Arabic-L:GEN:Sharjah Conference on Conceptualizing the Global University

[Dilworth Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Wed 08 Jan 2014
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1) Subject: Sharjah Conference on Conceptualizing the Global University

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1)
Date: 08 Jan 2014
From: Fatima Badry Zalami <badry at aus.edu>
Subject: Sharjah Conference on Conceptualizing the Global University

Conceptualizing the Global University
http://www.aus.edu/iccgu

Call for Papers
May 3-4, 2014

American University of Sharjah
PO Box 26666, Sharjah, UAE
www.aus.edu

Conference Overview
Situated in the UAE, twenty kilometers from Dubai, American University of
Sharjah (AUS) is a pioneer among the new universities in the Arabian Gulf.
It will be hosting a conference on the Global University on May 3 and 4,
2014.
The Global University has emerged as a new force in education through the
delocalization of the site of learning. It is manifested in the growth of
global network universities undertaken by various Western universities to
enable students and faculty to study and conduct research at different
poles around the world. It is also manifested in the spread of branch
campuses in different parts of the world which, although by no means a new
phenomenon, are increasingly used to generate not only profit but also
prestige for both the university and the host. Finally, indigenous
universities are increasingly adopting a globalized and standardized
curriculum to remain competitive.
The Symposium on the Global University, an interdisciplinary project at AUS
which held its first workshop in May 2013, connects scholars from different
backgrounds and interests to develop a series of frameworks for better
understanding the changing university. The conference Conceptualizing the
Global University will build on that effort by bringing together scholars
from the Middle East, Asia, Europe and North America who are interested in
the ways in which universities have recently been used to contribute to
national and regional development and are embedded in global
transformations.  Researchers whose work focuses on areas such as
transnational education, the impact of universities locally (as well as
globally), the transformations caused by technological change on academic
life and the future of universities are invited to submit paper proposals.
 This conference will contribute to the task of better understanding the
ways in which universities—particularly in the Middle East, Africa and
Eurasia—are developing within, apart and a pace from a globalized world.
The symposium aims to explore the university from a number of perspectives
which reflect both local and global considerations.  To begin with, while
we are interested in the broader global experience, special attention will
be given to those papers which focus upon universities in the Arabian Gulf.
 In addition, the importance of historical developments will be addressed
because they provide a basis both for the “colonial university” and the
postcolonial issues which continue to define education and the production
of knowledge.  Accordingly, we are interested in papers that explore the
cultural and linguistic challenges which punctuate the full range of
globalized university activities. Submissions which investigate the many
features of the “crisis”’ of the contemporary university will be welcomed
as well.  The symposium also invites scholars who are motivated to probe
both the benefits and pitfalls associated with technological change (MOOCs,
e-learning, etc.) to connect these themes to the wider conversation about
the “global university” and its futures.  Finally, drawing many of these
themes together, we look forward to presentations which investigate the
viability and sustainability of both new universities (include branch
campuses) and the programmatic changes which have taken place in older
institutions.
Potential topics include:

The History of the Global University
Papers may explore the rich history of processes which help to contribute
to the shaping of the Global University.  The symposium welcomes
historically oriented papers on any facet of the globalized university and
particular attention will be devoted to those which explore the following:
•       The emergence of universities in the Arabian Gulf and MENA region;
•       Governance and authority in colonial universities;
•       Colonial and postcolonial universities, and the emergence of the
Global University.

The Viability of the Global University Model
There is a widespread concern among stakeholders, students and university
staff that universities are under attack.  This concern extends to the
Global University. Potential papers might investigate topics such as:
•       The increased corporatization of universities;
•       The growth of standardization and regimes of accreditation;
•       The relationship between industry, government and the Global
University; and,
•       The overall viability of the explosion of universities.

Language and Culture
The growth of the Global University offers unique challenges to language
and culture. Papers might interrogate topics such as:
•       The role of language in the Global University and its relationship
to national identity;
•       The transformation of language and culture into commodities, inside
and alongside the Global University;
•       The potential for Arabic as a language for knowledge production,
particularly in the Gulf.

Deadlines
Abstracts (300-500 words) and short biographies (200 words) should be sent
to
Sgu-committee at aus.edu by February 1, 2013. Informal queries can be sent to
Dr. Stephen L. Keck at skeck at aus.edu. Limited funding for presenters will
be available. Decisions will be communicated to all submitters byFebruary 20 to
enable presenters to organize their travel.

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