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Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2011 5:59 AM
Subject: H-ASIA: CFP: 2011 Melbourne Conference on China
H-ASIA
Jan 25 2011
CFP: 2011 Melbourne Conference on China
*********************************
From: Jia Gao <jia@unimelb.edu.au>
Announcement and Call for Papers
2011 Melbourne Conference on China
The City, the Countryside and the World – China's urban and rural
transformations and their global connections
Date: Saturday, 6 August and Sunday, 7 August 2011
Venue: The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Organiser: Asia Institute, Faculty of Arts, the University of Melbourne
Background
The Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne is pleased to
announce the
2011 Melbourne Conference on China, to be held at the University of
Melbourne on Saturday, 6 August and Sunday, 7 August 2011. We invite
researchers, policy makers and advisers, educators, industry
representatives, representatives of professional and other bodies, and
independent scholars and experts working anywhere in the world and in
any
area of China studies to meet in Melbourne - the 'New Gold Mountain'
for
Chinese settlers in the 1850s, and now Australia's 'capital of
culture' -
to consider the complex developments (both contemporary and
historical) in
China's cities and countryside and in China's wider global setting,
and to
explore the interactions between these different domains.
Context
The changes that have taken place in China in the past few decades are
widely acknowledged as being amongst the most rapid, far-reaching and
momentous in human history. At the core of these changes are two major
transformations: a closer and transformed relationship between the
cities
and the countryside, and a fundamentally altered relationship between
China
and the outside world. What happens in China's rural and urban areas
now has
a direct effect on almost every part of the planet, while the growing
impact
of global processes can now be felt even in the most remote parts of
China's
countryside. Some previous accounts of China's mid-20th century
political
upheavals have interpreted the success of the Chinese revolution as the
product of two factors: the successful mobilisation of rural
grievances, and
nationalist resentment at China's subordinated position in the world's
political and economic order. One current interpretation of the
contemporary
Chinese state is that the state derives its legitimacy from its
success in
transforming the Chinese economy from a predominantly agricultural
economy
to a predominately urban and industrial one, and from integrating
China into
the global economy.
Theme
This conference will engage with current research on rural and urban
social,
political, economic, cultural, environmental and other conditions in
China
and on the relationship between China and the rest of the world. It
seeks to
unite specific studies on particular aspects - rural, urban, or global -
with examination of the interrelationships between them. The organisers
welcome empirical studies on any aspect of this broad topic, and also
look
forward to receiving proposals that situate recent developments within a
longer historical perspective, to explore how the current ordering of
these
relationships might be seen not so much as a radical break with the
past but
as a successor to much older patterns of interaction between the
cities and
the countryside and between China and the outside world.
The conference takes a multi-disciplinary approach. It seeks to bring
together researchers from the humanities and social sciences and from
areas
such as economics, law, education, health, logistics, engineering,
architecture and planning, and environmental studies. The key
objective of
the 2011 Melbourne Conference on China is to explore the interplay
between
rural, urban and global phenomena from a plurality of perspectives so
as to
integrate diverse forms of analysis in a productive dialogue. It is
expected
that a selection of the conference papers will be published.
Suggested Topics
The issues to be discussed include, but are not limited to, the
following:
1. New developments in urban and rural China and their world contexts
· Socio-economic transformations occurring in China's urban, rural
and
global environments, and the interrelationships between them
· China's massive engineering projects and their impacts on rural,
urban
and global social and physical environments
· The impact of modern technologies and the promotion of science
education
on Chinese society in urban, rural and global settings
2. Planning, architecture and built environments in the city and the
country and beyond
· New urban and rural planning concepts, approaches and problems,
and new
architectural styles that evoke the dream of an age of 'Pax Sinica'
· Cultural and philosophical dimensions of the Chinese built
environment
in China's modern history and during its most recent transformations
· Spatial, formal and symbolic characteristics of the new Chinese
built
environment, from the countryside to the cities
3. Rural, urban and global governance and institutions
· Institutional changes and new public policies resulting from
industrialisation, urbanisation, economic growth, and other forms of
commercialisation and their effects in the countryside, the cities and
in the
wider world
· New systems of law and governance - in particular a stronger
awareness
of rights in urban and rural China -as well as the impact of these
systems on
China's engagement with the world
· Connections and disconnections between regional systems and
regional
development strategies, socio-cultural development, urbanisation and
eco-environmental protection
4. Health - rural, urban and global dimensions
· Urban, rural and global health issues, especially the health
effects of
China's rapidly growing and massive cities in both a domestic and a
global
context
· Large-scale epidemics, such as the emerging risk of HIV/AIDS
epidemics,
in the countryside, the cities and their global implications
5. Environmental sustainability as an urban, rural and global question
· Environment as a local, national and global concern and its
impact on
China's socio-political stability
· China's low carbon development, especially the development of
China's
low carbon cities and low carbon economy, and the concept of low
carbon life
6. Mobility, migration, ethnic and diaspora issues – from the
country to
the city to the world:
· Emerging trends in and patterns of internal migration,
international
migration and other demographic aspects of China's urban and rural and
global
realities
· Ethnic minorities in urban and rural China and in the
international
diaspora, especially the development of ethnically-defined economies,
ethnic
entrepreneurship, ethnic education, and the protection of ethnic and
linguistic heritage
· Brain-drain phenomena domestically and internationally, and
their impact
on human resource development and on structures of human, cultural and
intellectual capital
· Education and its role as an upward social mobility mechanism in
the
cities and the countryside and as a cause of urbanisation and global
mobility
· Transnational marriages and the formation of Western, African,
and Asian
minority communities in China
7. Media and Chinese perceptions of others – world contexts and local
realties
· The changing nature of China's mass media, social media and
media use in
rural, urban, national and international settings
· Urban and rural Chinese people's perceptions of their neighbouring
countries, big and small, rich and poor
· Information technologies, and their impacts on rural and urban
lives in
China and global linkages
8. Culture, religion and gender from the villages to the cities to the
world stage
· The revival of the Confucian tradition at local, regional,
national and
international levels and its relationship to other social phenomena
· Chinese traditional and popular culture in rural, urban,
national and
international settings
· Religious activities in cities, the countryside and the
diaspora, and
their relationship to Chinese secularism
· Gender and sexuality in urban and rural areas, and changing
attitudes to
gender-related issues
Papers or presentations examining any other aspect of these broad themes
from any other perspective not mentioned above are also welcome.
Leading scholars and policy advisers from Australia, China, the United
Kingdom, the United States and other parts of Asia have been invited to
address the conference.
Expressions of Interest
Please submit an abstract of up to 500 words, no later than Friday, 20
May
2010, to the following email address: Conference-on-China@unimelb.edu.au
<mailto:Conference-on-China@unimelb.edu.au>
The abstract must be in English and must contain the proposed title of
the
paper, the author's name and home institution and a brief bio of no more
than 150 words, along with contact details, including postal address in
English (or Chinese if applicable). All submissions will be
acknowledged in
writing upon receipt via email. Other inquiries may also be sent to the
above email address, or to the contact people listed below.
Each presentation will be for 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes for
discussion. The conference will be conducted in English, but a few
sessions
will be bilingual and conducted in both English and Chinese.
Venue and Accommodation
All sessions will be held on the University of Melbourne campus on
Saturday,
6 August 2011 and Sunday, 7 August 2011.
Those attending the conference will be responsible for organising
their own
travel and accommodation, and some meals. The Conference Organising
Committee will soon post more information about hotels located within
a 15
minute walking distance of the University of Melbourne.
Deadlines:
Submission of abstracts: Friday, 20 May 2011
Notification of acceptance: Friday, 27 May 2011
Conference programme: Friday, 10 June 2011
Standard registration: Friday, 24 June 2011
Registration: All attendees should send a completed registration
form (by
email – contact person to be advised) after receiving notification of
acceptance.
A standard conference fee of AU$100 is payable when you register.
Postgraduate students are entitled to a discount of 50% on their
registration fee.
More information about the registration form and fee, as well as hotels
located within walking distance of the University of Melbourne, will be
available in February 2011 on the official Asia Institute website at:
http://www.chinastudies.unimelb.edu.au/conferences/2011/index.html
Contacts: Conference Organising Committee, Asia Institute, the
University
of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia.
Email Conference-on-China@unimelb.edu.au
<mailto:Conference-on-China@unimelb.edu.au>
If you have questions about the conference, feel free to email
Dr Gao Jia at jia@unimelb.edu.au or
Dr Lewis Mayo at lmayo@unimelb.edu.au
Program and Website: The Programme: Please visit the conference
website
for updates. The first draft program is expected after Friday, 10 June
2011.
Information relating to this conference may be found on various
websites,
but the official Asia Institute website provides the most up-to-date
source:
http://www.chinastudies.unimelb.edu.au/conferences/2011/index.html
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