Inter-Asia Cultural Studies Conference 2025

Geo-Social Connection: The Continuing Journey of Critical Inquiry

Walailak University,
Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand

23–25 July 2025

Inter-Asia Cultural Studies’s vocation to reconnect political and cultural societies in Asia must be understood as an active resistance to the powers that sever the ties between them. Such powers may take forms of colonial expropriation, capitalist dispossession, or Cold War partitioning. This year’s IACS Conference theme, \”Geo-Social Connection: The Continuing Journey of Critical Inquiry,\” reiterates interconnectedness as an Inter-Asian key concept while highlighting the importance of geography and society as material sites of knowledge production at a continental level. We intentionally experiment with a neologism “geo-social” in this CfP as a conceptual heuristic that may encapsulate Inter-Asian connections defined by, yet being forged beyond, the “geopolitical.” Since 2025 marks two anniversaries meaningful to the IACS: the 15th Anniversary of Chen Kuan-Hsing’s Asia as Method and the 70th Anniversary of the Afro-Asian Bandung Conference, we propose to take these occasions to reflect on Inter-Asia’s past accomplishments, present challenges, and future aspirations. One tactical way to foster existing and emerging geo-social connections is through “inter-referencing,” which assists in illuminating shared problematics, political processes, and societal dynamics that have otherwise been concealed. Our theme reinforces the idea of Inter-Asia as an intellectual movement that continues to ask and grapple with critical questions relevant to Asian publics. We conceive of the IACS Conference 2025 as a space where scholars, cultural workers, and activists come together to collaborate on the following spotlight subthemes:

1. Forging Geo-Social Connections, Reimagining Inter-Asia Cultural Studies
2. Translating and Teaching Inter-Asia Knowledge through the Lenses of Gender and Indigeneity
3. Bandung Spirit and Asian Anticolonial Relations with the Third

World/Global South

1. Political Economy of Intra-Regional and China-US Interactions
2. Navigating the Digital Future(s) Amidst Authoritarian and Illiberal

Challenges

1.         Rethinking Rituals and Sacred Sites as Avenues of Knowledge

Production

1. Global Dimension of Asian Media, Popular Culture, and Intellectual Production
2. Designers, Musicians, and Filmmakers: Creative Expressions and Social

Transformation

1. Activism, Youths, and New(est) Social Movements in Asia and Beyond
2. Cultural Mobilities and Migrations within Gendered Geographies
3. Eco-cultural Studies, Transoceanic Imaginaries, and Planetary

Extractivism in Inter-Asian Contexts

1. Peace Movements and Anti-War Thoughts

We promote these subthemes because they reflect the interests of the organizers and IACS Society members. The Program Committee indeed welcomes every critical inquiry related to Asia from all (inter)disciplines, especially sessions that creatively and innovatively advance knowledge production from/about Asia. We particularly encourage proposals that engage with Inter-Asian and cultural studies frameworks.

We are pleased to invite colleagues to submit proposals for Organized Clusters (3-hour workshop session of 6-10 participants), Organized Panels (90-minute session of 3-4 panelists), Roundtables (90-minute session of 3-6 contributors), and Individual Papers. We strongly encourage organized sessions rather than individual submissions.

Proposals for the first three formats must designate the roles of Organizer (can be the same person as Chair or Presenter), Chair (can be the same person as Organizer or Presenter), and Presenter. Including a Discussant is optional. For Organized Clusters, we do not yet require a complete list of presenters. Once your Cluster is accepted, we will have another 1.5-month window for you to organize your own Call for Panelists. Double sessions can be requested for Clusters (6-hour session of more than 8 participants) and Panels (3-hour session of more than 6 participants). Please briefly explain in the description how you will utilize the double sessions. We will approve the request on a case-by-case basis.

An individual may not present more than one paper (special sessions such as Plenary or Keynote do not count as a paper) but may serve more than one role in the Conference. The Conference is in-person only as we do not have the capacity to afford online participation.

We support innovative proposals that will stimulate lively discussions beyond conventional paper presentations. Here are some examples: a focus on a single major paper, film, or book as the subject of attention, a performance or reading of a creative work followed by a discussion, a workshop of works-in-progress with commentators, a debate on interpretations or methodologies, an exploration of Inter-Asian teaching materials, or a discussion with activists, curators, exhibitors, or filmmakers.

We are committed to diversity and equity. We expect our panel submissions to demonstrate diversity in gender, institution, nationality, and professional role (i.e., graduate students, junior and senior scholars, and other professionals). We strongly urge Asia-based young scholars from diverse backgrounds to reach out, get organized, and apply.

While we ask the proposal to be submitted in English, our language of operation, we accommodate a presentation in an Asian language with the following conditions: 1) the scholar has difficulty presenting in English, 2) the scholar’s research significantly enriches the conversation, 3) a summary of the presentation will be made available in English, and 4) the Organizer or Chair is prepared to facilitate the exchange of ideas through translation and interpretation. This option is *not applicable to Individual Papers.

The deadline for application is November 1, 2024. Please submit the following through this portal, and expect to spare 10-15 minutes to complete the form.

1) proposal title

2) preferred format (i.e. Organized Cluster/Panel/Roundtable or Individual Paper)

3) session abstract/description (250 words maximum)

4) paper title & abstract (200 words maximum) *Not required for Roundtables and Innovative Panels without paper presentations

5) personal information (first and last name, email address, affiliation, position, gender, nationality, and current location *Not full address).

Please direct any questions to the IACS Secretariat at iacs2025wu@gmail.com.

We will notify the Organizer of the results by February 15, 2025. Cluster Organizers will receive an additional set of instructions about the confirmation of participants required by April 30, 2025.