Transnational Asia Graduate Student Conference, Feb. 5, 2010, (application deadline Dec. 10, 2009)

Keynote: William Mazzarella, University of Chicago Department of Anthropology

Phenomena that accompany the movement of individuals, ideas, and goods across the boundaries of nation-states are often glossed as "transnational." Individuals in Asia are evermore bound to each other and to the rest of the world. This increase in transnational encounters has both tested and strengthened national boundaries. We are interested in how intra- and inter-regional, transnational flows impact Asian societies and their interlocutors. While telecommunications technology and convenient air travel facilitate the forging of trade, educational, and cultural links, they may also presage the development of new conflicts and frictions. Our Transnational Asia Conference seeks a cross-disciplinary approach for exploring the processes and effects of transnationalism within contemporary and historical periods. We also aim to interrogate the very usefulness of the concept itself.

The Chao Center for Asian Studies at Rice University are seeking paper proposals for the following panels. Abstracts of no more than 250 words may be sent to transnationalasia@gmail.com by Thursday, December 10, 2009.  Please indicate which panel you are submitting to in the body of your e-mail.

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Panel 1: Transnational Religious Exchange
Description:  Asia has a long history of transnational exchange of religious ideas, texts, and images. China's silk routes provide a prominent example from medieval times. This panel invites scholars from any discipline to explore contemporary and historical phenomena in the context of Asian inter- and intra-regional religious exchange.

Panel 2: Language and Linguistic Practices in Transnational Asia
Description:  This panel seeks to explore questions of transmigration and multilinguality. How does transnationalism affect the linguistic identities, discourse(s), and cultural lingualism of connected communities? How do national administrations deal with challenges such as multilingual education and minority language preservation in the midst of transnational flows?

Panel 3: Circulating "Asia" and Transnational Audiences: Spectatorship, Identity, and Pop Culture
Description: This panel seeks to address the overlapping categories ofmass media, popular culture, and commodity forms. Further, it aims to interrogate the different ways in which media and cultural products can be conceived of as 'local' or 'foreign' by audiences/consumers, and examine how a transnational affect might add to the use-value of these products.

Panel 4: Inter-University Collaboration: Avenues and Bottlenecks
Description: Inter-institutional collaboration frequently brings unforeseen challenges and possibilities; this is especially true in the case of international collaboration. This panel will provide a forum for critical reflection on what such work entails and how it can be facilitated between Asian and U.S. American institutions. We especially welcome submissions that reflect on actual experiences. Scientists are encouraged to participate.

Panel 5: Dating Transnationalism
While we recognize that transnationalism refers to the nation state system and thus is inextricably tied to its rise, two questions emerge. First, can we discuss transnational phenomena in contexts other than the very recent past and if so when can they be said to have begun? Second, are these phenomena actually part of even more foundational historical changes and, if that is the case, what do we call them?