3rd Conference of the Asian Borderlands Research Network

The 3rd Conference of the Asian Borderlands Research Network, with the theme ”Connections, Corridors, and Communities” will be held in Kunming, China, 12–15 October 2012. 

The conference is organised by the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) in the Netherlands, but is hosted by the Centre for Southwest Borderland Ethnic Minority Studies, Yunnan University (YU) in Kunming. Conveners include Prof. Willem van Schendel, University of Amsterdam (UvA),  and Dr. Erik de Maaker, Leiden University. 

Extensive land and maritime networks have crisscrossed Asia for centuries, providing the basis for encounters between diverse ethnic, linguistic, economic, religious, and political groups.  Today, developments such as new infrastructural projects, an increase in media access, and renewed interest in shaping cross-border cultural identities serve to both underscore these long-standing linkages and create new forms of connections across Asia. During the 3rd Asian Borderlands Research Conference in Kunming, we invite submissions that address continuities and ruptures along routes and borders in Asia, broadly related to the theme, "Connections, Corridors, and Communities". 

Only a small number of individual papers will be selected. New to this Asian Borderlands conference, the roundtable format is intended to allow for a more open forum on a broader theme. Typically, panelists will each address the main issue or topic of the roundtable, and the remainder of the time is open for an informal discussion between the panel members and a more extended question-and-answer period with the audience. Some examples of wide themes in relation to Asian borderlands may include, but are not limited to: migration; security; gender; technology; environmental issues, etc.
More information.