are especially encouraged from scholars representing academic communities that are relatively underrepresented in international meetings.

The deadline for proposal submissions is October 31, 2014 at 5:00 p.m. EST. All proposals must be submitted electronically via the proposal submission website www.aas-in-asia.org/2015-Call-for-Proposals-Main.htm?utm_source=BenchmarkEmail&utm_campaign=CFP+AAS-in-ASIA+Taiwan&utm_medium=email

Financial Award for Early Career Southeast Asian Archaeologists

Institute for Southeast Asian Archaeology

Website: www.iseaarchaeology.org/award-committee-announcement

Award: $1000

Nominations may be made by any professional archaeologist who holds a PhD. Self-nominations are strongly encouraged.

Nomination/Submission Materials Required: Nomination letters should be submitted by email to the committee chair and include a pdf of the article or chapter, a two-page letter that includes the lead author’s current address and a scholarly description of why the publication is an exemplary application of current archaeological theory to Southeast Asian data. Only one publication per nominee will be accepted. Nominees must have defended their dissertations and received their Ph.D. degree within the five year period from August 31, 2010 to September 1, 2015.

Nomination/Submission Deadline: December 1, 2015

Selection or Evaluation Criteria: Submitted articles and chapters are evaluated and ranked by committee members on factors including originality and quality of research and strengths of application of current archaeological theory to Southeast Asian data. Both mainland (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar [Burma], and Malay peninsula) and island (island Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, East Timor, Brunei, and Singapore) are included.  

Postdoctoral Fellowship: Vernacular Islam beyond the Arab World

Vanderbilt University

The Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities will host a year-long interdisciplinary Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Sawyer Seminar on the theme "When the Fringe Dwarfs the Center: Vernacular Islam beyond the Arab World" during the 2015/2016 academic year.  

We invite applications for the Andrew W. Mellon Visiting Postdoctoral Fellowship from young scholars in all disciplines whose presence will help to focus our work and stimulate discussions. 

Complete applications must be submitted by January 14, 2015. See the website for full details www.vanderbilt.edu/rpw_center/visitingfellowship.php.  

CFP: Religions of Asia at Southeast Commission for the Study of Religion Regional Meeting

CALL FOR PAPERS--SECSOR 2015

Come and join us in Nashville, TN for the Southeastern Commission for the Study of Religion (SECSOR) Regional meeting on March 6-8, 2015!

The following "Religions of Asia" section invites members/participants to present a paper at the 2015 SECSOR conference.  

(AAR) Religions of Asia

Themes: (1) In conjunction with the 2015 theme, “Disability,” we solicit proposals on the issue of disabilities in Asian religions in religious texts, traditions, law/practice, ritual, and religious community. (2) A joint session with Philosophy of Religion on “philosophy of religion and religious diversity.”* (3) Place and pilgrimage in Asian religions (a joint session with AAR Religions of Asia and SBL Hebrew Bible/Old Testament) (4) Music in Asian religions. (5) Open call. Send questions and proposals to Lisa Battaglia, Samford University (lbattagl@samford.edu) and Warner Belanger, Georgia College (warner.belanger@gcsu.edu). *For the joint session on religious diversity, please include Nathan Eric Dickman (nedickman@yhc.edu).

Submit  the Proposal Submission Form available on the SECSOR website (http://secsor.org) along with your proposal to the appropriate section chairs by October 6, 2014. Proposals should consist of a 1–2 page description of the presentation.

See the full ad at: http://secsor.org/

Best regards,

Lisa J. Battaglia

Assistant Professor of World Religions

Samford University

800 Lakeshore Drive

Birmingham, AL 35229
Phone: (205) 726-2249
Fax: (205) 726-2535

Email: lbattagl@samford.edu

LisaBattaglia@msn.com

CFP: The Future Museum: An Asian Perspective

An international conference on 'The Future Museum: an Asian Perspective' is being organized by the Centre for Asian Studies, University of Kelaniya to be held on 28thOctober 2014 at the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. Abstracts of papers should be sent before 15th September 2014 and acceptance will be notified case by case at our earliest convenience. Full papers of the accepted abstracts are necessary before 30th September if you wish to be considered it to be included in the conference publication which will be issued during the conference.

Papers on the following themes are welcome:

•     Conceptual and theoretical issues on the future museums.
•     Planning of existing museums to cope up with the future.
•     Issues related to repatriation of museum objects.
•     Social media, communication and dissemination of knowledge.
•     Museums for persons of special requirements.
•     Museums as  ' Soft Power' of international politics.
•     'Heritage families' and 'House Museums'.
•     Museums for children and 'Teaching Museums'.
•     Display, security, maintenance and research in the Digital Age.
•     Advance techniques and methods of conservation of museum objects.

You may present your paper on any other aspect related to the conference theme. All conference participants should be registered prior to attend the conference. You may ask to pay a nominal registration fee which you can pay at the registration desk. All paper presenters will be provided meals, refreshments and the Conference kit, but we regret that we are not in a position to help you for travelling, accommodation and other expenses incurred due to the conference.

Abstracts, full papers and for all communications please contact Ms. Indrachapa Gunasekara

museum.kln@gmail.com.

Prof. Anura Manatunga, Director, Centre for Asian Studies,
University of Kelaniya,
Sri Lanka.
Email: am@kln.ac.lk
Visit the website at http://kln.ac.lk

CFP: Locating Southeast Asian Horror

CALL FOR PAPERS

Plaridel Special Issue
Locating Southeast Asian Horror

Issue editors: Katarzyna Ancuta & Patrick F. Campos

The unprecedented success of Japanese and Korean horror on international markets in the early 2000s increased the demand for the genre from the region, but also set a new standard against which these productions were judged. Encouraged by the enthusiastic reception of (the problematically labeled but widely accepted category) “Asian Horror” by commentators and the global fan community, Southeast Asian national cinemas began to revitalize their local horror genres, and distributors eventually turned to Southeast Asian horror as well.

But contemporary “Southeast Asian Horror” proved to be quite diverse, ranging from those that adapt the same strategy that made J- and K-horror into a global phenomenon, to a great majority of horror films that resisted or spawned its own formula. Many of these films followed local modes of narrative, frequently mixed elements of comedy with horror, introduced stories of supernatural creatures incompatible with the generic hordes of universally acceptable ghosts and monsters, and appreciated a different aesthetics than one usually associated with either Western or East Asian horror film.

There is much to be said about Southeast Asian horror yet until now the genre has mostly eluded the attention of the academic community. This collection is an attempt to fill in the gap. Horror forms a staple part of Southeast Asian cinematic repertoire. As a genre, it is almost exclusively supernatural. This is not surprising, given the region’s rich texture of religiosity, supernatural beliefs, shamanic rituals, and animistic practice. While there is no denying that, at least to a certain extent, Southeast Asian horror has been influenced by Western or, more recently, East Asian horror films, we cannot underestimate the importance of the particular politics, local cultural grounding, and other permutations of Southeast Asian Horror.

With this in mind, this special issue aims to answer a number of questions: Does Southeast Asian horror exist as a separate, recognizable category? How is Southeast Asian horror different from Western or East Asian horror genres? What are the particular political and cultural characteristics of horror films when considered in the context of Southeast Asia or as being Southeast Asian? Are there any similarities or differences between films in the region across national cinemas? What is the current reach of Southeast Asian horror, in terms of international viewership? What are the modes of receiving and appreciating Southeast Asian horror?

We invite contributions of academic articles that can further the discussion of the topic.

Some of the suggested themes are:

•     Foreign influences on Southeast Asian horror
•     Transnational horror
•     Southeast Asian horror narrative structure
•     Southeast Asian horror sub-genres
•     Comparative view of horror from Southeast Asian national cinemas
•     Themes, motifs and locations
•     Folklore and oral tradition
•     Rural and urban horror
•     Haunting and spectrality
•     Representations of otherness
•     Representations of gender
•     Race, class and ethnicity issues
•     Political dimension of Southeast Asian horror
•     Cultural dimension of Southeast Asian horror
•     Southeast Asian horror audiences

Manuscripts should be submitted via email to plarideljournal@gmail.com, on or before 1 DECEMBER 2014.

For more information about Plaridel see: http://plarideljournal.org/

CFP: Pentecostalism and Charismatic Christianity in Southeast Asia: Church - Nation - World

Call for Paper - IAHR (Erfurt, Germany, 23-29 August 2015, http://www.iahr2015.org)

Panel: Pentecostalism and Charismatic Christianity in Southeast Asia:  Church – Nation – World

In the last decades, studies on Pentecostal/Charismatic movements have become a well established research field. This development mirrors the rising visibility of Pentecostal/Charismatic Christians in the public sphere – may it be via media, public prayer rallies and intercessory marches in mega-cities, through active candidacies in local and national political settings, as well as through community and social engagement. As an effect of the same global Pentecostal discourse that posits believers as vehicles of the Full Gospel to their immediate surrounding and the world, others have opted to stay out of a deeper worldly engagement and found new meaning in concentrating on individual transformation, holiness, evangelization, and building their own congregation, which, in turn, gives them a higher profile in the public sphere as well.

Given newer geopolitical developments in the Pacific Rim, it is surprising that studies on Pentecostal/Charismatic movements in Southeast Asia have received only limited attention.

• What are the ways Pentecostal/Charismatic believers in this region engage and situate themselves within their local societies and in the world?
• What global networks are tapped, endorsed and criticized?
• How do they construe their identity, their notions of church and their role in the world and what does it mean to them?
• How are these articulations framed by themes, theologies and socio-political discourses and material conditions prevalent in their local contexts?
• How do Pentecostal/Charismatic Christians negotiate the limits these frames and material constraints put on them?

This panel invites scholars of Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity in Southeast Asia to present research and case studies that interrogate the role of these religious movements in contemporary Southeast Asian societies pertaining to the aforementioned questions.

If you would like to contribute to the panel, please send us an abstract of app. 150 words (deadline September 10, 2014) by email toGiovanni.Maltese@wts.uni-heidelberg.de or to katja.rakow@asia-europe.uni-heidelberg.

Giovanni Maltese
Doctoral Research Fellow
Religionswissenschaft und Interkulturelle Theologie
Theologische Fakultät, Universität Heidelberg
Kisselgasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg

Tel.: +49-(0)6221 / 54-3731 Fax: +49-(0)6221 / 54-3290
Email: giovanni.maltese@wts.uni-heidelberg.de
Web: http://theologie.uni-hd.de/rm
Email: giovanni.maltese@wts.uni-heidelberg.de
Visit the website at http://www.iahr2015.org