[Bilimsel Haber] CFP: LANGUAGE, CONFLICT AND SECURITY, University of Cambridge, 10-11 April, 2010

[Gonul Pultar]

*LANGUAGE, CONFLICT AND SECURITY, University of Cambridge (10-11 April, 
2010)*

	

	

	

	

Call for Papers:

Language, Conflict and Security in the Middle East

10-11 April, 2010, University of Cambridge

The Department of Middle Eastern Studies, and the Centre for Middle 
Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge, invite papers to be presented 
at an international conference on Middle Eastern Studies. The focus will 
be on Language, Conflict and Security in the Middle East. Papers can 
range from early modern period to contemporary times and are encouraged 
to be in – but not limited to – the fields of:

1. Language and Security - Linkages, Contradictions, and Influences: The 
conference would seek to highlight these subjects by bringing together 
academic researchers, policy makers and field officers to debate 
concepts such as "military intelligence", "terrorism", "security", 
"language policies", "foreign language acquisition" and the seam-lines 
they share. We will try to understand why do we learn foreign langauges? 
What is the influence of security considerations on lanaguage policies? 
Who are our language teachers? What are the difficulties in studying the 
"language of the enemy"?

2. Language and Conflict: Political conflicts influence over our most 
basic needs: life, land, movement, and liberty. However, they have also 
crucial influence over our languages: The idioms in which we speak, the 
terminology we use, the languages we choose to ignore, and the 
linguistic capabilities that our governments encourage. We will strive 
to comprehend how do conflicts change our preceptions of studying 
foreign languages? When can language be a bridge? And how does it turn 
into a an instrument?

3. Security and Beyond: Security is not only connected to military 
intelligence, secret services, and armies. This conference would attempt 
to broaden the conceptual definitions of the field of security studies 
by highlighting the role of language in this field of research. We would 
strive to discuss this triangle - of language, security and conflict - 
in a broader sense than usual, challenging the way we usually perceive 
them. In which way security considerations are actually present in the 
very fabric of society? What is the impact of "security" in journalism, 
religion, translation or language acquisition? Who prevent our access to 
knowledge and information, and is it relate to "security"?

Abstracts should be sent by email to Yonatan Mendel (yym20 at cam.ac.uk) 
latest by 30th November, 2009. Submissions should be no more than 300 
words in MS Word or PDF format, and should include your name, 
affiliation and academic institution. Applicants will be notified by 
December 10th 2009 regarding the outcome of their applications. Each 
speaker will be allotted 20 minutes for the presentation followed by 10 
minutes for questions. Graduate students are encouraged to apply.

_Two nights accommodation in Cambridge, including all meals, will be 
provided for speakers. Graduate students are encouraged to apply._

Sincerely,
Yonatan Mendel (co-organiser)
On behalf of Prof. Yasir Suleiman, Head of Department and Centre of 
Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge.

	Yonatan Mendel
University of Cambridge
Department of Middle Eastern Studies,
Sidgwick Avenue
Cambridge CB3 9DA
UK

Email: yym20 at cam.ac.uk <mailto:yym20 at cam.ac.uk>