[Tlc] TLC-conferences!

[justinm at ucr.edu]

See information about 4 conferences below.
Best,
justin

Call for Contributors
The Judiciary and Policymaking: Experiences from Southeast Asia

Partly under the funding of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public
Policy at the National University of Singapore, we are
assembling a select group of either established and/or
emerging scholars with an interest in and understanding of
constitutionalism, the judiciary, and the public policy
process, to contribute to a planned volume to be published in
late 2008 on the evolving role of the judiciary in
policymaking in several Southeast Asian countries. We are
currently looking for contributors-preferably social
scientists-to write original empirical papers based on a
general template and engaging with the relevant theoretical
literature. Arrangements are underway for the volume to be
published by reputable publisher. In preparation
for the volume, a small workshop for the selected contributors
is planned during the recess week of the National University
of Singapore (February Sat 23 Feb - Sun 2 Mar 2008).

The workshop, like the planned volume for which it is
organized, will explore the extent of (and variations in) the
judiciaries' increasing importance in both public policy and
politics in Southeast Asian states during the last two or so
decades. Of particular interest are judiciaries in the most
recent post-authoritarian periods in Indonesia, the
Philippines  nd Thailand (the latter obviously a special
case). Contributors with a knowledge of the judiciary's role
in policymaking (if any) from elsewhere in Southeast Asia (in
particular, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Vietnam) are currently
also being sought. All contributors to the volume will examine
recent developments in four potential policymaking roles of
the judiciary: veto player, policy player, impartial referee,
and societal representative. In addition, the contributors
will also examine factors affecting the judiciary's policy 
independence and activism in the respective countries,
including, judicial budget autonomy, appointment systems of
judges, terms and tenure of judges, and judicial review powers.

Interested participants are invited to send brief expressions
of interest, highlighting among other things, prior
interest/work in this area, institutional affiliation, and
availability during the planned dates for the workshop, by
November 1, 2007. Address emails to: <amutebi at nus.edu.sg>.

Organizer:
Dr. Alex Mutebi
Assistant Professor
LKY School of Public Policy
National University of Singapore
496C Bukit Timah Road
Oei Tiong Ham Building
Singapore 259772
_____________________________________________________


Call for Abstracts
Ancient Khmer and Southeast Asian Ceramics: New Archaeological
Findings, Production and the Revival of Techniques

A collaboration between the Center for Khmer Studies, National
Center for Khmer Ceramics Revival and Heritage Watch and part
of the International Khmer Ceramics Festival

CKS Conference Hall, Wat Damnak, Siem Reap, Cambodia

December 13-15, 2007

This conference aims to bring together Cambodian and
international scholars specialized in ancient Khmer and
mainland South East Asian ceramics, with contemporary potters
and craftspeople working to revive ancient production
techniques. In light of illicit trading in antiquities, the
objective is to raise awareness of the archaeological
importance of ancient Cambodian and mainland South East Asian
ceramics, and to highlight the new opportunities for
sustainable economic development in the region through
contemporary ceramic technology. Scholars based in Southeast
Asia are especially encouraged to participate.

Conference Advisory Committee:
Dr. Dougald O'Reilly, Chair
Prof. John Miksic, Mr. Chhay Rachna, Dr. Philippe Peycam, Mr.
Serge Rega, Mr. Eric Llopis, Miss Suzanne Freilich

Panels Include:
Economics of ceramics in ancient Cambodia and mainland South
East Asia.
Craft and production in ancient Cambodia and mainland South
East Asia.
Appraisal, typology and chronology of ancient Khmer ceramics.
Revitalization of ceramic production in Cambodia.
Contemporary ceramic production and slowing the illicit trade
of antiquities.

ABOUT THE ORGANISERS
The organizers of this conference are all involved in the
study and preservation of Khmer culture in some way. Further
detailed information can be found on their respective websites:
Centre for Khmer Studies (CKS):
http://www.khmerstudies.org/index.htm
The National Center for Khmer Ceramics Revival
http://www.khmerceramics.com
This center is organising the International Khmer Ceramics
Festival, of which the conference is a part.
(http://www.khmerceramics.com/IKCF/program_uk.htm)
Heritage Watch http://www.heritagewatch.org

If you wish to participate, please email no later than
November 20, 2007 to <conference at khmerstudies.org>.
______________________________________________________


Call for Proposals
Southeast Asians in the Diaspora Conference
 
Location: University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Date: 15-16 April 2008
Submission Deadline: Postmarked or Emailed by 16 November 2007.
 
This two-day conference examines the emerging field of
Southeast Asian/American studies, which because of specific
histories of colonialism and imperialism, has produced
subjects and objects of analysis that confound categories of
diaspora, citizenship, and affiliation. Studies of the
Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese diasporas investigate and
trouble the structuring
effects of Cold War geopolitics; while studies of Hmong, Mien,
Cham, and other stateless ethnicities necessarily reconsider
the bases for global and local practices of identification as
well as strategic claims to rights and resources.
 
Given this, the field foregrounds important epistemological
and methodological shifts that productively disrupt the
analytic conventions of area studies, American studies, ethnic
studies, and Asian American studies. Thinking across these
fields, Southeast Asian/American studies fulfills the
intellectual and political promise of what Kandice Chuh
imagines as “studies in
comparative racialization and intersectional projects that
deliberately unravel seemingly stable distinctions among
identificatory categories and disciplinary divisions.”
Complicating the examination of nationalisms and
transnationalisms, Southeast Asian/American studies questions
the circulation of, the negotiation with, or challenges to the
knowledge regimes of U.S. nation and empire.
 
In order to explore the dissolution of disciplinary
distinctions and the complexities of intersectional analyses,
we are soliciting papers, panels, roundtables, workshops,
films, videos, readings, and performances. Submissions are
open to scholars, artists, and community members. This is an
interdisciplinary event welcoming individual and panel
proposals from
a wide variety of disciplines including, but not limited to,
queer studies, literature, history, sociology, art history,
visual cultures, political science, ethnic studies, women’s
and gender studies, performance studies, cultural studies,
postcolonial studies, Asian studies and area studies, the
performing arts, film or video making, writing, and community
activism and leadership. Participants will be informed of
acceptance in December 2007.
 
The conference is being held to coincide with the Association
of Asian American Studies (AAAS) conference in Chicago, 16-20
April 2008. As a note, AAAS does have limited funding for
which graduate students may apply.
 
Please mail all materials to:
Fiona I. B. Ng <ngo at uiuc.edu> or
Asian American Studies Program
1208 W. Nevada St., MC-142
Urbana, IL 61801
(217) 265-6240
 
For updates and more information:
http://www.aasp.uiuc.edu/SEAsianDiaspora
_______________________________________________________



Conference Announcement
On the Subject of Birds’ Nests: Secrets of Birds, People, and
a Billion Dollar Business in Thailand and Southeast Asia

An International Conference Organized by The Thailand Research
Fund, The Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre,
Nahkon Si Thammarat Rajabhat University and The Regional
Studies Program, School of Liberal Arts, Walailak University
29 October 2007
Conference Room 3, Level 1, United Nations Conference Centre
UNESCAP, Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok 10200 Thailand
Website: http://birdsnests-sea.wu.ac.th/en/

This is the first international academic conference to be held
in Thailand on the subject of the birds’ nest industry in
Thailand and Southeast Asia. The conference has been organized
with the aim of bringing together Thai and international
scholars to discuss a variety of issues related to the birds’
nest industry and swiftlets in this region. These issues
include zoological and biological data related to the swiftlet
birds; the history of harvesting and consuming birds’ nests in
Southeast Asia; the way of life and ethnic dimensions of
birds’ nests collectors’ communities; beliefs and cultural
patterns associated with the collection and consumption of
birds’ nests; the nutritional value of consuming birds’ nests;
the impact on the ecosystem and environment of the expansion
of the birds’ nest industry; the increasing practice of
swiftlet farming; the role of governments in managing the
industry; conflicts within local communities resulting from
resource competition for birds’ nests; and the rapidly
developing business connections between Thailand, Southeast
Asia and China based on the birds’ nest industry.

Listed speakers include experts from Thailand, United Kingdom,
Indonesia, Malaysia, and Hong Kong/China.

This conference has a limited attendance. Those wishing to
attend should submit a completed conference registration form
by 22 October 2007. For more information please contact 075
672 014.
___________________________________________________

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