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print versionSOUTH ASIA CONFERENCE - 2017
(Critical assessment of the cultural productions including paintings, literary productions, dramas, folk dramas and films produced in the South Asia region)
Medium: EnglishDeadline for Abstracts Submission: July 15th 2017Submission of Full Research Paper: October 15th 2017Dates of the Conference: November 24th & 25th, 2017Venue: WERC Auditorium, 58, Dharmarama Road, Colombo 06, Sri Lanka.
Subjects & Themes:
- Religious Rites & Women
- Women & Literary productions - Novels, Novellas, Short Stories, Poems Drama & their differing themes - Stage Dramas & Street Dramas
- Women & Cinema - Films, Documentaries included
- Dance as a form of Art & Women - Classical & Modern
Selected peer reviewed full research papers will be published in the WERC Journal on Gender Studies, Nivedini.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT :
TEL: +94-11-2595296/ 2590985 FAX: +94-11-2596313 EMAIL: info[at]wercsl.org WEB: www.wercsl.org
TO RECEIVE THE FULL CONCEPT PAPER: harshani.pinnawala[at]wercsl.org SEND YOUR ABSTRACTS TO: harshani.pinnawala[at]wercsl.org (Upon selection, we will contact you with a call for your full research paper.)
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Women’s Education & Research Centre 58, Dharmarama Road, Colombo 06, Sri Lanka.
CULTURAL PRODUCTIONS IN SOUTH ASIA REGION FROM A GENDER PERSPECTIVE
(GENDER STUDIES CONFERENCE ON THE CONSTRUCTION, DECONSTRUCTING & RECONTRUCTION OF CULTURE & CULTURAL PRODUCTIONS WITH A FOCUS ON THE SOUTH ASIA REGION)
Concept paper
Culture and cultural production have been theorized in many ways. At one end of the spectrum is the meaning of culture and cultural production as an aesthetic domain / discipline (particularly in terms of the Fine Arts or Liberal Arts). Then there is the Marxist understanding of culture as the relations between the economic conditions of a society and its aesthetic expressions. Cultural production thus becomes dependent on the economy and sometimes vice versa. Aside from which, there is the anthropological use of the term culture as a whole way of life; while other theorists focus on the liberationary and humanistic aspects of cultural production. Yet others, within neoliberal, capitalist societies, equate cultural production with commercial profit. In sharp contrast, postmodern analysis of culture and cultural productions deconstruct language and dominant cultural values such as power, universality and privilege and look towards silences, gaps and marginalized perspectives.
Culture and cultural productions take diverse forms – from manifestations such as literature (poems, short-stories, novels) and visual art forms such as paintings, sculptures and graphics to the audiovisual realm of music, theater and dance. Yet there are also other undefined forms of culture and cultural production such as proverbs, lullabies, dirges and wedding songs. What then distinguishes culture from cultural production? In contemporary times, especially when it comes to the domains of Cyber art and technologies, we often run into problems of inclusions and exclusions. Furthermore, there are often claims of exclusive women’s, youth and other alternative cultures and their productions. Therefore what do we make of alternative and subcultures and their productions?
In responding to culture and cultural productions, society has often constructed, but also deconstructed and reconstructed culture, subculture and productions from a range of perspectives and disciplines. These include complex and nuanced understandings such as those of anthropology, sociology, cultural studies along with critical theories like Marxism, post- colonialism and feminism, as well as postmodern analysis etc.,
However, gender is a primary crosscut within critical analysis and cannot be isolated from other socio cultural, political and economic intersections. Consequently, the conference will provide an opportunity for presenters and participants to approach culture and cultural production from more holistic perspectives. A focus on alternative cultures or subcultures (especially women’s cultural productions) is particularly encouraged given their capacity to challenge and question the status quo, whether it be at the level of class, caste, ethnicities, religion or gender and sexualities.
While keeping in mind that the area under discussion is wide and comprehensive, the conference will aim to add to the current discourses and debates on culture, subculture and cultural production from gender perspectives.
Thus based on feminist and gender perspectives, the objectives of the conference will be:
To explore the definitions, boundaries, expansions and limitations as to what constitute culture and cultural productions;
To consider the implications and encompass of the different realms and levels of culture, alternative culture, subculture and their productions;
To discuss the history, evolution and economic status of diverse cultural productions and the meanings attributed to them in today’s context;
To analyze power, politics and ethics of cultural productions (including the role of propaganda) within cultures and globally; and
To construct, deconstruct and reconstruct cultural meanings (including those of commerce, emancipation and humanism) and aesthetic values.
The conference seeks to encourage to the fullest the exploration of the various conceptualizations of culture and cultural productions discussed earlier. However, all papers, presentations and discussions would necessarily need to communicate gendered or feminist understandings of the topic in question.
It will provide an exciting platform for feminist and gender scholars, researchers, artists, writers, critics, theorists, etc., to expound on new thinking, contribute to ongoing debates, provide unifying frameworks, and deconstruct existing meanings relating to culture and cultural production.
