[Bilimsel Haber] CFP: 9th International Conference on Literary Theory (India) (8/1/06; 12/17/06-12/20/06)

[Sule Tarakcioglu]

From: Sura Rath <RathS@cwu.EDU>


FORUM ON CONTEMPORARY THEORY
Centre for Contemporary Theory
301-302 Shiv Shakti Complex
84 Sampatrao Colony
R.C. Dutt Road, Vadodara 390007 INDIA

Tel: 265.552.2512,
email: pck@satyam.net.in; librarycct@yahoo.co.in

website: www.fctworld.org

The Ninth International Conference
"Knowledge-Systems in a Climate of Creativity: Indian
Perspectives"
17-20 December 2006
Venue: Hotel Lakend, Udaipur, Rajasthan

Thematic Outline
The ninth international conference of the Forum on Contemporary Theory 
will be
held in Udaipur, Rajasthan during 17-20 December 2006 in collaboration with
Vidya Bhawan Rural Institute, Udaipur. The theme of the conference,
"Knowledge-Systems in a Climate of Creativity: Indian Perspectives," 
continues
the ongoing interventions of the Forum in the epistemic battle of ideas, 
with a
focus here on fruitful filiations between conceptual thinking and creative
expressions. Cultural history of India is marked by numerous 
formulations and
contestations of systems of knowledge. Well-argued and rigorous, the 
debates on
these knowledge-systems provided a space for a variety of creative 
expressions.
Endeavors in the fields of literature and the other arts, physical and 
social
sciences, cosmology and psychology, health sciences and technologies are
embedded into these knowledge systems and derive their dynamics from their
mutual discourses and debates. Broadly speaking, the ancient Indian 
worldview
was dominated by three schools of thought continually interacting with one
another: the Vedic; the Buddhist; and the Jain. An exponent of Indian
materialism, the Lokayata Charvakas provided yet another conceptual 
position,
which seems to cut across these three modes of knowledge. But the 
debates and
contestations were not confined between the systems; even within each system
there were internal debates and contradictions, ranging from Samkhya and 
Nyaya
to Pratyabhijna and (kevala and shuddha) Advaita, to mention a few. The 
strength
of the Indian knowledge-systems lies in such external and internal debates.

Such debates were incredibly productive in directing the Indian mind toward
fresh explorations of attitudes leading to a possible synthesis of 
various modes
of knowledge exemplified later in the expressions of the Bhakti and Sufi 
poets
in the medieval period. The contact with the Persian and Arabic world 
and later
with the West further intensified the debates and added new dimensions 
to the
Indians' creative thinking and expression. The struggle for independence,
nurtured by the strength of the ideological debates among the freedom 
fighters,
could be considered as a logical extension of India's long tradition of
contestations and accommodations. The impact of Gandhi's ideas of 
freedom on the
Indian psyche has to be understood in the light of such a tradition. It was
Gandhi, who in his inimitable style of creative vacillation about some 
of the
sensitive issues of the time, tried to capture the need for such a healthy
debate of ideas without a longing to either relapse into a so-called
pre-lapsarian world of the golden past or to exchange the legacies of 
the past
for the seductive promises of Western modernity. It is possible to trace in
Gandhi's dialectical modes of perception of the world the logical 
offshoot of
India's long tradition of debates with itself.

Papers mostly of conceptual nature, supported by textual examples are 
welcome.
Mere textual analysis without any broad framework will not be entertained.

Special Sessions
(a) In conformity with our earlier convention, a special panel on a regional
text will be one of the highlights of the conference. This year's choice 
for the
panel is M. K. Gandhi's Hind Swaraj (1908). Hind Swaraj, written 
originally in
Gujarati in the form of a dialogue during a voyage in the sea, captures 
the mood
of the times when India was debating several options for realizing its 
goals for
independence. While he contests some seemingly bold and extreme 
positions taken
by several of his contemporary freedom-fighters, Gandhi offers a critique
of Western modernism before presenting what he thought to be an 
appropriately
viable model for what the country could look for in the context of its 
struggle
for self-government and socio-economic independence. His ideas are still 
valid
today at a time when Indian politics is vitiated by sectarianism and 
narrowness;
(b) another special session will be devoted to the examination of "The 
State of
the Disciplines of the Humanities and Social Sciences," throwing light 
on the
changes that have come to each discipline and what such changes mean for the
future of the disciplines.

Submission Deadline
A 500-Word abstract or proposal is due by August 1, 2006. Complete 
papers should
be limited to 12 pages (approximately 15 minutes of reading time). A longer
version may be submitted for possible publication in the Journal of 
Contemporary
Thought, brought out by the Forum, or in the conference volume. The 
completed
paper should reach the Convener of the Forum by October 30, 2006.

Conference Volume
Select papers from the conference and from those submitted in response 
to the
"Call for Papers" will be included in the conference volume, which will 
be ready
for its formal release at the next conference of the Forum. Completed papers
should reach us as email attachments by the end of June 2007. For enquiries
about the stylistic prescription, please get in touch with the editors 
of the
volume. The names of the editors will be announced at the Open Session 
of the
conference.

Registration Deadline
August 31, 2006 is the deadline for receiving the registration fee. All
participants need to be pre-registered.

1. Participant from India (member of the Forum)
Rs.3000/
2. Participant from India (non-member)
  Rs.5000/
3. Overseas Participant (non-SAARC countries)                      US
$200/
4. Overseas Participant (SAARC countries)
US $125/
5. Local Participant (member of the Forum)
Rs.1500/
6. Local Participant (non-member)
      Rs.2500/
7. Student Participant (from Udaipur)
      Rs.400/

The registration fee will cover room and board from the afternoon of the 
16th to
the morning of the 21st December and cost of the volume dedicated to the 8th
International Conference of Forum held in Mangalore. The fee from the local
participants will cover lunch, conference tea, and the cost of the 
conference
volume. The fee must be paid through a bank draft payable to Forum on
Contemporary Theory on a bank in Baroda.

Conference Venue: The conference will be held at the Hotel Lakend, 
facing the
picturesque Fateh Sagar Lake, located at Alkapuri in Udaipur (Tel: 
294.243.1400;
294.243.1405; email: resortad1@sancharnet.in ).  Most of the outstation
participants will be staying in this hotel. The participants should 
arrive in
the afternoon of December 16 and stay on until the morning of December 21 to
make the full use of the facilities offered by the hotel. The conference 
will
begin at about 9 am on the 18th and will be over at dinner on the 20th 
December.

Sightseeing Tours
17 December is reserved for local sightseeing.  Those who wish to avail
themselves of this tour will have to pay an extra amount to be 
determined by the
local hosts. The amount may not exceed Rs. 400/ per person. The tour will
include a visit to the famous Jain Temple at Ranakpur and to Jai Samand 
Lake,
claimed to be the largest man-made lake in Asia, constructed in the year 
1641 by
Maharana Jai Singh.

Udaipur
Udaipur, the erstwhile capital of the Mewar State, one of the most beautiful
cities of Rajasthan, is full of palaces, lakes and gardens. It is 
surrounded by
lovely hills from the Aravali range. It is connected by train to Delhi and
Ahmedabad, by air to Delhi and Mumbai, and buses to many neighboring 
cities. One
can visit Kumbhalgarh Fort, Ranakpur Jain Temple, Srinathji Temple, Eklingji
Temple and Chittor Fort from Udaipur.


Temperature in December
In mid-December the daytime temperature in Udaipur will be around 200C 
(680F);
the nighttime temperature around 50C (410F). So the participants are 
advised to
carry necessary warm clothes.

Collaborating Institution
Vidya Bhawan Rural Institute, which is collaborating with the Forum in 
hosting
the conference, is an integral part of Vidya Bhawan Society, founded by the
distinguished educationist Dr. Mohan Singh Mehta in 1931. The institutions
functioning under this Society have been imparting innovative education at
various levels combining theoretical knowledge with practical training. The
conference coincides with its diamond jubilee celebrations.

For further information, any of the following may be contacted:

Prafulla C. Kar
Convener, Forum on Contemporary Theory
Tel: (0265) 5522512 (office); 233 8067 (residence)
Email: pck@satyam.net.in

Sitanshu Yashaschandra
Convener of the Conference
Tel: 9228187436; email: sitanshuy@yahoo.com

G. M. Mehta
Director, Vidya Bhawan Rural Institute
Local Coordinator
Badgaon Road, Udaipur 313 001
Tel: (0294) 2450403 and 2453088 (office); 24111 118 (residence).



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