Asia-Europe Encounters: Intellectual and Cultural Exchanges, 1900-1950

An international conference co-organised by the International Institute of Asian Studies (Leiden), the Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre, ISEAS (Singapore), the Asia-Europe Foundationand the Asian Civilisations Museum (Singapore). Conference date: 7-8 December 2012 This conference will focus on cultural and intellectual exchanges in Asia-Europe relations over the period of 1900-1950. The first half of the 20th century saw some of the most intense political and social changes experienced thus far in world history. Shiraishi Takashi's representation of the 1910s and 1920s as an "age in motion" in Southeast Asia might be extended as a reference to Asia-Europe relations during the whole half century. It was an age in which high imperialism began to unravel and where global political power shifted, bringing profound changes in the relations between Asia and Europe. Both European and Asian colonial empires were challenged by new ideas--both national and transnational--and subsequently their subordinate entities transformed into nation-states. By 1950, the colonial empires had essentially disappeared and former Asian possessions, as well as other parts of Asia, began completely new trajectories. The same newness might also be claimed of Europe. The period around 1950 was the end of one age of Asia-Europe interactions and the beginning of another. This conference aims to explore the intellectual and cultural flows between Asia and Europe which occurred during, and in part were formative of, the political and social changes over the first half of the 20th century. This will not solely be (but will certainly include) an exploration of colonialism and its discontents. Rather it will be an exploration of the intellectual and cultural currents of this age and an investigation into how the two ends of Eurasia interacted in these spheres through (new) cosmopolitanism and other novel ideologies which affected both European and Asian societies. While cultural and intellectual exchanges between Asia and Europe can be traced back to the earliest days of Asia-Europe interactions, it is in the first half of the 20th century that these interactions saw development of (and between) more cosmopolitan subjects in both areas. It was a period of greater travel by both Asians and Europeans, and new collocations of ideas and cultural influences. This gathering aims to retrace those instances of cultural and intellectual encounters and exchanges. It will also examine how European intellectuals andcultural elements affected intra-Asian interactions during this period. The aspects to be explored include but are not limited to the forms, venues, mediums, and actors of such encounters, which took place, inter alia, in the spheres of politics, culture, education, arts and religion.

The conference will address questions such as: In what particular contexts did intercultural encounters and exchanges take place? What were the effects? How did each encounter transform the other side of the equation? How do we go about reconstructing colonial encounters and cosmopolitanism while avoiding the pitfalls of colonial nostalgia? Are there new ways to conceive of these encounters (other than the usual East-West, colonizer-colonized divides), or new paradigms in studying and discussing them (outside those so richly fostered by postcolonial studies)? Is it possible at all to do away with the colonial episteme? Expressions of interest are invited from those who would like to present a paper at this conference. Young scholars from Asia and Europe are especially encouraged to apply. Applicants should provide a proposed title, an abstract of 300-400 words and a short biographical sketch of the proposer. Proposals should be received by 30 May 2012 and successful applicants will be advised by 20 June 2012. The organisers will require submission of full papers of about 8000 words by 1 November 2012 so that these can be circulated and read by other participants prior to the event.