Date: Thu, 12 Jan 1995 14:18:40 -0600 (CST) From: Chandra S Balachandran Subject: Call for Papers: South Asian Gay/Lesbian Issues. |-----------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | CALL FOR PAPERS *** CALL FOR PAPERS *** CALL FOR PAPERS | | | |-----------------------------------------------------------------------| |+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++| | | | 24th Annual Conference on South Asia | | | | University of Wisconsin | | Madison, WI (USA) | | | | October 1995 | |+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++| Every year, the Center for South Asia [CSA], University of Wisconsin, Madison holds a conference on South Asia in Madison, WI. It is a very very eclectic conference with a wide range of issues and viewpoints represented. The scholarly and academic community has a vital role to play in the understanding of the issues involved in the gay/lesbian experience of South Asians -- both in the diaspora in North America and in South Asia itself. The addition of the issues that sexuality-minorities deal with, into the corpus of knowledge about cultures increases awareness on all sides of the issues. To help expand the knowledge base on this broad topic, I will be organizing the following two INTERDISCIPLINARY PANELS for the 1995 Conference on South Asia. I invite you to explore the possibility of presenting a scholarly paper in either panel under the framework outlined below. PANEL I: ===== = SPACE AND SEXUALITY IN SOUTH ASIA: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TOWARDS A NEW ORDERING OF SPACE. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Themes: ------ As gay/lesbian and other sexuality minorities gradually become more and more visible on the cultural landscapes of South Asia, several issues arise regarding the sharing of space among majorities who have traditionally been visible and minorities who are only now slowly becoming visible. Some topics: ----------- 1. What are the dynamics involved in the emergent gay/lesbian landscapes in the overall cultural milieu of South Asian cultural space? 2. What are the landscapes of hope, of fear, of ignorance, and of enlightenment that are emerging in that region? 3. What is the nature of the interactions among gays/lesbians in the South Asian cultural space? 4. What does the future hold for this minority whose identity is still nascent? PANEL II: ===== == TOWARDS A SENSE OF BELONGING: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE GAY/LESBIAN SOUTH ASIAN ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DIASPORA IN NORTH AMERICA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Themes: ------ When South Asian gays and lesbians come to North America, they face a very unique set of challenges. In a nutshell, it is learning the art and science of balancing many disparate elements of their inner identities with those of the new identities they strive to craft in order to acculturate for success in a relatively more 'open' society where they are minorities in many more ways. The cultural make-up of being South Asian, of belonging to this or that religion from the region, being a person of color in North American society, trying to come out in this milieu which understands so little about the South Asian culture -- such are the challenges facing the gays and lesbians of the South Asian diaspora in North America. Some topics: ----------- 1. Facing discrimination on multiple fronts. 2. How can the gay/lesbian diaspora craft an identity in this milieu in a nourishing way? What are the challenges involved in this? 3. What are the nature and status of the organized gay/lesbian movements in the South Asian diaspora? 4. What are the issues of identity involved individually and as a group? FORMAT OF PANELS: ================ 1. Minimum 3 papers; max. 4 papers. 2. Each presenter will have 20 min. [15 min. presentation + 5 min. Q & A] 3. An individual may not present more than one paper for the whole conference. TIME TABLE: ========== Now - February 28, 1995: * correspond with me about your interest(s) and abstracts of papers * selection of abstracts for panels * CSA guidelines for full abstract preparation sent out to the selected panelists * deadline for receipt of final abstracts of papers by me, in keeping with CSA guidelines. March 7, 1995: * mailing of confirmation to panelists April 25, 1995 : * receipt of full papers * conference registration fees & papers Early June: * confirmation of panels by CSA October: * Conference on South Asia, Madison, WI. PUBLICATION: =========== I am planning on the publication of a special issue of a journal [yet to be selected] consisting of papers presented at the panels listed here. Of course, the nature of the papers will influence which journal will be most appropriate for us to consider. The journal chosen will determine what length and format the papers have to take, and also the time frame involved in actually publishing the papers. If you interested, please contact me with the following information: 1. your full name 2. rank and institutional affiliation 3. postal address 4. telephone + fax numbers (if you want) 5. title of the paper you wish to present. 6. a detailed, draft abstract of the paper you wish to present. 7. identify the panel that you think your paper would best fit in. Address correspondence to: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chandra S. Balachandran, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Geography Department of Geosciences North Dakota State University Fargo ND 58105 (U.S.A.) e-mail: balachan@badlands.nodak.edu Phone: 701-231-7115 Fax: 701-231-7149 ---- end of announcement----