Juxtapose Conference: Call for Papers

International Call for Papers

We invite academic papers and online contributions for an interdisciplinary academic workshop:

Juxtapose: Challenges of Comparative Research on Contemporary China and India

26 April 2013, Wolfson College, Oxford.

Abstracts must be submitted by March 14th 2013.

Organisation:

 South Asia Research Cluster, Wolfson College, University of Oxford

Organising Committee:

Yuge Ma (DPhil researcher, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford)

Danielle K.J. de Feo-Giet (DPhil researcher, Oriental Institute, University of Oxford)

Senior member: Professor Barbara Harriss-White, (Co-ordinator, Wolfson South Asia Research Cluster, University of Oxford)

Introduction:

Over the past 20 years, India and China have experienced rapid economic growth which has transformed their positions in the world, their view of themselves, and their impact on the planet.

However, with growth have come the burdens of development: environmental degradation, social and regional inequality, physical and mental health problems, mass migration, and grassroots riots. India and China tackle their similar challenges in very different ways, reflecting their contrasting political and social systems.

The fascinating tension created by the similarities and differences between the two has attracted a rich multi-disciplinary scholarship of Sino-Indian comparative work in recent years. Previous attempts at such comparative studies have suggested that what and how we compare depends heavily on theoretical approaches dominant in each country. These approaches however, are neither consistent nor cohesive, and given that the global reality is also diverse, it is surprising that we should expect them to be so.

How is this theoretical problem to be overcome? Could we form a better comparative framework to understand India and China in our changing world? And if so, then how? This workshop aims to develop a creative platform for the cutting edge of international scholars and practitioners to discuss ongoing and forthcoming comparative projects about these two emerging powers, their challenges and opportunities. To this end, this event will constitute a truly interdisciplinary approach bridging topics as diverse as popular culture and energy, environment, foreign policy, literature and health.

What is Juxtapose?

Juxtapose is devised simultaneously as a scholarly gathering, with guest speakers, an opportunity for in-person discussion and problem-solving scheduled over one day at Wolfson College, Oxford, and an online space at http://indiachinaresearch.blogspot.co.uk/ where contributions can be made by academics, policy-makers and other interested parties.

In an effort to dislodge the unevenness of access to conferences and events, Juxtapose places importance on the use of technology as a tool to bring thinkers together, despite geographical distances and economic constraints. Our ambition is to bring these two realms, the online and the physical, together as seamlessly as possible, and as interactively as possible. We invite international participants (or any who wish to) to give their papers through online conferencing like Skype and Google +, or filmed remarks, and we encourage the submission of presentations, essays or thoughts from a broad range of academic and practitioners and policy makers, as well as traditional academic papers. We aim to bring papers and works together in a printed or e- volume.

Submission Criteria:

For the Conference at Wolfson College, Oxford:

Research papers are invited from faculty and research scholars with an abstract of 500 words latest by Monday March 14 2013 by e-mail to juxtaposeproject@gmail.com. You will be informed if your your submission has been selected by March 25th.

The abstract should provide an outline of the main themes/questions and research method. Papers must be original work that takes a comparative approach to study of India and China today, and submissions that show a robust theoretical framework, are well substantiated, and display an ability to discuss methodological challenges in their study will be favoured.

The paper should have contemporary relevance, contribute to the existing body of knowledge, be framed with conceptual and analytical clarity, be presented in an academic style and in readable English. It should also contain appropriate and full references. Further, authors own the copyright of article only up to publication. Please make sure that your abstract includes the following: Title, name of the author, affiliation, complete contact details and a short author’s bio.

Style Guide:

The article should be typewritten preferably in Arial font with 12 pt (English) and Kruti Dev font with 14 pt (Hindi) in MS-Word. In the case of all Chinese, Hindi, or other non-Roman language terms, the pronunciation should be given in Romanised form in brackets. For Chinese please use PinYin Romanisation. Further, the paper should be double spaced on A4 paper having margins of 1.5” on left side and 1” on the other three sides. Final paper should be 5,000 to 10,000 words.  

Footnotes must be included for all quotations, following bibliography style. Footnotes should be presented in pt 9.

Bibliography of all referenced and source material at the end of the paper must provide complete information. Arrange references in alphabetical order by the last name of the author and then by his/her initials. The following style of reference may be strictly followed:

• In the case of a journal paper: Authors last name, initials, year of publication, name of the paper in quotation marks, name of the journal (italic), volume number, issue number and page numbers (p-p).
• In case of a Book: Authors or editors last name, initials, year of publication, title of the book (italic), name of publisher, place of publication and page numbers.
• In case of an essay / chapter in an edited book: Authors last name, initials, year of publication, name of the editor, title of the book (italic), name of publisher, place of publication and page numbers.
• In case of institution/Govt. report: full name of the institution/ministry, year of publication, place of publication.
• In case of other media: Films should be referenced as books in order of director name, and detailing production house. Please consult with the editors in the case of other media sources used.

For Juxtapose online:

Contributions of all kinds on the subject of China and India in comparison are invited from faculty, research scholars, policy-makers, and interested parties. Please email danielle.defeo-giet@orinst.ox.ac.uk, or yuge.ma@wolfson.ox.ac.uk with a proposal for more information and to be given full access. We will accept and post some academic papers online, so if you would like your academic paper to be considered for our online collection, please submit according to the criteria for the workshop, above.

About the Organisers

Yuge Ma (BA, Tsinghua University; MA, Jawaharlal Nehru University; Msc University of Oxford) and Danielle K.J. de Feo-Giet (BA, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London; MA, Harvard University) are DPhil students at the University of Oxford who are conducting frontier comparative work on India and China.

Yuge’s DPhil thesis, supervised by Dr. Anna Lora-Wainwright and Prof. Barbara Harriss-White, explores how the different institutional environment and political system affect the relationship between state regulation and low carbon development of India and China.

Danielle’s research, under Dr. Margaret Hillenbrand and Prof. Rachel Dwyer (SOAS) focuses on how popular entertainment films in the two countries are reflecting and crafting changes in cultural identity as part of the substantial social transformation arising in the wake of economic reform.

Professor Barbara Harriss-White is co-ordinator of the South Asia Research Cluster (SARC), Wolfson College, University of Oxford. Widely published and an influential leader in her field, she co-organised the British Academy China-India Conference in 2010.

We would also like to extend special thanks to Dr. Margaret Hillenbrand, lecturer in Modern Chinese literature and fellow of Wadham College, Oxford for her guidance.  

Logistics

Authors of accepted papers will be invited to the workshop. The workshop will provide lunch and refreshments to all the registered participants free of charge. For invited participants coming from outside of Oxford area, the workshop will subsidise the domestic travel expenses and one night accommodation at Oxford. For international participants, the workshop will provide official documents to support visa application if required.

For more information, please contact yuge.ma@wolfson.ox.ac.uk or danielle.defeo-giet@orinst.ox.ac.uk