[Tlc] Buddhism and the Crises of Nation-States in Asia (19-20 Jun 2008)

[Michael Montesano]

Call for Submissions - Edited Volume on Buddhism and the Crises of
Nation-States in Asia

19-20 June 2008
Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore

Organisers:
Asia Research Institute and Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Religion
Research Cluster, National University of Singapore

This workshop intends to bring together top scholars working on Buddhism
in Asia to examine the "crises of nation-states" in Asia's Buddhist
countries. It aims to explore complex situations and issues pertinent to
the changing status and role of Buddhism in the far-from-complete
processes of nation-state building and modernization in major Buddhist
countries in the region. It also compares the paths, patterns, and
processes which Buddhism has undertaken in its role as a traditional
source of moral and political authority in various states.
Some of the questions that will be explored are 1) to what extent has
the Buddhist Sangha in each Asian nation been involved in the politics
of nation-building and modernization?  2) how and why Buddhism
negotiates with some of the dynamic forces of secular governance and
overall secularization of modern culture and society.

The workshop is timely in terms of both current political situation and
scholarly interests. Since after the Second World War, Buddhism has
served as a spiritual and political backbone to many of the "new Asian
states". Buddhism has pervaded the politics of nation building and
modernization processes in Asia's new Buddhist-dominated nation-states.
In Tibet, the Buddhist Sangha was perhaps the sole spiritual and
political force of resistance against the Chinese annexation in early
1960s. In Sri Lanka, Singhalese Buddhism is the foundation of its
postcolonial nation building project, yet it has failed to establish
itself as a dominant source of moral authority for the new nation. In
Laos and Cambodia, traditional Buddhism has been contested by the
socialist vision of imagined community. The Sangha in both Indochinese
countries have found themselves excluded from the socialist governments'
national ideologies. They face the dual roles of reviving and regaining
moral and political  legitimacy, and healing their countries' traumatic
experiences from their violent revolutionary pasts. In Myanmar, young,
radical Buddhist monks consider themselves as the sole organized force
and institution to contest the oppressive military regime which has been
in power since 1962. In Thailand, Buddhism has been fragmented from a
relatively centralized Sangha entity into smaller communities of faiths
and believers. Although Thai Buddhism is considerably strong as a
state-sponsored, nationalistic religion, it has been weakening by
sectarianism, consumerism, and materialism in the past three to four
decades. Thai Buddhism's political functions are well documented.

The workshop's focus on Buddhism and the "crises of nation-states"
(Tambiah 1998) requires crucial academic attention. Scholars of Asian
Buddhism have been actively thinking and rethinking the issues
concerning Buddhism and its multiple roles including the Buddhist
politics of power legitimation and moral authority of the Sangha since
1960s. Works by Anuman Rajadhon (1961, 1965), Kirsch (1967, 1977), Nash
(1965), Terwiel (1967), Wells (1960), and Grombrich strongly indicate
early interests on the fundamental components and complex interactive
relationships between Buddhism and Asian societies. In 1970s and 1980s,
Buddhist scholars were more focused on Buddhism's political roles. This
gave rise especially to some famous works by Tambiah (1976, 1978, 1986)
and Bardwell (1978). In the 1990s, issues of crisis of authority and
modernity have attracted attention from international scholars (Tambiah
1992). In the current decade, it is appropriate to redirect scholarly
attention to some disturbing questions on Buddhism and its struggling
relationships with the nation-states in Asia. The problematic
relationship between Buddhism and the secular nation-states must be
explored ethnographically and comparatively across the region. These
issues have not been engaged in current works on the subject such as
research carried out by Holt, Kinnard, and Walters (2003), E. Harris
(2006), and I. Harris (2005).

Hence, the themes of panel discussion for the workshop are:
1.      Buddhist Polity Revisited
2.      Buddhist Visions and Politics of Nation Building
3.      Buddhist Fundamentalism and Nationalism
4.      Militant and Socially-Engaged Monks and Nuns
5.      The Politics of Buddhist Piety and Fragmentation

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Prof. Charles F. Keyes, Department of Anthropology, University of
Washington, Seattle, USA.

INVITED SPEAKERS AND CALL FOR PAPERS

This workshop will be based on presentations by invited speakers and
suitable papers received from interested participants.

We wish to call for papers that address one or more of the above major
themes.
Abstracts of papers should be sent to Dr Pattana Kitiarsa
(seapk at nus.edu.sg) by 28 March 2008. The abstract should be within 400
words and include name of author(s) (first name followed by last name,
underline the presenter of the paper), affiliation and e-mail addresses.
Notification of acceptance of paper will be issued by April 1, 2008.
Completed draft papers should be submitted by 2 June 2008 and will be
made available to conference participants in advance.
Publication

The output from the conference is expected to be as an edited volume
with a leading academic publisher.

General Enquiries and Submission of Abstracts and Papers

General enquiries about the conference can be directed to:
Dr Pattana Kitiarsa, seapk at nus.edu.sg
Contact Persons for submission of papers:
Rodney Sebastian fasrodn at nus.edu.sg

Secretariat
Ms Rina YAP
Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore
#10-01 Tower Block,469A Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 259770
Email: rinayap at nus.edu.sg
Tel:  (65) 6516 8784
Fax: (65) 6779 1428

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