Asian-Australian Identities: The Asian Diaspora in Australia Conference

Asian-Australian Identities: The Asian Diaspora in Australia Conference
focussing on theatre, film and literature by Asian-Australians

27 - 29 September 1999,

Australian National University

Call for papers

Thirty years after the official demise of the White Australia policy, there has been increasing engagement with cultural diversity in the national imaginary. The convergence of recent political and economic unrest in the Asia-Pacific region and the so-called domestic 'backlash' against multiculturalism pose particular challenges to emerging discourses of Asian-Australian cultural politics.

This conference will explore both critical and creative responses to the problematic of the Asian-Australian diasporic experience.

We invite expressions of interest for presentations addressing topics such as:

What are the emerging definitions of Asian-Australian-ness?
What kinds of cultural production reflect the Asian diasporic experiencein Australia?
How useful is the concept of the diaspora for interrogating Asian-Australian subjectivities?
In what ways have multicultural and postcolonial discourses impacted on the emergence of Asian-Australian identities?
How are Asian-Australian experiences inscribed in the national imaginary?
How have Asian-Australians responded to Hansonite politics?
What are the institutional effects of Asian-Australian studies?

The conference will include academic papers as well as readings, performances, exhibitions and film screenings. We invite submissions of proposals for papers and presentations by APRIL 30, 1999. Please note that academic papers should not exceed 20 minutes; formats and time-limits for other types of presentations can be negotiated.

Send abstracts (approximately 200 words) and enquiries to:
Ms Tseen Khoo
Department of English
University of Queensland
St Lucia, QLD
AUSTRALIA 4072
Email: t.khoo@mailbox.uq.edu.au
Fax: 61-7-3365-2799

WEB SITE: http://www.uq.edu.au/~entkhoo/Banana/aaconference.html

CONFERENCE CONVENORS:
Dr Jacqueline Lo
Lecturer, Department of English and Theatre Studies
Faculty of Arts, Australian National University,
Canberra, ACT 0200 AUSTRALIA

Dr Helen Gilbert
Lecturer, Department of English
University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072 AUSTRALIA