Call for Papers - 2024 Inya Institute Interdisciplinary Conference
Myanmar’s currently expanding crisis is bringing to the fore long-standing developments and narratives about its borderlands, which now assume additional critical relevance. Of particular significance are the socio-economic, political, and cultural dynamics of communities living in areas that have been often described as “peripheries.” These communities have long been challenging the physical and administrative barriers imposed by successive government administrations and have developed their own forms of governance.
The interdisciplinary conference’s theme is deliberately broad in the time span it covers and will offer presenters and the audience an opportunity to pursue an inclusive conversation on Myanmar’s borderlands; to consider alternate framings of these territories and their populations, not just through the typical lenses of geographical and methodological borders; and to emphasize the unique contributions of these communities to the ecosystems, history, economy, and cultures of the Southeast Asia Region and their interconnectedness.
With this in mind, we are inviting proposals for individual papers, thematic panels, and roundtables on the following themes:
• legacy of colonial knowledge of borderlands and their communities
• ethno-history of borderlands
• natural resources and challenges to environmental protection in borderlands
• communities, networks, and trade across borders
• legal and illegal border migration
• humanitarian relief to refugees and public health in borderlands
• borders at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic
• border regimes and governance
• infrastructure(s) and illicit economies and activities
• non-human mobility in borderlands
• formal and informal governance of borderlands
• externalized economic development of borderlands
• formal and non-formal education in borderlands
• other themes related to borderlands.
Chulalongkorn University’s Asia Research Center for Migration and Faculty of Political Science, and the Inya Institute (Yangon) invite scholars and students to submit original research papers covering any of the topics listed above, both historically and contemporary, and spanning any area of Myanmar borders with China, Laos, Thailand, Bangladesh, and India. We also welcome book presentations, movies presentations, and roundtables.
In order to preserve the confidentiality of the presenters, the conference program will not be available for circulation beyond the group of conference presenters and registrants. Conference presenters and attendees will also be expected to follow the Chatham House Rule.
Submission of Abstracts
All abstracts (with a 300-word limit) must use the pre-formatted template available here and be sent to the following address:
mailto:myanmarborderlandsconference@gmail.com
Call for Papers Deadline: January 15, 2024
Decision Notification by: February 29, 2024
To apply, click here.
