[Tlc] conference by the CKS

[justinm at ucr.edu]

FYI.
Best,
justin

Call for Papers
Local Practice and Trans-national dynamic in Mainland
Southeast Asia Religion

Center for Khmer Studies International Conference
Siem Reap, Cambodia, February 23-24, 2007

Building on third sessions of the Rockefeller
Foundation-funded CKS capacity-building courses on Comparative
Religion of Mainland Southeast Asia, this conference will
provide a forum in which early career Cambodian academics can
present their research alongside international scholars with
related interests.

In Southeast Asia, as in the rest of the world, religion has
become a more and more salient issue as transnational
processes break down traditional assumptions about the modern
secular nation state.  We invite scholars to take a fresh look
at religion in the new social context?  How well have
Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity weathered the Communist and
post-Communist eras? How are they affected by religious and
secular influences from abroad? What has been the impact of
evangelical Christianity, and how have Cambodians and other
Southeast Asians reacted to it? How many young persons pursue
a religious vocation, even for a short time? What do young
people in urban areas believe, and what effect, if any, does
religious teaching have on their behavior? What historical
roots do current transnational patterns have?  How is
religious “tradition” remembered and reconstructed in the new
social context.  And finally, what comparisons can be made
between what is happening in Cambodia and in neighboring
countries (Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and Burma)? These are only
a few of the questions that need to be addressed in what would
ideally contribute to a long-term, multi-disciplinary study, a
regional approach which  identifies and compares  cross-border
networks and patterns. 

The emphasis will be on developing comparisons between
Cambodia and other countries in Southeast Asia. These
comparisons may be presented within individual papers, or
through panel sessions.  This will be a small two-day
conference, involving early career Cambodian academics from
the CKS program, and up to twenty-five other presenters.   It
will run in collaboration with partner universities in
Cambodia.  Scholars based in Southeast Asia are especially
encouraged to participate, and some limited funding may be
available to support their attendance.  CKS hopes to
disseminate selected papers through its website or print
publication.

Please submit titles, short abstracts with 300 words maximum
and contact details to cheanmen at khmerstudies.org by February
10, 2007.

______________
Dr. Justin McDaniel
Dept. of Religious Studies
2617 Humanities Building
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
951-827-4530
justinm at ucr.edu