What is English studies in the early decade of the 21st century, when the national boundaries are being crossed and redrawn thanks to the international flight, the Internet and people flows, when the rise of China starts to challenge the dominance of the English, when it has dawned upon us much of academic production is enmeshed with the credit crunch? New intellectual paradigms seem to emerge as literary studies vie with cultural studies, and other subjects for finance, space, work force and, more importantly, students.

This conference aims to highlight emerging research focuses related to the studies of the English language, culture, literature, art, manners and tastes, etc. with special emphasis to their "oriental" context(s).

Possible Topics include, but not restricted to, the following:

Space/Body:
Travel accounts, encounters of the oriental / English subjects, travel theory
English language and culture incorporated in the East
Displaying the Orient, exhibition, museum, visual arts
Gender/queer studies
Fashion, popular cultures
Time/History/Language:
Orientalism, Chinoiserie, Japan/China mania
Re-writing of history, oral history, demise of the "grand narrative"
The history of English teaching in Asia
The prospect of English (the language, culture, politics, etc.)
Translation, translatability
Paradigm/Pedagogy
Re-situating English studies, disciplinary crisis
Re-calibrating English
Re-visioning the canon
Re-thinking on the pedagogy of English Teaching
English teaching and learning in the new era
Fighting back of the empire
Emerging/emergent hegemony
The future of literary studies
Transnationalism, Cosmopolitanism, Globalization,
Hyphenated identities, Hybridity
Transformation, Metamorphosis

Call for Papers:
Please send 300 word abstracts, with your CV, to Ms. Hsiu-ting Jian [htjian@ntu.edu.tw] by 1 September, '09.
Confirmation of acceptance: 30 September, '09