Pepers are invited for a collection tentatively titled "Dialogics of
Cultural Encounters" scheduled for publication by the end of this year.
Papers should focus on points of cultural contact. A core group of
papers for this volume will come from the presentations at the 7th
international conference on criticism and theory held last December at
Visakhapatnam, India.

The theme of the conference, "Dialogics of Cultural Encounters," is
part of the ongoing debate of the Forum on the question of identity,
which has acquired greater urgency and meaning today in the context of
the recent events in Afghanistan and Iraq and the threat of
international terrorism to the civilized world. The theme extends the
scope of the debate on modernity, to encompass the larger dimension of
the question involving dialogue between cultures, between civilizations,
between religious and political ideologies, and between the present and
the past. The idea of modernity, which was disseminated throughout the
world under colonial dispensation, was both a spatial mode of
intervention across cultures and a reflection on the nature of residual
temporality of the past through the present. Through migration and
displacement of people, through translations of works, through study of
comparative literary perspectives and influences, and through expansion
of regimes of control under colonialism and forms of globalization the
world continues to be shaken and invigorated by spatial dynamics of
cultural exchange. Temporal markers of disjunction and conjunction of
cultural forces would include modernity's invocation of the past and
its continued reworking of tradition through both conflicting and
collaborative dialogues. The influx of modernity into the life-world of
the countries influenced by the West could be seen as both a disturbing
phenomenon for traditional cultures as well as a facilitation for a
fruitful exchange of ideas for a healthy cross-fertilization of shared
perspectives.

Although some cynics have predicted a clash of civilizations and
battles over ideological differences, there seems to have continued a
subtle dialogue between systems of thought apparently opposed by their
epistemic differences. The emergence of poststructuralist thinking and
its profound impact on contemporary thought have made us aware that the
old-fashioned dichotomies and polarities are no longer helpful in
re-conceptualizing the nature of the human world; there is a need for a
fresh look from the vantage point of the new century and new millennium,
which is expected to offer us a vision of a new future. By using the
term "dialogics" from Mikhail Bakhtin and implying its opposition to
the Marxist term "dialectics" we have tried to understand the more
complex but valuable interplay of ideas across cultures and time as a
way of making sense of the intricate process of encounters between
cultures, despite the more obvious signs of many forms of conflicts
resulting in violent political and ideological clashes. The conference
will try to examine through close studies of cultural forms as well as
the nature of philosophical debates through history how there has been a
persistence of dialogical impulses, even when conflicts among cultures
have been more open and bloody.

Papers, mostly on conceptual nature, supported by textual examples, are
welcome. Mere textual analysis without any broad philosophical
framework will not be entertained.

Deadline: 30 April 2005 Publication
date: December 2005
Average length of MS.: 6000-8000 words
Style: MLA Handbook (Please keep notes to a minimum.)
Manuscripts may be submitted electronically.

Contact: Sura P. Rath, Director
                The William O. Douglas Honors College
                Central Washington University
                Ellensburg, WA 98926
                Ph: 509.963.1445 Fax: 509.963.1206
                e-mail: raths_at_cwu.edu

Sura P. Rath, Director
The William O. Douglas Honors College
Central Washington University
Language & Literature Building, Ste. 103B
400 East University Way
Ellensbu-rg, WA 98926-7521

Phone: 509-963-1440
Fax: 509-963-1206
Email: raths_at_cwu.edu

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Received on Mon Jan 10 2005 - 12:07:09 EST