October 1 Due Call for Papers AAS-in-Asia 2019

2018-10-01

Illegal States: Virulent Nationalisms in Asia

Even after his death in 2018, Sri Lankan critical race scholar, novelist, and co-founder of the journal “Race and Class,” A. Sivanandan’s famous quote still rings true today “There is no such thing as illegal immigrants, only illegal governments.” Taking this quote beyond the framework of the migration/immigration debates--- this panel invites its participants to think broadly about how governments are and can be illegal or rather, how “Illegal” is used to label and categorize groups of people or individual actions, but seldom do we ask how do government forces, ministries, militaries/police, paramilitaries engage in illegal state actions?
 
This panel seeks to bring together different Asian national perspectives to examine how do states engage in criminal activity (ie. Trafficking and illicit trade), the elimination of civil and human rights, and the promotion of a violent nationalism through mechanisms of oppression, exclusivity via citizenship, and programmatic hatred toward “the other.” How do new spontaneous campaigns, liberatory and accountability movements effectively push for a change in power and politics under duress conditions? How have traditional direct action and campaigns become increasingly challenged by the shift toward the political right? What do broad based alliances look like on each side of the political spectrum?
 
The rise of global fascism is not new, but the specific articulations and techniques pursued by various states working under democratic liberal and authoritarian illiberal frameworks alike will use rhetorical categories like legal vs.illegal to target groups of persons deemed enemy of the state or to marginalize groups, including, but not exclusively, ideological opposition groups, racial, religious, ethnic, socio-economic class, caste, the aging, and national-origin minorities working, residing, and creating communities and families--- in hostile national territories that benefit from minoritarian exploitation, extraction, forced assimilation, deportation/exile, or decimation. It is long overdue to revisit and ask to what degree can human rights rely on states under Arendtian understandings of the right to have rights.  
 
Ideally, we have 8 previously unpublished papers from each region (Southeast Asia, East Asia, and South Asia) for fuller comparative perspectives in a two-part session. There is an expectation that full papers would be available at least 2 weeks prior to the conference (14 June 2019).  Papers should be written for a general, but scholastic audience with specific recommendations at the end. The goal is to put together a special issue for the strongest papers for a Human Rights journal or edited volume. Send submissions and inquiries for consideration to: tammy robinson and S. Musikawong at
 
1)    Name, affiliation, role/rank/status
2)    Title of Paper
3)    250-300 word abstract
4)    Full or partial bibliography
5)    Recommendation for scholar activist as respondent

On behalf of the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) and Thammasat University, we are pleased to invite colleagues in Asian studies to submit proposals for organized panels and roundtables (no individual paper proposals accepted) to be presented at the sixth AAS-in-ASIA Conference to be held July 1-4, 2019 at Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, along the banks of the Chao Phraya River. 
 
The Program Committee for the AAS-in-ASIA conference seeks proposals dealing with all regions of Asia on subjects covering a wide range of scholarly disciplines and professional fields under the broad theme: Asia in Motion: Asia on the Rise? 
 
One of the goals of this AAS-in-ASIA conference is to foster lines of dialogue and scholarly communication that cross the ordinary (often nation-specific) boundaries of academic networks. Panels are welcomed from scholars in disciplines across the field of Asian studies, wherever they may be based academically, and are especially encouraged from scholars representing academic communities that are relatively underrepresented in international meetings. 
 
The deadline for proposal submissions is October 22, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. All proposals must be submitted electronically via the proposal submission website.
 
For more details, click the Call for Proposals button below.

 CALL FOR PROPOSALS 

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