Two-day Early Career Researchers’ Conclave & Colloquium 2025

Institute of Language Studies and Research (ILSR), kolkata

Department of Higher Education, Goverment of West Bengal

Academic partner - British Council  

South Asia Research at the Crossroads: Current World Order, New Horizons and Theorisations

0n 23rd and 24th June, 2025

• Keynotes

Francesca Orsini, SOAS, University of London

Justin Jones, University of Oxford

researchconclave.ilsr@gmail.com www.ilsrscholarconclave.wordpress.com

• Invited speakers

Sipra Mukherjee, West Bengal State University

Projit Bihari Mukharji, Ashoka University

Suranjana Barua, IIIT, Guwahati (IIITG)

Stéphane Dorin, University of Limoges

Niladri Sekhar Dash, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata

Dripta Piplai, IIT Kharagpur

Hia Sen, Presidency University

Asha Singh, CSSSC, Kolkata

• Convenors

Dr. Mursed Alam, Assistant Professor, Gour College, University of Gour Banga

Anurag Mazumder, Assistant Professor, Jamalpur College, and PhD Research Scholar, ILSR, Kolkata

Kainaat Ghazal, Junior Research Fellow, ILSR, Kolkata

Sekh Shamim, PhD Research Scholar, ILSR, Kolkata

Concept Note & Call for Papers

South Asia Research at the Crossroads: Current World Order, New Horizons and Theorisations

Geo-politically, the current conjuncture is marked by economic vagaries, vicious forms of political violence, state coercion and consistent warfare. The rise of autocratic regimes across the globe has also affected the existing global order and international relationships. South Asia, as the sub-continent and home to a large number of varied population groups, needless to say, has been largely affected by this changing global order, economic plight and conflictual political climate. South Asia has a long and chequered history, witnessing an intricate mosaic of identities, traditions, and transformations. As a region marked by dynamic cultural expressions and complex societal structures, it continues to provoke critical inquiry and fresh research curiosities. The changing dynamics of global order necessitates new research inquiries into the existing analytical frames and tools of social analysis. We continue to suffer from border disputes, grinding poverty, ethno-cultural conflicts and social as well as gender hierarchies. Centuries of colonial rule and subsequent experiments with the nation state and economic autonomy have perhaps failed to address many of our socio-political deadlocks. Are normative analytical templates and research tools inadequate to decipher the shifting terrains of South Asian economy, culture and political behaviour under the current world order, technological boom and declining ecological health? As South Asia hosts a significant chunk of young researchers brimming with their investigating energies to forge a new future of social and cultural understanding and economic stability, how do we develop new research tools and perspectival furrows? What are the new horizons and pathways for South Asia research in the days to come? How can it offer new theorisation models for global humanities and social sciences studies for the future? How can south Asia be in the forefront of new research methods and theorisation? 

The Institute of Language Studies and Research (ILSR), Kolkata, invites submissions for the Two-Day Early Career Researchers’ Conclave 2025 focusing on the theme “South Asia Research at the Crossroad: Current World Order, New Horizons, Pathways and Theorisations”, as it aims to initiate and foster new scholarly dialogues among New Age Researchers and Innovators who are unaffected by ideological baggage and pre-determined discourses. This can result in offering new ideas on the table to frame new research questions and newer forms of methods to address the current crisis.

Early career researchers (Assistant Professors, Lecturers, State aided College Teachers, Postdoctoral scholars, PhD scholars, Research project fellows) working in the Humanities and Social Sciences, are invited to contribute in this collective endeavour, imagining new pathways and questions for future research.

 Contributions are encouraged on the following subthemes, though submissions are not limited to these topics:

• South Asia and Current Global Order
• South Asia: Society, Culture, and Reforms
• Public Sphere, Civic Bodies and Print culture
• Energy Humanities, Critical Animal Studies, Environmental Humanities and New Perspectives from South Asia
• Populism, Popular Culture and Agency
• Religion, Nation and Identity
• Indigenous Narratives and Planetarity
• Gender and Social Norms
• Law, Society and Legal reforms
• Vernacular Writings and Translation
• Language, Linguistics, Pedagogy and Communication
• What Ails Postcolonial and Decolonial Thinking?
• Public Humanities
• Border Making and Migration
• War, Violence and Normalisation
• New Frontiers of Literary Cultural Theory

Select papers will be considered for a possible academic publication.

Submission Guidelines:

Submit an abstract (not exceeding 300 words) outlining the research problem, methodology, and key arguments by 15th May 2025. Include a short bio-note (100 words).

E-mail the abstract and bio-note to

researchconclave.ilsr@gmail.com

The Colloquium will be held in-person, however, some slots can be organised in a hybrid mode, if needed.

Eligibility: Open to MPhil/PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career academics (Assistant Professors, State Aided College Teachers, Research Project Fellows).

Key Dates:

Abstract Submission Deadline: 21st May, 2025

Notification of Acceptance: 27th May, 2025

Submission of presentation version of the paper: 20th June 2025

Colloquium dates: 23rd and 24th June, 2025

Registration fees:

MPhil/PhD candidates - Rs. 1200/-

Postdoctoral researchers - Rs. 1500/-

Early career academics (Assistant Professors, State Aided College Teachers, Research Project Fellows) - Rs. 2000/-

The colloquium webpage: ilsrscholarconclave.wordpress.com

Contact ilsrjuphd2023@gmail.com for any queries.

VENUE:

ILSR New Town Campus (Asanna Building), Kolkata, India

• Organising team 

Dr. Sripati Tudu, Assistant Professor, ILSR, Kolkata

Seema Ahmed, Assistant Professor, Lokepara Mahavidyalaya

Dr. Surabhi Jha, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Aliah University

Dr. Saptaparni Pandit, PSAGS Post-Anthropocene Research Collective Co-Founder

Richa Biswas, State Aided College Teacher, Jamini Roy College

Nandita Mondal, PhD Research Scholar, ILSR, Kolkata and Assistant Prof., Balurghat B.Ed. College (Autonomous)

Suklal Saren, PhD Research Scholar, ILSR, Kolkata and Assistant Professor, Mallabhum Institute of Technology

Maitrayee Mukherjee, Project Fellow, ILSR & Guest Lecturer in English, St. Paul’s Cathedral Mission College

Krishna Shinjinee Deb, Junior Research Fellow, ILSR, Kolkata

Rumeli Mukherjee, PhD Research Scholar, ILSR, Kolkata and PSAGS PRC Co-Founder

Sonu Sah, PhD Research Scholar, ILSR, Kolkata

Sayak Basu, PhD Research Scholar, ILSR, Kolkata

Alekhya Mandal, Project Fellow, ILSR, Kolkata

• Colloquium scientific board

Dr. Swati Guha, Director, ILSR, Kolkata

Prof. Amitava Das, ILSR, Kolkata

Prof. Anindya Sekhar Purakyastha, ILSR, Kolkata

Prof. Himadri Lahiri, Netaji Subhash Open University

Prof. Abhijit Gupta, Jadavpur University

Prof. Sumit Chakrabarti, Presidency University

Dr. Amrita Ghosh, University of Central Florida

Dr. Frederik Schröer, Freie Universität Berlin