CfP: Conference “Asia in the mirror: self-representations, self-narratives, and perception of the other” (University of Cagliari)

Date of event:   26/06/2023 − 26/06/2023

Title: Asia in the mirror: self-representations, self-narratives, and perception of the other
Deadline: 26 June 2023
Organized by: University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy

The 21st century has been defined as the “Asian century”, a new global phase after the European and the American centuries. (Mahbubani 2022). If “the future is Asian” (Khanna 2019), Asia’s role as the leading continent calls for a radical rethinking of Western political and cultural epistemic categories, prompting scholars to build on the emphasis placed by Chakrabarty (2000) on “antihistorical collective memory of the past” applied to Asia.

We invite scholars working in a range of disciplinary fields including literature, linguistics, history, and cultural studies to submit proposals pertaining, but not limited, to the following research questions:

  • What is Asia from a cultural point of view?
  • How has Asia represented itself in its diversity and/or to different cultures?
  • How has Asia represented other cultures?
  • How have other cultures represented Asia?
  • How have contacts between Asia and other cultures shaped the continent?
  • What is the role of postcolonial and decolonial approaches in enhancing our understanding of Asia and its entanglements?

Fields of inquiry may include China, the Islamic World, Japan, South and Central Asia, and their relationships with Europe and the Americas. Working languages are English and Italian. Accepted participants will be notified by 10 July 2023. We plan to publish the contributions presented at the conference in an open-access edited volume with a quality publisher in late 2024. Essays will have to be submitted by 27 May 2024.

Submission guidelines
Abstracts of max. 300 words and bios of 100 words should be sent to Alessandro Achilli (alessandro.achilli@unica.it) by 26 June 2023.

Time and location
The conference will be held on 18-20 March 2024 at the University of Cagliari, Department of Humanities, Languages and Cultural Heritage, Campus Sa Duchessa.

Scientific Committee
Alessandro Achilli (University of Cagliari)– Fiorenzo Iuliano (University of Cagliari) – Emma Lupano (University of Cagliari)– Angela Daiana Langone (University of Cagliari)– Giuliano Mion (University of Cagliari)– Tiziana Pontillo (University of Cagliari) – Valentina Serra (University of Cagliari)

Contact
Alessandro Achilli at alessandro.achilli@unica.it