CFP

Call for Papers International Conference on "Globalization: Cultures, Institutions andSocioeconomics" To be held in Hong Kong, December 12-13, 2008 Co-Sponsored by The Chinese University of Hong Kong and WashingtonUniversity in St. Louis Along the recent trend of globalization, perhaps one of the most significantfocal points is the study on issues related to "Greater China," a notionthat originally entails potential economic integration of China, Taiwan, andHong Kong (including Macau) and has lately been broadened to includeSingapore, Southeast Asian Chinese communities, and overseas Chinese inother countries. Despite some political repercussions, Greater China hasbecome an indisputable economic reality today. But economy is not thestrongest element at play; rather, a more prevalent and consequential factoris culture and the underlying formal institutions and informal socialcustoms. This conference is designed to study the causes and consequences ofglobalization from cultural, institutional and socioeconomic perspectives,focusing more on topics related to Greater China. It invites scholars toinvestigate: * What perspectives can we deploy to investigate the different and yetsimilar cosmopolitan cultures of Hong Kong, Taipei, Shanghai, Beijing,Singapore, Macau, Shenzhen, and others? * How do cultures of these cities work in practice and how are theyembedded in everyday-life situations as locatable phenomena? * What approaches can we use to explore the experience of place andspace, the dynamics between local and global, culture and economy, and thedilemmas of knowledge? * How do states, empires and nations, corporations, shops and goods,literature, music, film, etc., figure in our examination of the cultures ofconsumption and production? * How do places develop meanings for people? What are the strugglesover defining who belongs in a place? * What role do travel, information technology, and other means ofcommunication play in shaping a global city network among these three citiesand beyond? The conference will feature several distinguished keynote andplenary-session speakers, including Nobel Laureate Douglass North andProfessors Frank Dikotter, Robert Hegel, Chang-Tai Hsien, Gordon Mathews,Hui Wang, and Shaoguang Wang. All sessions will be held on the ChineseUniversity of Hong Kong campus, while the conference dinner will be housedat the world-known Hong Kong Jockey Club. Although we prefer complete papers, submissions of long abstracts will beconsidered. Submissions of organized sessions are also welcome. Allsubmissions must be made through e-mail to all the co-chairs of the programcommittee no later than May 31, 2008: Lingchei Letty Chen(llchen@artsci.wustl.edu), Ann Louise Huss (ahuss@cuhk.edu.hk), Laikwan Pang(crsdept@cuhk.edu.hk), and Ping Wang (pingwang@artsci.wustl.edu). Weanticipate having the preliminary program posted by June 15, 2008.