Conference Announcement

[David Magier]

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David Magier
SARAI

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CALL FOR PAPERS

DGV-Conference in Heidelberg, 3.-7. October 1999

Anthropology and Neighbouring Disciplines

Workshop: Western India and the Indian Ocean

Helene Basu & Peter Fluegel

The rapid social changes that were generated by the recent opening up
of India to the world market, the increasing influence of a growing
diaspora
of non-resident Indians, and of cultural nationalist politics, pose
fresh problems for South Asian Anthropology, which, until recently,
treated
South Asia as a civilizational unit in virtual isolation from the
rest of the world. With the increasing awareness of the dynamics of
imperialism and orientalism as two-way interactive processes, and the
growing interest in the impact of international trade and migration on the
already existing transregional networks, in the last decade, perspectives
began to shift from
the comparative study of civilizations, to the interaction between the
local and the global.
Within this context, the anthropological study of the regions of Western
India, which are traditional sites of interaction
between the Subcontinent and Africa, the Middle East and Europe,
gains new relevance. Looking at Western India from the point of view of
its historical integration in global networks of trade and migration
generates new perspectives on the production of local culture in the
context of Indian society. However,
with notable exceptions, anthropological studies of processes of
globalization and cultural interaction in South Asia are still missing.
This workshop intends to bring together scholars working in various fields
of Western India, especially history, social anthropology, and gender. We
would like
to invite contributions on a broad spectrum of topics that currently
dominate academic discussions of Western India such as the split image of
trade and kingship; connections between trading patterns (including the
slave-trade) and religious affiliation; interdependencies between
migration, pilgrimage, religious reform and religious nationalism; a
reconsideration of caste, class and gender; issues of globalization,
modernization and identity; and of the impact of modern technology and the
media. In addition, we address scholars working on related subjects within
the context of the Asian Diaspora in East Africa, the Middle East and
other regions bordering the Indian Ocean and beyond.

If you are interested to participate we would kindly request you to send
your abstract till 25th of May 1999 by mail or e-mail. Looking forward to
meeting you in Heidelberg.

Please contact:
Dr. Peter Fl|gel                        or      Dr. Helene Basu
Department of Anthropology                      Institut f|r Ethnologie
University College London                       Freie Universitdt Berlin
Gower Street                                    Drosselweg 1-3
London WC1E 6BT                                 D-14195 Berlin
e-mail: pf at cix.co.uk                    e-mail:basu at zedat.fu-berlin.de