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Call for Papers Theme: Borders, Bounds and Brinks Subtitle: Rethinking Boundaries In and About Burma/Myanmar Type: Burma/Myanmar Research Forum 2015 Institution: Cornell University Location: Ithaca, NY (USA) Date: 2.–4.10.2015 Deadline: 20.7.2015 __________________________________________________ “A side, edge, brink, or margin.” What is a border if not this: a mere line dividing two (or more) better-studied entities? This year’s Burma/Myanmar Research Forum follows recent scholarship on borderlands to investigate these spaces in their own right, and also as openings onto wider political, conceptual, and historical terrains. Borders include, yet also exclude; they separate, yet also connect. How might a focus on borders raise questions about overly “centralized” narratives about religious, ethnic, colonial, and other histories of Burma? Various dimensions of borders and boundaries (spatial, ecological, ethno-political, religio-cultural, conceptual, etc.) are welcomed as areas of analysis. We invite proposals that consider borders and boundaries both as historical entities and as analytical categories. This includes papers that look at borders as social and political technologies, asking how such lines were drawn historically and how they have shifted over time. While we welcome work on geospatial divisions, we encourage submissions on other types of lines that have been used for purposes of separation, division, and exclusion, or work on the intermediary spaces created between and across lines. We also encourage papers that reflect on the way we as scholars sort, group, systematize, and exclude in historical and social scientific research. This includes work that questions spatial frames of reference (e.g., “Kachin State,” “Burma,” “Southeast Asia”), and also work that unsettles disciplinary boundaries and disturbs standard periodizations (e.g., “Konbaung,” “colonial,” “post-1962”). The forum is envisaged as an intellectual platform bringing together Burma/Myanmar scholars from across the US and internationally, to facilitate dialogue on new and emerging research, and to foster exchange between senior and emerging scholars. The conference will feature an opening conference plenary with presentations from senior scholars, and discussion-intensive workshops of research in progress, with plenary speakers serving as discussants. The forum will also feature Burma/Myanmar related films. We encourage submissions from all disciplinary backgrounds that would illuminate the historical and contemporary dynamics that (re)define boundaries and borders in Burma/Myanmar. Graduate students and faculty working in all disciplines are encouraged to submit proposals or expressions of interest in participation. Submissions may propose a short 5-8 page paper on research in progress, a research prospectus, or ideas in another format, subject to review by the workshop convenors. Proposals for non-traditional, multimedia, and/or performance-oriented presentations are welcome. Because of the workshop-based nature of this conference, space is limited, and we ask those interested in being non-presenting participants to also express their interest through the same form. For this initial stage, submissions should take the form of a 250-300 word abstract or statement describing the proposed paper/presentation, along with a short bio, no later than July 20, 2015. Short papers/proposals will be circulated ahead of time. We have limited funding for travel and lodging support, and encourage all workshop participants to seek support from their home institutions. To apply for travel funding, please see the online form for details. Please see here to submit your proposal: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1UYcmao4tdVn5vFMvzlW9Xaw1ej14A0s4532llQ8MeJ4/viewform Featured Speakers: Penny Edwards, Associate Professor – University of California, Berkeley, Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies Tin Maung Maung Than, Senior Research Fellow – Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Singapore) Alicia Turner, Associate Professor – York University, Toronto, Department of Humanities and Religious Studies If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at: burmamyanmarresearchfo...@gmail.com. The conference flyer is available here (pdf): http://seap.einaudi.cornell.edu/sites/seap.einaudi.cornell.edu/files/articles/BurmaMyanmarforumCFC.pdf __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://cal.polylog.org __________________________________________________
