[Bilimsel Haber] Crossroads: July 3 to 7, 2008 at the University of the West Indies Kingston, Jamaica

[Gonul Pultar]

Crossroads

The deadline for submission of session proposals is June 30, 2007.



Crossroads 2008
7th International Conference of the Association of Cultural Studies
Cultural Studies Initiative, University of the West Indies Kingston, Jamaica

CALL FOR SESSIONS

Proposals are invited for SESSIONS at the ACS Crossroads in Cultural 
Studies conference,
scheduled for July 3 to 7, 2008 in the Caribbean.

The Caribbean could well be regarded as one of the first crossroads of 
the modern era, where
Africa and Asia met Europe on Amerindian soil. The conditions were a 
forced and bitter
crucible. The results of that encounter contributed not only to the 
making of the modern
western world but also to the dynamism that is central to all the 
cultures of the Western
Hemisphere.

Of Sacred Crossroads

Being a site of conquest, dislocation, crossings, enslavement and 
rebellion, but also of
memory and survival, hope of return, culture-building, in-between-ness, 
and immense
creativity and heritage, the Caribbean is a relevant site for hosting 
the ACS Crossroads in
Cultural Studies conference, under the theme Of Sacred Crossroads.

Contemporary emphasis on materialism and consumerism as measures of our 
humanity,
arising from the unbridled excesses to which science and technology have 
been sometimes
put, is of growing concern, putting under duress the intangibles 
embodied in the values by
which we live as human beings. Out of these concerns has sprung 
deepening dialogue at the
interface between science and spirituality. UNESCO’s celebration of the 
intangible heritage
of humankind is a timely reminder that civilizations rise not only on 
great edifices,
monuments and artefacts that defy time, but also on those moments of 
‘livity’, or human
relationships, that last only as long as they are lived, without which 
human life would have
little meaning.

Of Sacred Crossroads captures many of these concerns in a manner that 
allows for the
broadest of interpretation and accommodation across disciplines and 
forms—religion, art,
dance, song, orature, healing, re-creation, performance, ritual, belief 
systems, ethics,
globalization, communication, among others. Key themes for the 
Conference include: Rituals
of arrival and contact; Crossings—the art of the crossroads; 
Spirituality and identity;
Language rituals; Globalization and the spirit; Indigenous 
spiritualities; Rituals of conflict -
rites of rebellion; Virtual realities; virtual spiritualities; 
(Spiritual) Tourism; Rituals,
substances and sacred geographies; The spirit of music; Cultures of 
reconciliation;
Storytelling; Crossroad deities and divination; Geographies of the body 
and spirit.

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

The deadline for submission of session proposals is June 30, 2007. 
Please see the Session
Organizer’s Manual posted on the website for information on length, 
format and guidelines
for submission of proposals. Please submit you session abstracts on our 
website at
www.crossroads2008.org.

THE VENUE

The 7th Crossroads Conference will be held at the University of the West 
Indies (UWI),
Mona Campus in Kingston, Jamaica, the largest of the three UWI campuses. 
The Campus is
situated in a suburb of the city of Kingston, itself a cultural magnet, 
with excellent
communications and telecommunications systems, accessibility through two 
international
airports, and a highly developed road network.

The campus, with a student population of over 15,000, has a rich 
tradition in hosting
international conferences. Nestled in the Hope Valley under the Blue 
Mountains, the campus
is itself culturally diverse, drawing on regional as well as 
international students and boasting
its own choir, steel band, dance group and rich nightlife. There is 
accommodation in student
Halls of Residence as well as the Mona Visitor’s Lodge, and 
interconnectivity including an
extensive wireless network is a feature.

Given Jamaica’s appeal as a tourist destination we encourage 
international participants to plan
a vacation which can include excursions to famous beaches in Negril, 
Ocho Rios, Montego
Bay or Portland. Various cultural and natural sites of interest include, 
in Kingston, the Bob
Marley Museum and the National Gallery of Art, and elsewhere in the 
island the spectacular
Dunn’s River Falls, the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park, 
Seville Heritage Park,
and Treasure Beach, among many others.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Registration information will be available by summer 2007. Note: To 
avoid no-shows and
guarantee the quality of all sessions, all paper presenters will be 
asked to register before April
30, 2008.

CALL FOR PAPERS

A General Call for Papers will be issued in July 2007.

For further details on the Conference or on the Cultural Studies 
Initiative and Programme at
the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, please email: 
crossroads_2008 at yahoo.co
Crossroads 2008 Conference Coordinator, PhD Sonjah Stanley Niaah, 
Cultural Studies Initia-
tive, University of the West Indies, sonjahst at yahoo.com