From: "Frank Conlon" <conlon@U.WASHINGTON.EDU>
To: <H-ASIA@H-NET.MSU.EDU>
Sent: Monday, August 08, 2011 9:33 PM
Subject: H-ASIA: CFP Structures of Exclusion in So. Asia, Delhi, Nov. 2011
> H-ASIA
> August 8, 2011
>
> Call for papers: "Structures of Exclusion in South Asia," University of
> Delhi 23rd – 25th November 2011
>
> ***********************************************************************
> From: H-Net Announcements <announce@MAIL.H-NET.MSU.EDU>
>
> Structures of Exclusion in South Asia University of Delhi 23rd – 25th
> November 2011
>
> Location: India
> Conference Date: 2011-11-23
> Date Submitted: 2011-08-03
> Announcement ID: 187007
>
> STRUCTURES OF EXCLUSION IN SOUTH ASIA
> University of Delhi
> 23rd – 25th November 2011
>
> The existence of institutionalised exclusion in South Asia is well known:
> social, economic, political and cultural inequities typically define the
> corpus identity of academic South Asian studies. Yet, notwithstanding
> this, it is becoming increasingly recognised that the constitution of
> principles of exclusion is actually seriously undertheorised.
>
> As compared to other Third World societies, state formations in South Asia
> have certain similarities, and some unique traits. The character of the
> state and policy promulgation frequently has served as an entry point into
> discussions recognising the perpetuation of various forms of exclusion. In
> this respect, two approaches have traditionally been dominant. In the
> first, various forms of exclusion stem from an 'institutional lag',
> whereby projects of (e.g.) 'nationhood' and 'democracy' only partially
> have countered the legacies of colonialism and/or primordialism. In the
> second, exclusion is considered as rooted in tenacious cultural practices
> and ideological dispositions, with states being unable to realise their
> desired objectives. (As a variant upon this theme, the inappropriateness
> of 'modernisation' is sometimes considered as acerbating old forms of
> exclusion, as well as creating new ones.)
>
> There are a number of problems associated with these hegemonic
> perspectives, not least that numerous counterfactual examples cannot be
> comprehended/assimilated. Particularly of significance is how many
> structures of exclusion have undergone considerable historical
> permutation, with some widely accepted identities being remarkably recent
> in origin (despite their traction in contemporary debates hinging upon
> purportedly well established traditions and geographies). Further,
> although there are plenty of narratives on divergences in the practices of
> different peoples in South Asia, a great lacuna nevertheless remains when
> it comes to understanding why these necessarily result in asymmetrical
> relations that create exclusion/sites of exclusivity. An especial concern
> is that researchers increasingly are presenting exclusion as self-evident;
> i.e., with exclusion explained a priori, when difference and exclusion
> evidently need not be one and the same.
>
> Reductionism informs also a longstanding tension over questions of
> difference and exclusion in progressive thought. On the one hand, there
> are canonical figures who essentialise structural asymmetries, and use
> these as their basic units for social analysis. Unable to recognise how
> the dynamics of power relations may produce fluxes in exclusivity, a range
> of literatures has subsequently developed with little correspondence to
> studies of other aspects of personal identity or popular livelihoods. On
> the other hand, perspectives assuming that exclusion will persist until
> axioms of difference are explained away/effaced have recently become
> especially influential. These views, culminating in such ideas as
> single-culture/ethnicity states, universal citizenship, 'false
> consciousness', etc., tend in the long run to reinforce
> official/sanctified expressions of identity and norms of 'acceptable
> behaviour'.
>
> An important further issue pertaining to questions of exclusion in South
> Asia is frequently inadequately theorised. The commonsensical 'key' to
> recognising the existence of exclusion in society appears often to hinge
> upon discovering the operation of given abstract principles. In actual
> case studies, however, their manifestation would appear always to be in
> the context of an aggregation of many different inequalities. In this
> respect, there are divergent tendencies that either suggest a single
> structure of exclusion as predeterminate (thus largely negating any
> requirement for empirical study) or that propose non-identical structures
> of exclusion modify one another to such a random and chaotic extent that
> it becomes next to impossible to establish an agenda for transformative
> politics. Seemingly necessary is a method that can recognise how the
> specific ways that the influences of different inequalities fuse together
> determines not only the form and materialisation of any specified
> inequality, but also structures the temporality and spatiality of daily
> life.
>
> In light of these broad concerns, the questions that this year's
> conference seeks to explore include: (1) what are the
> histories/genealogies of those structures that provide the material
> conditions for the re/production of exclusionary identities over
> space/time? (2) what are the specific conditions for asymmetrical
> relationships that hold within and between different material
> spaces/times? (3) what is the semblance of the overall combination of
> different structures of exclusion within the larger political structures
> of the subcontinent?
>
> Papers are welcome that interrogate the intersections of class, caste,
> gender, sexuality, region, language, ethnicity, religion, culture, state
> policies and politics, and the dogma of the 'normal'. Non-South Asian
> papers may be accepted, on the basis of their potential for provoking
> comparative discussions. Interested scholars should submit their
> affiliation, paper title and one page abstract to the conference committee
> via indian.formation@gmail.com before 30th September.
>
> Kumar Sanjay Singh / Simon Chilvers
>
> Further details:
> All conference participants with accepted papers have the option of
> staying without any charge November 22nd to November 26th in clean and
> comfortable guesthouse accommodation. (N.B. This applies to South Asian
> and international delegates alike.)
>
> Delegates employed/sponsored by institutions outside of South Asia will be
> required to pay a registration fee of 200 USD. Concessions may be granted
> (e.g. to students without major scholarships).
>
> The conference finances will be available for inspection at the close of
> proceedings. Copies of receipts for expenditures will be available on
> request.
>
> The conference is organised as an interdisciplinary and politically
> independent gathering. The organisers are of the opinion that an open and
> democratic debate is necessary of the serious challenges faced by South
> Asian populations. The gathering builds upon the conferences 'Culture,
> Politics & Economics of South Asian Migration' (2010), 'Region Formation
> in Contemporary South Asia' (2009) and 'The Character & Trajectory of the
> Indian Economic Formation in an Era of Globalisation' (2008), all
> organised by the Indian Formation collective. Details on this initiative
> are available at www.IndianFormationResearch.org
>
>
> Indian Formation Research Society
> Website: http://www.indianformationresearch.org/
> Email: indian.formation@gmail.com
>
> Organizers:
> Kumar Sanjay Singh
> Department of History,
> Swami Shraddhanand College,
> University of Delhi
> Mobile: +91-9313601354
>
> Simon Chilvers
> Faculty of Graduate Studies,
> York University
> Mobile: +91-9868321828
> Email: krsanjay66@gmail.com, sjchilvers@gmail.com
> Visit the website at
> http://www.indianformationresearch.org/conference2011.html
>
>
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