Deadline for proposal submission has been EXTENDED: Wednesday, July 17, 2024
The Consortium for Asian and African Studies [CAAS] will hold its 14th Annual Symposium at Columbia University, New York, USA, and online on Friday & Saturday, October 25-26, 2024. We invite graduate students and faculty of the seven CAAS member universities (Leiden, INALCO, SOAS, HUFS, Columbia, SISU, TUFS) to submit proposals for papers or pre-organized panels.
Is Israel committing acts of genocide in Gaza? Much commentary on this question is Eurocentric, insofar as it either explicitly or implicitly invokes comparisons with the Holocaust perpetrated against Jews and Roma during World War II. This conference will reflect on genocide within a global comparative context, with particular reference to Asia and Africa. Victims of genocidal or quasi-genocidal violence within this region include, but are not limited to, Armenians, Bedouin, Bengalis, Cambodians, Darfuri, Dzungars, East Timorese, Herero and Nama, Kurds, Rohingya, Tutsis and Yazidis. The symposium will also explore related phenomena such as mass killing, ethnic cleansing, war crimes, crimes against humanity, cultural genocide, and settler colonialism. What causes genocide, and what situations make genocide more likely? How are the dead remembered? And what are the impacts and afterlives of genocide on survivors and perpetrators alike? Participants will also discuss a moral and political question that has divided campuses around the world since Israel began its military retaliation against the Hamas attacks of October 7th 2023. How complicit are educational institutions in providing moral or financial support to the perpetrators of genocide? Should universities divest from states that are committing, or are at plausible risk of committing, acts of genocide?
The 14th CAAS Symposium seeks to mobilize the strengths of our institutions and network to engage with these issues and critically examine the concept of “genocide”. We invite papers and pre-organized panels that explore the theme from a multidisciplinary and comparative perspective, to understand its historical, cultural, and political dimensions, and identify the challenges and opportunities it poses for contemporary societies. We encourage scholars at different stages of their careers and from diverse backgrounds and perspectives to participate in this symposium and contribute to a vibrant and inclusive academic community.
Submission
English is the language of the symposium as in the past CAAS Symposia. We welcome applications from graduate students, post-docs, and faculty members. If you don’t wish to publish your paper in the proceedings, you don’t need to submit a full paper.
Submit a Symposium Proposal
Please submit your proposal through the Google form below.
https://forms.gle/JhpGsVLSoHCMkxk18
Information on Panel Organization
Panels will be organized by the themes, topics, and relevant regions of the proposals. All presenters are required to submit a presentation title and a brief abstract (max. 300 words).
In the case of pre-organized panels, please also include a panel abstract (max. 300 words). The number of panelists/presenters is limited to a maximum of four (4), excluding the chair. Registration can be done through the same Google form as above.
Important Dates
- Extended Deadline for proposal submission: Wednesday, July 17, 2024
- Notification of acceptance: Wednesday, July 24, 2024
- Deadline for full paper submission (for those who wish to publish their paper in the proceedings): Friday, October 11, 2024
- Symposium date: Friday & Saturday, October 25-26, 2024
*As with past CAAS Symposia, Columbia University will not cover travel and accommodation expenses.
For further information about the Symposium or if you cannot access the google form, please contact us at:
[email protected].
