Call for Papers: “Identityand Community after the Col d War Era," Aug. 25-27, 2011

[Clowes, Edith W]

Call for Papers

“Identity and Community after the Cold War Era”
August 25-27, 2011
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS

The last two decades have witnessed the confluence of many different kinds of radical change—the demise of communism as a force in politics, the resurgence of religious community, the emergence of global warming as a major challenge to traditional economies and communities, and the innovative growth of technology. Concepts of community have been radically altered. Maps, borders, governments, and alliances have shifted. The World Wide Web came into being, bringing with it major changes in cultural ritual, self-perception, and community-building. The universalist ideologies characteristic of modernity have retreated, replaced by some older concepts of identity and community. In many parts of the world new versions of traditional religions have emerged as mass forces. The arts and architecture have experienced a shift in focus and form.

The combined area and international studies centers at the University of Kansas (African; East Asian; Latin American; Russian, East European, and Eurasian; Global and International Studies) invite 200-word proposals for papers in both Humanities and Social Sciences, as well as History and Sociology of the Natural Sciences, that address issues of “Identity and Community after the Cold War Era.” We seek papers focusing on a specific world area or country; interdisciplinary and trans-regional proposals are also welcome.

The goal of the conference is to describe, examine, and understand the various areas and kinds of shift that have happened since the late 1980s and to attempt a complex model of the world humanity now inhabits.

Possible topics might include but are not limited to concepts of identity and community informing:
•  post-communist arts/literature/architecture
•  concepts of ideal space/utopia/built environment
•  history and memory
•  political, cultural, and social implications of the internet
•  new states, new alliances
•  language and shifts in consciousness
•  party formation/deformation
•  borders, centers, peripheries
•  religious alliances/communities
•  meanings and uses of national identity
•  censorship

A volume of selected conference papers is planned.

Please send your proposal and updated c.v. by March 1, 2011, to: crees at ku.edu<mailto:crees at ku.edu>
Put in the subject header of your email:  August 25-27 conference proposal




Edith W. Clowes,
Professor, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures
http://www2.ku.edu/~slavic/
Director, Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies
http://www.crees.ku.edu
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS  66045

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