Event Announcement

[Guest guest]

The following conference announcement is being forwarded to your

listseerv or mailing list from the Events Calendar section of SARAI.

Please contact event organizers directly at the address given for any

further information.

David Magier, SARAI

 

========================

New Perspectives on Pakistan:

Contexts, Realities and Visions of the

Future

 

A Conference on Pakistan

Southern Asian Institute

Columbia University

April 12 weekend, 2003

 

Call for Papers

 

The Pakistan Center and the Southern Asian Institute at Columbia

University, in collaboration with the American Institute of Pakistan

Studies, is organizing a two-day conference on Pakistan in the

Spring (weekend of April 12th) of 2003. The theme of the

conference is New Perspectives on Pakistan: Contexts, Realities

and Visions of the Future.

 

You are invited to write a paper on any of the themes suggested for

the conference. The deadline for submitting a title and short abstract

of your paper is 31st October 2002. The deadline for submitting

your paper is 20th January 2003.

 

The conference proposal, which describes the conference and

details the panel topics, is given below. For further details, please

contact:

 

Saeed Shafqat

Quaid-e-Azam Distinguished Professor

Southern Asian Institute

Columbia University

1128 IAB, 420 West 118th Street

New York, NY 10027

 

Phone: 212--854-3932 Fax: 212-854-6987 email:

ss2009

 

 

 

Detailed Conference Proposal

 

Over the last three decades, a growing number of scholars have

developed an interest in the society, culture, archaeology, history

and political transformations in Pakistan. Many of these studies offer

important and strategic shifts from the dominating discourses of

Pakistan studies. For example, Islamization is seen not merely as a

state sponsored project, but examined on the ground as a

contestation between vying interests of individuals, groups,

communities and even competing external influences. Studies of the

Pakistani state are broadened to encompass forms of post-colonial

governance; state formation through military entrenchment; ethnic

demands and challenges of nation building; debate on expanding

civil society; frustrations with disabilities to institutionalize

democracy; and discursive struggles over defining Pakistani

"identity".

 

In order to more broadly identify these shifting contours in Pakistan

studies it is strategically important to bring these emerging voices

together to discuss, debate and redefine research agendas. The

effort has to be to set these voices in dialogue with established

scholars of Pakistan. These dialogues will provide greater depth as

well as breadth to understanding Pakistan and its place in the global

world order today.

 

Such a dialogue is of critical importance today in the light of recent

world events. The war in Afghanistan and Pakistan's explicit and

implicit interventions are calling greater attention to the region.

Currently, the contexts and contours of Pakistan are undergoing

radical transformations as the military regime realigns itself in the

global arena, as Islamicist forces are reevaluating and reevaluated,

their strategies in society, and as new dynamics with US, China,

Russia, India and Central Asian states are being forged. How is

Pakistan responding to these challenges of defense, security and

foreign policy?

 

It is in this spirit and context that the Pakistan Center and the

Southern Asian Institute at Columbia University are organizing a

two-day conference on Pakistan in the Spring (weekend of 12th

April) of 2003. Such a conference is timely and we expect will help

in not only facilitating our understanding about the complex

problems with which Pakistan is confronted, but will also deepen

our appreciation about the long-term challenges and opportunities

that the 21st Century will bring for the region. We hope to publish

the proceedings and papers presented in the conference.

 

Contributors will be requested to submit abstracts on one of the

following Panel Themes:

 

Rethinking Processes of State Formation in Pakistan.

This panel addresses issues relating to both the theory and

practice of state formation in developing states and explores

concepts, obstacles, organizations and strategies relating to

socio-political realities in these states. How and why is the

Pakistani experience different or exceptional? Is the

Devolution Plan 2001 really changing the Pakistani state?

 

Challenges of Pluralism: Social Forces and Interest Groups.

Social Forces and Interest Groups. What are the challenges of

pluralism in Pakistani society? Are there any institutions and

processes available through which dissent may be articulated?

Are there any social movements of significance that may have

contributed towards transforming state structures, reforming

laws and expanding the representation of dissenting groups?

How are religious/ethnic groups, women organizations, and

other informal groups reshaping the Pakistani society?

 

Globalization and Economic Transformation.

What has been the performance of Pakistan's economy in

recent decades? What are the sectors of growth and

development? How is the economy responding to the

challenges of globalization? How is the Pakistani Diaspora

community contributing towards promoting trade and

investment in Pakistan?

 

Fighting Terrorism and Promoting Democracy.

What is terrorism and how do we distinguish it from

legitimate resistance to occupation? What are the root causes

of terrorism (manifested in Pakistan through sectarian

violence) and how does Pakistan's joining the global coalition

against terrorism protect its strategic interests? How can we

fight terrorism while strengthening democracy, human rights

and civil liberties? What has happened to political parties; are

they relevant for any reform or mass mobilization? Do

proposed constitutional and electoral reforms promise

protection of federal parliamentary democracy?

 

Participants:

We expect to invite scholars from the US, Pakistan and

Europe. As noted above, one of the primary objectives of the

conference is to publish a solid scholarly book on Pakistan.

Therefore, our intention is to invite established and young

scholars who have been doing new and inter-disciplinary

research in the field of Pakistan studies.

[Guest guest]

INDOLOGY, David Magier <magier@c...> wrote:

 

> New Perspectives on Pakistan:

>

>

>

> Detailed Conference Proposal

>

>

> Participants:

> We expect to invite scholars from the US, Pakistan and

> Europe.

 

 

Is it not odd that there is a deafening silence on inviting scholors

from India? One would have thought that Columbia U will be above

political animosities of the sub-continent