JUXTAPOSE 2014 CALL FOR PAPERS: 24 & 25 September, JNU, Delhi, India

International Call for Papers
We invite academic papers, creative works and online contributions for a multi- and interdisciplinary conference featuring comparative work on contemporary China and India.

Juxtapose 2014:
Comparative Research, Creative Collaboration, Methodological Challenges in
Contemporary China and India

A 2-Day Conference organised through the South Asia Research Cluster (SARC) of Wolfson College, University of Oxford, in cooperation with the Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.

Date and venue:

24 & 25 September 2014

Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies,

Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, India.

2014 Themes:
Day 1 - Internal Migration

Day will include two panels of 3-4 papers each, and a session of creative work.

Possible topics in this theme include comparative or collaborative work related to: social, economic, infrastructural, geographic, emotional, cultural, environmental or political ramifications of the phenomenon of internal migration that has accompanied and enabled development and urbanisation in the contemporary eras of India and China.

Day 2 - External Relations

Day will include two panels of 3-4 papers each, and a session of creative work.

Possible topics in this theme include comparative or collaborative work related to: regional and inter-regional conflict, collaboration and cooperation, in the economic, technological and political fields from the perspectives of India and China; Collaboration and confrontation in cyberspace, policy, culture and business facing the wider region and the world.

Abstracts must be submitted by Friday June 27th 2014. See submission criteria below which includes guidelines for academic papers and creative works.

Lead Organisations:

●       South Asia Research Cluster, Wolfson College, University of Oxford

●     Centre for East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, JNU, Delhi.

Organising Committee:

●     Senior member: Professor Barbara HARRISS-WHITE, Co-ordinator, Wolfson South Asia Research Cluster, University of Oxford.

●     Danielle K.J. DE FEO-GIET (co-founder), DPhil researcher, Oriental Institute, University of Oxford.

●     MA Yuge (co-founder), DPhil researcher, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford.

●     Aadya SHUKLA, Research Scientist, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Science, Technology and Public Policy Fellow Associate, Kennedy School, Harvard University.

●     ZHANG Yang, MPhil scholar, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

With the kind support of:

●     Prof Srikanth KONDAPALLI, Centre for the East Asian Studies, School of International Studies, JNU

●     Prof Varun SAHNI, Chief Advisor (International Collaboration), JNU

●     Volunteer Team, JNU

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. New infrastructural and technological challenges have arisen and international relationships have shifted. India and China tackle their similar challenges in very different ways, reflecting their contrasting political and social systems.

In recent years, the fascinating tension created by the similarities and differences between the two has attracted a rich multi-disciplinary scholarship of Sino-Indian comparative work. Previous comparative research has 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 are these theoretical problems to be overcome? Could we form a better comparative framework to understand India and China in our changing world? And if so, then how? How is this challenge being tackled in different disciplines and industries, and what can we learn from different approaches to collaboration and comparison in use today?

At Juxtapose 2013, through presented research projects and informative discussion, we made headway on new comparative paradigms. A book of abstracts and film of the conference is available through our website http://indiachinaresearch.blogspot.co.uk.

Juxtapose 2014 Aims:
This year we are expanding academic, creative and industry pathways to further different approaches to this discussion. We are growing to include two days of academic presentations, creative projects and industry contributions clustered around two themes that encourage comparative and collaborative work.

We retain the requirement that each participant should include in their presentation a portion on their methodology in performing comparative or collaborative work, especially with regard to tackling any challenges that arose in dealing with both Indian and Chinese sources, and how they were overcome. Juxtapose 2013 introduced new paradigms on the general nature of comparison, why and how it should be accomplished, and with what aims, a discussion spurred by Prof. Harriss-White’s opening remarks. We also were able to exchange ideas about how to overcome data discrepancies, and develop different tools for measuring disparate data from the two sources. This discussion enables all attendees and participants to have enriched understanding of this expanding field.

We are proud to present this year’s 2-day conference in cooperation with the Centre for East Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, India’s leading centre for the study of East Asia, in one of the country’s leading Universities. We expect fresh perspectives and collaborations, a stimulating experience, and a platform for future cooperation between JNU, other Indian Universities, Chinese Universities, and the University of Oxford.   

What is Juxtapose?

The Juxtapose Conference Series is devised simultaneously as a platform for scholarly gathering, with invited guest speakers and global contributions, an outlet for creative cooperation, an opportunity for in-person discussion and problem-solving, and an online space at http://indiachinaresearch.blogspot.co.uk/ where contributions can be made by academics, policy-makers and other interested parties. It is intended to be truly inter- and multidisciplinary.

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 Skype and Google +, or filmed remarks, and we encourage the submission of presentations, essays or thoughts from a broad range of academics, practitioners and policy makers, as well as traditional academic papers. We aim to bring papers and works from 2013 and 2014 together in a printed or e- volume.

Submission Criteria:

For the Conference at JNU:

Research papers are invited from faculty and research scholars with an abstract of 500 words latest by Friday June 27th by e-mail to juxtaposeproject@gmail.com. You will be informed if your submission has been selected by July 25th.

The abstract should provide an outline of the main themes/questions of your work and methodology. Papers must be original work that takes a comparative approach to study of India and China today. Submissions that show a robust theoretical framework, are well substantiated, and display an ability to discuss methodological challenges in their study will be favoured. Please take special note of the requirement to discuss methodology highlighted in the aims of the conference.

The paper should have contemporary relevance, contribute to the existing body of knowledge, be framed with conceptual and analytical clarity,and 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 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 conference above.

Creative Works:

Visual artworks, creative writing, performance and works of music will be considered for inclusion in the allocated sessions. Artists should submit digital photographs of the work or samples of performance in video or audio form as well as a short description of the work, its background and how it addresses the themes of the conference. Collaborative works between practitioners from India and China are especially encouraged.

About the Organisers

JNU Team:

This year we are delighted to have the support of an extraordinary senior team at JNU.

Dr. Srikanth Kondapalli is Professor in Chinese Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University. He is also an Honorary Fellow at Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi and Research Associate at Centre for Chinese Studies, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. He served at Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses, New Delhi for nearly 12 years. He is widely published and a noted lecturer on the subjects of Modern Chinese History and International relations in the current changing climate.

He is a guest faculty member at College of Naval Warfare, Army War College, Indo-Tibetan Border Police Academy and Border Security Force Academy. His full profile is available on our website.

Prof. Varun Sahni is Professor in International Politics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and Chairperson of the Centre for International Politics, Organization and Disarmament (CIPOD). He edits South Asian Survey, an international peer review journal of repute, speaks regularly (since 2006) at the National Defence College (NDC), New Delhi and has been Jury Member of the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding. He has an extensive, international career and numerous awards, fellowships and affiliations to his name, as well as substantial publications and editorial posts.

He is Chairman of the Programme Committee of the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), New Delhi and a Member of the FIST Advisory Board of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. For his 'outstanding contribution to research and teaching', he was conferred the VKRV Rao Prize in Social Sciences for 2006 by the Indian Council of Social Science Research.

He researches and writes on nuclear deterrence issues, regional security, emerging balances in the Asia-Pacific, evolving security concepts, emerging powers, international relations theory, borders, Latin American issues and, most recently, river waters. He is also interested in understanding the impact of technology in the field of education.

Juxtapose Organising Committee:

Professor Barbara Harriss-White is our senior member, an Emeritus scholar, and 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 and co-edited China-India: pathways of economic and social development (2014, Oxford, Clarendon Press for the British Academy).

Yuge Ma (BA, Tsinghua University; MA 1st year 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 who are conducting frontier comparative work on India and China. They are the founders of Juxtapose.

Danielle’s research, under Dr. Margaret Hillenbrand (Oxford) and Prof. Rachel Dwyer (SOAS) focuses on popular entertainment films in the two countries treating them as popular cultural texts and consumer goods in a changing political and economic climate. She examines how these films are reflecting and crafting changes in cultural identity as part of the substantial social transformation arising in the wake of economic reform. In addition to her academic work, Danielle has worked in development and heritage sectors in South, Southeast and East Asia, Europe and the US.

Yuge’s DPhil thesis, supervised by Dr. Anna Lora-Wainwright, Prof. Barbara Harriss-White,and Dr Nick Eyre explores how different institutional environments and political economy affect the relationship between state regulation and low carbon development in India and China. She is also author of Grow Up in India, a first-of-its-kind book on contemporary India from a Chinese student’s perspective, published in Chinese in the PRC in 2013.

This year we are pleased to introduce two new committee members who we feel round out the team, representing collaboration from a truly wide cross-section of fields and practises:

Aadya Shukla is a Research Scientist at MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab, with numerous fellowships and publications to her name as well as extensive experience in the private sector. She is currently working on computational approaches for the analysis and evaluation of norms and models of governance in cyberspace. In addition, as the Science, Technology and Public Policy Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School (2010-2013/2013-14) her research has focused on aspects of cyber security, construction of computational models to conceptualize cyberspace, comparative analysis of national cyber strategies, including research on India and China and their respective approaches, formulation of frameworks to measure the impact of innovative semantic technologies in the public domain, and use of trustworthy computing in electronic government. She has taught at Harvard (School of Engineering), Oxford (Computer Science) and the Stanford University Centre, Oxford. Her full bio and all affiliations can be found on our website.

Zhang Yang’s research, under Prof Srikanth Kondapalli, explores cultural diplomacy between China and India from Xuan Zang’s time to the contemporary discourse. He holds a BA in musicology from Beijing Normal University and an MA in Buddhist Studies from Delhi University. He composes music exploring the bittersweet nature of communication between the two countries.

Logistics

Authors of accepted papers will be invited to the conference. The conference will provide accommodation on the JNU campus to all the registered participants free of charge. 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