We are organizing the International Conference on Multicultural Democracy. The conference will take place in Fukuoka, Japan on May 11-12, 2018. Now we call for papers and posters for the conference. If you are interested in joining the conference and meeting other scholars and graduate students working on multicultural democracy, please visit the conference website and send an abstract of no more than 500 words via submission form. There’s a limited number of travel grants available too! No registration fee is required. We are looking forward to receiving your abstracts.
Conference Website http://diverse-democracy.kyushu-u.ac.jp/2018/01/18/381
Submission Form http://diverse-democracy.kyushu-u.ac.jp/2018/01/18/389
Conference Theme
As globalization has accelerated the movement of people and the diffusion of liberal political and social principles across national boundaries, two distinct trends have emerged. One is diversity, whereby different groups of citizens, including foreigners, sexual minorities, and indigenous people, coexist. The other trend is exclusion, which includes phenomena, such as xenophobia, anti-immigration sentiments, and racial and other forms of discrimination; in other words, multiculturalism and multicultural community buildings have received a backlash.
This conference focuses on the social infrastructure of multicultural democracy, such as institutions, structures, and norms. We use the term “multicultural” to refer to the diversity of actors with different attributes (race, ethnicity, sex, status, origin, etc.). Therefore, the term is not limited to narrowly defined representations of race and ethnicity. By the same token, the term “multicultural community building” signifies the creation and stabilization of public spaces where diverse actors with different attributes can coexist. Such coexistence has been guaranteed by institutional, structural, and normative settings. Finally, “multicultural democracy” signifies the pursuit of multicultural community building through liberal and democratic means. The conference thus examines how social infrastructures have (1) accelerated social exclusion, (2) encouraged social inclusion, and (3) promoted multicultural democracy.
As a part of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Global Initiatives program, this multilateral and interdisciplinary conference aims to provide an arena to discuss the multi-issue and multidisciplinary nature of multicultural democracy. Our plan is to publish a special journal issue based on conference contributions. Detailed information on the publication terms will be conveyed to authors during and after the conference. We invite papers/poster proposals from various fields of Humanities and Social Sciences. Proposals can be related, but not restricted, to the following:
・ Citizenship and human rights
・ Ethnicity and migration
・ Political participation
・ Public sphere
・ Historical reconciliation and dialogues
・ Foreign policy and/or international and cultural exchanges regarding multicultural issues
・ Data analysis and/or international comparisons regarding multicultural issues
All papers/posters will be published in the conference proceedings. Graduate students can be considered as paper/poster authors. Some distinguished papers and posters will also be considered for publication in proposed special issues in international journals. Paper/poster proposals (maximum of 500 words in English), together with a short description of the author(s), should be submitted to the submission form by the end of February 2018. Please also indicate whether you are applying for a paper, poster, or both. We can provide a limited number of travel grants for paper/poster presenters and will give priority to graduate students and young scholars. The scientific committee will review the proposals, and the results will be out by mid-July. Selected authors will be asked to submit half paper (4,000–5,000 words) by April 27, 2018. We look forward to receiving your proposals.
Important Timeline
2018.02.28. Deadline for abstracts (300–500 words)
2018.03.16. Notification of acceptance of papers/posters
2018.04.27 Deadline for the submission of conference papers (4,000–5,000 words) and posters
2018.05.11-12. Conference
Date: May 11–12, 2018
Venue: Nishijin Plaza, Kyushu University, Nishijin 2-16-23, Sawara-Ku, Fukuoka-Shi, Fukuoka, Japan
Registration: No registration fee is required.
Associate Professor of International Politics
Faculty of Law, Kyushu University, JAPAN
toga@law.kyushu-u.ac.jp