International Conference CIVILIZATION AND CULTURE Culture as Burden and Opportunity
Bandung, July 18-20, 2006 I n d o n e s i a Background The increasing global interdependence today has brought with it global risks and global problems, since it is characterized also by anarchy of relations, imbalance of wealth distributions, unpredictability of its unintended consequences, divergent claims of rationality as well as contradictory certainties. In such an ambivalent glocal context, where terrorism seems to be the most possible act of resistance, where the destiny of the global human race is at stake and particular cultures are experienced as both opportunity and burden, it is high time to rethink the interconnection between the concepts of civilization and culture. To give an opportunity for a deeper reflection on the issue, Parahyangan Catholic University, in collaboration with the Asian Association of Catholic Philosophers (AACP), is organizing an international conference on Civilization and Culture : culture as burden and opportunity, July 18-20, 2006, in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. Main Aim The aims of the conference are : 1. to explore and offer new ways of thinking the identity and self. 2. to ponder over what ultimately is the most valuable for the growth of humanity in general. 3. to rethink the meaning of intellectual leadership in this context. 4. Hoping that at the end some concrete implications for action can be envisaged and recommended. Term of Reference Historically, the notion of civilization developed as a category under which various socio-cultural processes internal to the West, such as capitalism, nation-building, industry and democracy, could be gathered and understood, while at the same time providing a broader framework to interpret other different societies that Europe came in contact with. This interest soon led to the development of comparative civilizational analysis with its distinction between the pre-civilizational and the civilizational, in terms of which civilizational historiography was then set up, taking the Sumerians, the Egyptians, and so on, as the origins of civilization. And later on, along with the optimism of modernity, civilization became a normative ideal which was based on universal basic ideas such as evolution, progress, freedom or rationality. But, while it had succeeded in shaping a homogeneous world, by the end of the twentieth century the modern notion of civilization had also given rise to many forms of criticism. Post-colonial discourse and Postmodernism have disclosed the ideological as well as the fictive side behind such modern universal grand-narratives in which the concept of civilization is then seen as a sort of imperialism in disguise. Thus, the notions of civilization and culture carry with them an accumulated heritage of meanings, perspectives and theoretical strategies that have developed throughout the course of contemporary reflection. The concept of civilization, especially, has become a site of tension between the tendency that emphasizes universalistic images of the human race, and the tendency that emphasizes the plurality of cultures and society. And many issues related to it are basically ambiguous, such as : the interconnection between civilization and political transformation, civilization and identity, images of self-transformation behind any civilizing project, etc. The complexity of the issue is such that, while it is often regarded as the universal parameter of cultural evolution, civilization may also be viewed as harassment of human cultural wealth. And on the other hand, culture, while it is normally viewed as the repository of the best local-genius, in terms of comparative civilizational perspective could also be seen as a burden or a threat. In fact not everything in tradition or culture is worth holding on to. Therefore, further rethinking of all these is required. Time and Venue July 18-20, 2006 Savoy Homann Hotel, Jl. Asia Afrika no 112, Bandung 40261, West Java, Indonesia. Participants Philosophers from Asia, Europe, and USA Official Language English Program July 17 : arrival July 18 : - Registration - Opening Ceremony - Coffee Break - Keynote Speech: 1. Anthony Giddens (England) 2. Keping Wang (China) 3. Azyumardi Azra ( Indonesia) 4. Franz Magnis-Suseno (Indonesia) - Lunch - Session 1 - Coffee Break - Workshop : Democracy and the Treatment of the Other - Dinner July 19 : - Session 1 - Coffee Break - Session 2 - Lunch - Session 3 - Coffee Break - Workshop : Civilization,Culture and Religious Bias - Excursion + Dinner July 20 : - Excursion - Closing ceremony + Recommendation - Dinner (Farewell Party) July 21 : Departure Registration - Registration Fee : $ 150 (to be paid in cash on the first day) - Contact : 1. Bambang Sugiharto E-mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone : +62-22-4205476 ext 102 +628122002133 Fax : +62-22-4205476 ext 117 +62-22-7106392 2. Slamet Purwadi E-mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone : +62-22-4205476 ext 310 +6281320334920 - Secretariat : Faculty of Philosophy Parahyangan Catholic University Jl. Nias 2, Bandung 40117 Indonesia Steering Committee : - Dr. Bambang Sugiharto - Goenawan Mohamad - Dr. Haryatmoko - Dr. Gadis Arivia - Dr. Budiono Kusumohamidjojo Organizing Committee : - Fabianus S.Heatubun, Drs, LSL - Y.Slamet Purwadi M.A - Fransiskus Borgias Drs, LTh Event Organizer : - Wawan Juanda, Republic of Entertainment. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ______________________________________________ SPECTRE list for media culture in Deep Europe Info, archive and help: http://coredump.buug.de/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/spectre