“Fragility and Resilience: Asian Studies and the Pandemic”
51st Annual Mid-Atlantic Region Association for Asian Studies Conference

The last three years have been devastating for the study of Asia and its cultures. The pandemic has affected how Asia is perceived in the world and the popularity of its study in universities. However, we have also witnessed a reaction against this trend as the effects of the pandemic subside. This is both a pushback against the manner in which Asian people have been treated during the pandemic and an appreciation for the strategies adopted by Asian cultures to deal with this situation. This conference promotes a discussion of Asia within the broader context of the pandemic and its academic impacts. This theme lends itself to interesting scholarly approaches, including energy, environment, public health, territorial issues, migration, popular culture, gender, sexuality, religious practices, and more.
We encourage proposals on all topics related to Asia from any discipline, and welcome participation from faculty, graduate students, undergraduate students, independent scholars, and professionals.
To propose a panel, individual paper, or poster presentation, please create an account on our website (maraas.org) and follow the instructions for proposal submission. The proposal deadline is May 15, 2023. Please send any other inquiries to Dr. Mahua Bhattacharya at bhattacharm@etown.edu.

Acceptance notices will be sent by July 15, 2023. Limited travel assistance for graduate students up to $125, in the form of reimbursement following the conference, is available on a competitive basis. Graduate students interested in travel support should send their request once they have been accepted to present at the conference by emailing Treasurer W. Evan Young at youngw@dickinson.edu

State and Society in Asia: Past and Present

We invite submissions from scholars across all disciplines on all topics related to Asia and Asian Studies. We are particularly interested in topics related to our main theme: “State and Society in Asia: Past and Present.” Recent events such as the successes and failures of states at mitigating the Covid-19 pandemic; the targeting of religious, racial, and ethnic minorities; widespread protests against military regimes; the possibility of a new cold war between China and the US; and the dramatic takeover of Afghanistan by Taliban forces have highlighted the ever-crucial role of the state in Asian societies, both in its presence and absence. In bringing scholarly perspectives to these current events, questions that interest us include: What historical legacies of the state persist in contemporary Asia? What roles do technology and urban development play in extending state power to unprecedented degrees? Conversely, how does a vacuum in state infrastructure in countries like Afghanistan create conditions for regime change? Can countries like Myanmar continue to isolate themselves and not suffer social and economic hardships?

Contemporary artists, filmmakers, and environmental activists frequently challenge and critique these developments. How do regime changes unsettle and re-arrange key local and national cultural constituents and what impact do these changes have on environmental history, archaeology, and cultural heritage sites?

We also invite explorations of issues such as how local populations have historically contested the hegemony of the state in both its “weak” and “strong” formations and how inter-Asian networks operate across, within, or against state geographies. Additionally, we are interested in the ways that migrations, climate change, the Belt and Road Initiative, and the renewed importance of the Indian Ocean littoral have challenged and transformed the nation-state geographies of Asia and Asian studies.

Paper Proposal submission deadline: June 15, 2022

This year, SWCAS celebrates a return to in-person meetings with a focus on Reconnecting in a (Post) Pandemic World. The conference is open to individual and panel proposals on all topics related to Asian Studies, but we especially welcome those that connect different disciplines, eras, and contexts in ways that respond to Asia’s global significance in the past and present. The conference will primarily take place in-person but will include a special presentation block for all-virtual panels. Note: Space for virtual presentations is limited; priority will be given to scholars based outside of the U.S.

PANEL PROPOSALS

• 300-word abstract
• List of 3 – 4 participants, paper titles, affiliations, and contact info
• Presentation mode [virtual vs in-person]

INDIVIDUAL PROPOSALS

• 150-word abstract
• Presenter’s name, affiliation, and contact info
• Presentation mode [virtual vs. in-person]

GRADUATE STUDENTS

A limited number of $100 travel stipends will be available for graduate students presenting papers at the conference. SWCAS awards a $200 prize for best graduate student paper

Please submit individual or panel abstracts by submitting the appropriate form at the link below.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: May 31, 2022

MARAAS at 50: Where Is Asian Studies Now?
MARAAS 2022

CFP Deadline: May 23, 2022

As we celebrate the 50th annual meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Region of the Association for Asian Studies, we consider this question: Where is Asian studies now?

This question invites us to reflect, first, on the inspiring development of Asian studies departments and programs throughout the mid-Atlantic region over the last half-century. From expanded library collections to enhanced language training programs, Asian studies in the mid-Atlantic region is thriving even as significant room for growth remains.

The question also invites rumination on the state of our field. What does it mean to study Asia today? Recent trends in transnational studies, blue humanities, and digital humanities offer just some of the enticing areas of cutting-edge research in our field. What are the intellectual horizons of this recent research, and what possibilities lie just beyond them?

Finally, asking where Asian studies is now continues the work begun in pioneering initiatives like the “Global Asias” approach. How can Asian studies benefit from cutting-edge work in Asian American studies? When does “Asia” not simply refer to the world’s largest landmass? And what political work does the adjective “Asian” do when considered in light of global structures of capital and attendant notions of race, class, and social status?

The 50th meeting of MARAAS will take place on October 1 and 2 at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

We welcome applications for panels of 3–4 people as well as individual paper submissions. Panel proposals may include a discussant, and members of panels may be from the same institution.

Please visit the conference website to submit paper or panel proposals by May 23, 2022.

The KU Center for East Asian Studies is pleased to host the 71st Annual Meeting of the MCAA, September 16 – 18, 2022. It will be the first in-person annual meeting since the beginning of the pandemic. We will be joined by Dr. Kamran Asdar Ali, President of the Association for Asia Studies as our keynote speaker, and Dr. Hiromi Mizuno, President of the Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs, who will lead the Presidential Luncheon Panel on science, technology, environment, and medicine for Global Asia. The conference will also include workshops and roundtables on book/journal publication and professional development. We hope you will consider submitting a paper or panel proposal.

We welcome proposals for panels, roundtables, and individual papers from all disciplines focusing on China and Inner Asia, Northeast Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, and the Asian Diaspora as well as comparative, inter-Asian, and global Asia topics. We also welcome scholars and students from all regions. Faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students (presenting on separate junior scholar panels), as well as independent scholars, are encouraged to share their work, receive feedback, and network at the conference.

Please submit a proposal using the 71^st MCAA submission forms for paper proposals and panel/roundtable proposals by May 31, 2022, June 10, 2022, at 11:59 p.m.