CFP: Trans-East-Asia Multiculturalism

Iwabuchi Koichi Discussion

Call for papers: International workshop

"Trans-East-Asia Multiculturalism"

21 April 2017, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

Co-organized by Monash Asia Institute, Monash University & Institute of Taiwan Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

Sponsored by The Toyota Foundation & Ministry of Education, Taiwan & Taipei Mission in Korea

In East Asia, the rise of (inter-Asian) migration has made ethno-cultural diversity more intensified and visible. While this has generated national policy discussion to administer cultural diversity, a substantial engagement has not yet made to fairly deal with diversity and make societies more inclusive. Instead, grassroots practices by various actors such as ethnic communities, citizen's groups, NGOs, NPOs and local governments have advanced multiculturalism from below. This workshop aims to discuss the shared issue of advancing living-together-in-diversity from a trans-East-Asian perspective. Key issues to be discussed:

  • How we conceptualize the East Asian experiences of multicultural questions by looking into similarities and differences
  • How we reorient the discussion and the engagement with multicultural questions beyond the framework of the nation-state to critically engage with multicultural questions
  • How we work together with various actors across borders to transnationally foster "multiculturalism from below" to facilitate the sharing of experiences and collaborative empowerment
  • How we can design a pedagogical program, museum exhibition or cultural events for social learning to advance social praxis of embracing cultural diversity and nurturing self-reflexive dialogue in society

We would especially encourage the submission of proposal by young scholars, postgraduate students, artists, curators, museum programmers. Please send your paper proposals (less than 300 words) with your affiliation details and e-mail address no later than 31 January to: MAI-Enquiries@monash.edu. Please clearly put “Paper proposal for “Multiculturalism in East Asia” in the subject line. Acceptance of proposal will be notified around the end of February.

Please kindly be advised that we will not be able to offer financial support for participants’ travel costs, though we will cover, if partially, the accommodation.

The workshop is part of the international event, EthniCities: The Art of embracing diversity  (22-23 April 2017 in Seoul), which is the platform of a collaborative project of trans-East-Asia multiculturalism (TEAM), funded by the Toyota Foundation Research Grant. Presenters will be most welcome to participate in the event.

We look very much forward to receiving your proposals.

Best regards,

Koich Iwabuchi (Monash University) & Cho Younghan (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies)