Thursday 28 September 2017

Confy on Diasporic Writing @ Central University of Gujarat

Centre for Study of Diaspora
Organizes a
Three-day International Conference
on
“Transnationalism, Culture and
Diaspora in the Era of Globalisation”
21-23 February 2018
at
Central University of Gujarat, Sector- 29, Gandhinagar

About the Conference

The conference will address the mutual relations and converging contours of Diaspora, Trans-nationalism and Culture against the unfolding process of Globalisation.

Some of the key concepts that are central to the discipline of Diaspora such as nation, nation-state, ethnicity, locality, identity etc. have undergone massive changes in the wake of globalisation.

Ato Quayson and Girish Daswani rightly point out that “a diaspora, of whatever character, must not be perceived as a discrete entity but rather as being formed out of a series of contradictory convergences of peoples, ideas, and even cultural orientations.” The shifting nature of the immigrants’/emigrants’ relations to places, both remembered and inhabited, and cultures, both inherited and acquired, across borders, both real and imagined, complicate their everyday perceptions and necessitate constant negotiations between their locations and origins. This is as much a cultural process as political or social.

Literature of the Diaspora is replete with long journeys across both space in search of one’s individual or collective self. The conference will examine these relations in terms of conceptual categories like ethnicity, nostalgia, identity, nation, nation-state etc.

Themes and Subthemes

Theoretical Perspectives of Diaspora
Global Diasporas
Indian Diaspora across the Globe
Diaspora, Media and Trans-nationalism
Diasporic Literature (pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial period)
Refugee Literatures, Exile Literatures and Travel Writings
Refugees, Exiles and Travelers
Diaspora Engagement Policies
Diaspora and Soft Power
Diaspora and Citizenship
Diaspora and International Relations
Effect of International Migration on Origin and Destination Regions

Migration and Globalisation
International Migration and Human Trafficking
Diaspora and Development
Diaspora and Conflict (Resolution): Peace Makers or Wreckers
Diaspora and Youth
Diaspora Philanthropy
Diaspora and Civil Society Organisations
Diasporic Associations or Organisations
Diaspora and Entrepreneurship
Gender and Diaspora
Technology and Diaspora
Diaspora as Economic, Social, Cultural and Political Capital
Methodological Issues of Migration and Diaspora
International Migration and Human Rights
Illegal Migration
Migration and Identity

Please send your abstracts in about 200-250 words to the
e-mail id. : cugdiasporaconf2018@gmail.com
For any further information or query please contact Dr. Atanu Mohapatra at
Tel : 079-23977436, Mob. : 93748 31813

About CUG and Centre for Study of Diaspora

Diaspora Studies is a new interdisciplinary area that has emerged in Humanities and Social Sciences dealing with the study of migration and its cultural, literary, social, political and economic impact. It is an established fact that the contribution of overseas communities of Indians to Indian economy has been substantial. Also the Indian overseas community has emerged as the ‘soft power’ promoting India’s international relations, being its global ambassadors and contributing immensely to the social and intellectual capital of India. But what is less known is the mourning and trauma of losing the protection of home and homeland, challenges of alienation, assimilation, acculturation and reconciliation encountered by people who migrate to foreign countries. A sizeable body of literature now exists both in the forms of novels, biographies, autobiographies, diaries, short stories, dramas, poems (not to mention films) and also scholarly writings on issues related to the historical, anthropological, sociological, political and economic aspects of the process of migration of people. The history of Indian migration goes back to ancient and pre-modern times though it has become a subject of study only in recent times. Gujarat is notable for its Non-Resident Indian population and their contribution to Gujarat society and Indian economy. So, the Centre with its multidisciplinary framework studies the various aspects and issues of diaspora focusing on the Indian diaspora. Apart from classroom study focusing on the concepts of the discipline the Centre also uses field visits to study the processes and impacts of migration as part of its teaching.

The Centre was established in the year 2011. It started offering the course from the academic year 2011-12 with the enrolment of three students. Presently, there are 36 students pursuing their M.Phil. and Ph.D. in the Centre. Twenty-Nine students are in different stages of their Ph.D. and seven students are in M.Phil. In the Centre, 34 M.Phil. dissertations have been awarded.

Important Dates
Last date for receiving abstract (Tentatively) 02 Dec 2017
Communication about selection (Tentatively) 10 Dec 2017
Last date for receiving full paper (Tentatively) 15 Jan 2018
Date of Conference (Tentatively) 21-23 Feb 2018
Venue of Conference (Tentatively) Central University of Gujarat

Registration Fees
Academician / Professional / Faculty Member : 1,000 INR
Research Scholar/Student: 500 INR

…India can live and grow by spreading abroad -
not the political India, but the ideal India.
Rabindranath Tagore (cited in Hugh Tinker's The Banyan Tree) 

For more information, click on their brochure HERE

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