International Call for Creative Works
We invite creative writing, sound
pieces, digital art, film and online contributions for a multi- and
interdisciplinary conference featuring comparative and collaborative 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 of inspiration 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 of inspiration 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.
Description of work 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:
Creative Works:
Digital visual
artworks, creative writing, film, 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.
Creative
works are invited from independent practitioners, academic faculty and
students. Please submit your abstract or description 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. In the case of sound pieces,
digital art and film please email us to provide a sample in our dropbox if a
sample file is too large to be sent. In the case of digital art, please provide
at least two high resolution photos/stills/screen shots of the work. Please be
sure to include in your description a discussion of your methodology and any
challenges or points of interest that arose in working on contemporary Indian
and Chinese topics.
The abstract or description should provide an
outline of the main themes/questions of your work and methodology. Submissions
must be original work that takes a comparative approach to study of India and
China today or works collaboratively to do so. Please take special note of the
requirement to discuss methodology highlighted in the aims of the conference.
Creators own the copyright of their work as
displayed but should be aware that a still or description of the work may be
included in the book of abstract produced as a proceed of the conference.
Permission will be sought for inclusion in a published volume. Please make sure
that your abstract includes the following: Title, name of the author,
affiliation, complete contact details and a short author bio.
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 and creative works online, so if you would like your workto
be considered for our online collection, please submit according to the
criteria for the conference above.
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, and creators of accepted works 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
