Note: the call for papers has closed.
The conference committee invites papers on the theme Colonialism: Subaltern Voices, Contested Histories, Subverted Spaces.
Colonialism, and its underlying violence and inequality, continues to demonstrate that modern hopes of peace and fair access to resources are largely illusory. Russia’s imperial ambitions in eastern Europe and resistance to a Voice to Parliament domestically are two obvious examples. The conference subthemes of subaltern voices, contested histories and subverted spaces are intended to highlight different aspects of colonialism – the groups who are marginalised or ignored; the narratives which conceal, justify or illuminate repression; how space is manipulated to underpin power or to effect resistance. These subthemes are not intended as exclusive. The conference is intended to have a broad temporal and geographical reach.
While the paradigms of colonialism (including post-colonialism, franchise-colonialism and settler-colonialism, for example) are familiar to those studying the later medieval and the early modern period, the committee also invites scholars studying the earlier medieval period to explore how the various lenses of colonialism might shed fresh light on old controversies and open up new ways of interpreting evidence.
We invite submissions on any related topics, including:
- dissonant narratives of conquest, conflict, and survival;
- cultural geography: space and place;
- reading race and ethnicity: genocide, conflict and co‑existence;
- conversion and religious conflict;
- maintaining and modifying identity;
- accommodation and defiance: tensions in the quest to belong;
- translation, adaptation, linguistic change;
- the idea and material expression of alienated homelands; travel narratives;
- first contacts; and
- theoretical debates in ‘colonialism’, ‘colonial encounters’ and ‘culture contact’.
Submissions may be in the form of: individual papers of 20 minutes duration; themed panels of three 20-minute papers; or round tables of up to six shorter papers (total of one hour).
All sessions will include time for questions and general discussion.
Please send proposals (150–200 words per paper), along with author’s name, paper/panel/RT title, and academic affiliation (if any) to [email protected].
Proposals from third year and Honours students are welcomed. Deadline for proposals has been extended to 22 August 2022.
The conference will be in a hybrid format. Please specify whether you intend to present your paper in person or virtually, when submitting your proposal.
Perth time is GMT+8hrs. We will try to accommodate different time zones for virtual presentations where possible.
Download a copy of the Call for Papers/Conference Poster
