MCLC: Moving Across Borders--cfp

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: Alessandra Cappelletti <alessandra.cappelletti at gmail.com>
Subject: Moving Across Borders--cfp
*****************************************************************

“Moving Across Borders in China: An Interdisciplinary Approach to the
Study of Cultural Diversity in Marginal Areas”
(eds.) Tommaso Previato and Alessandra Cappelletti

1. Significance and purpose

Chinese Studies are a dynamic and quickly developing research field, which
evolves along with the increasingly complex Chinese society. Until the
1980s, studies on historical and contemporary China have been conducted
through a few classical approaches: from philology to comparative
literature and cultural studies, from economics to demographic and social
statistics, from anthropology to ethnology and sociology. The ‘Chinese
Universe’ has been studied from a wide array of perspectives and methods,
that have been most of the times incapable to interact organically one
with the other, and only occasionally have pushed the academia towards a
deeper and broader understanding of social phenomena. Most of the research
outcomes and findings were generally based upon and shaped by a few
epistemological beliefs supporting this or that discipline, or weighing
arguments for relevance of this or that branch of knowledge. The use of
sources was also limited to the particular field of study the researches
belonged to. As a consequence, interdisciplinary programs and scholarships
proved to be ineffective, and failed to offer an epistemological structure
suitable enough to foster dialogue between disciplines, and reframe the
whole field of Chinese Studies.

During the last three decades, Chinese society, together with that broad
spectrum of knowledge - usually grouped under the ambiguous name of
“Chinese Studies” - with a specific reference on modern and contemporary
China, have been interested by radical changes, which required new
research approaches and methodologies, more attentive to the various
aspects of the changing political and socio-economic environment. With the
transformations manifested in this field of studies, the adoption of
multiple research tools and the collaborative exchange among academic
circles, as well as the possibilities of dialogue, have increased
substantially. As a consequence, the claim for more coherent and empirical
systematization within the discipline became a key issue, especially in
the past few years. Socio-anthropological categories of ethnicity, class
and benefit cluster, the formulation of quantitive models made of
percentages and numerical variables, survey-based indicators employed by
economists in their evaluations, archival research and textual analysis of
historical records, local gazettes, dynasty chronicles and informal
accounts, the process of gathering information relying on storytelling,
narratology and other classical ethnographic research methods, served all
as important and valuable tools for decoding China’s social changes and
cultural diversity. Up to now few efforts have been made to combine these
different backgrounds into an integral whole, and it seems that we are
still far from a fully systematized understanding of the complex ‘Chinese
Universe’. Nevertheless, what today seems more interesting is the way
researches on China are carried on moving freely across disciplines and
boundaries: on one side, historians employ categories borrowed from social
sciences, often viewing culture as the result of interplaying between
variables; on the other, social scientists are getting more closer to
philo-linguistic and textual analysis approaches, availing themselves of
literary sources such as manuscripts and archival materials. These
emerging research trends where borders between disciplines are
increasingly criss-crossed allowing scholars to challenge the limits of
their respective fields of research and networks, represent an opportunity
both in terms of methodological optimization and research outcomes. At the
same time, the emergence of such a renewed theoretical and methodological
approach poses many questions: the necessity to establish a series of
commonly-agreed standards across many curricular disciplines, as a
precondition to nurture and implement interdisciplinary research; then how
to match interdisciplinarity with systems of knowledge and intellectual
frameworks that still address the study of Chinese social phenomena,
remaining in their distinctive ‘watertight compartments’? These questions
undoubtly represent a limitation for the development of a comprehensive
study on Chinese society.

In order to better understand these transformations in the academia,
together with the set of problems and opportunities they entail, this
publication aims to explore the theme of ‘borders and marginality’ in
historical and contemporary China, by combining both theoretical and
practical approaches. It invites innovative interpretation of these two
concepts, in particular with reference to the dynamics of closure and
flow, interdependency and mobility in one or more of the following
aspects: cultural inheritance and cross-cultural patterns; loyalties and
identity negotiation; economic types and shifting lifestyles; social
change and transition. In doing so, it attempts to turn the spotlight
beyond the traditional understanding of area studies bounded within rigid
academic fields, and to provide an interdisciplinary platform with ideal
vantage points for the analysis of the above topical questions. The
process of making and maintaining ethnic, ecological, urban, economic and
other types of borders will be examined extensively. Another particular
type of ‘border’ analysed is the one which institutionally shapes and
demarcates subjects into different fields of scientific enquiry. At this
regard, trying to expand the borders of epistemology and facilitate
cross-border approaches towards conventional ‘protected’ areas of social
investigation are the core of this collection of works. On the basis of
these considerations, the publication may have far-reaching implications
not only for understanding possible relationship between bordering
processes and management of cultural diversity, but for other academic
topics as well. 

2. Applicant eligibility and submission requirements

The issue is being guest by the series “Asia Orientale 古今東亞” and edited
by 
Dr. Tommaso Previato (Sapienza University of Rome) and Dr. Alessandra
Cappelletti (Orientale University of Naples). We invite scholars from all
fields of humanities and social sciences to submit first a brief
description of the intended research and the experience gained (please do
not exceed one page). Submissions might be relevant to the topic and
visibly engaged with the conceptual frame herewith proposed. Discursive
formulation of ideas and models suitable to overcome disciplinary
compartmentalization and facilitate cross-disciplinary understanding are
particularly encouraged.

3. Paper length, illustrations and other editorial content
For any questions regarding the editing, please see details in the
guidelines below. 

4. Submission date
Applications are due on March 31, 2014 and may be sent electronically to
the editors at the following email addresses: tommaso.previato at gmail.com
and alessandra.cappelletti at gmail.com. They include the following items:
proposed research paper, abstract and a short (200-words maximum)
biographical statement.

Editorial Guidelines

Text and Format Standards

- Submissions must be in word or compatible format, SINGLE-SPACED and
approximately 8,000 words in length.
- Font size: 10,5 pt. Justified.
- Paragraphs: the first line of each paragraph or any paragraph that
follow an illustration, a table or a chart should be indented.
- Font types: Times New Roman (for Western languages), SimSun o Sunti (for
Chinese characters). You may need to send the font file for other used
fonts.
- No underlined (and, usually, no bold type). Italics should only be used
for foreign words (excluding proper names), titles of books and names of
periodicals.
- Quotation marks: please make use of “a quote” and ‘a word’ where
applicable.

Titles within the text

- 2 blank lines above titles in the text and 1 blank line under titles.

Bibliography section

- A final bibliography should be attached at the end of the article,
following the examples in page 2.
- Keep Primary and Secondary Sources separated (where possible). Please
clearly specify the original year of publication and the year of
reprinting for Primary Sources (if available).
- Font size 9,5 pt.

Large quotations

- Font size 9,5 pt, without inverted commas, all indented on the left.
- 1 blank line above and 1 blank line under the quotation.

Illustrations, Tables and Charts

- Must be sufficiently original and signed by the author (where possible),
may be inserted in the text document or be included as separate files.
Maps and any other self-explanatory pictures taken from websites are
acceptable if the source is clearly specified and do not violate the
copyright regulations.
- Captions: Font size 9 pt, centered. Denomination: Fig.1., Fig.2. etc.


Footnotes
- Font size 9 pt.
- Footnote reference number in the text has to be placed after punctuation
mark.
- Bibliographical references in the footnotes should contain only the
author’s surname (for Chinese authors the name is also mandatory), year of
publication and pages referred to. Example: Goodrich and Fang 1976, pp.
1577-78. For primary sources only use the work title and page; for Chinese
references the Juan/Hui (in capital letter) number has to be followed by a
colon and the page number(s). Example: Mingshi, 69:1680.

Please note:

Authors are requested to include Chinese characters and any other words
not written in the Latin alphabet in the text, using the UNICODE SYSTEM.
The Romanization of Chinese characters should be in pinyin (no tone
diacritics are required).

Articles may use the jiantizi (simplified) or fangtizi (traditional) forms
for Chinese characters. We recommend to make use of jiantizi for Chinese
sources published after 1949, especially for the latest and most recent
ones, and fangtizi for sources edited in dynastic times and China's
republican period. If the author has any special requirement he/she is
kindly asked to specify clearly in the paper.

Titles like Emperor, Governor-General or name of institutions, bureaus,
provinices, counties and similar should be written with the initial
letters capitalized. The same principle should be applied to words
indicating historical periods (i.e. Yuan Dynasty, Qing Empire). But when
used for generic meaning or as a general concept, they may be written in
small letters (i.e. Chinese dynasties, north-east provinces).

The titles of Chinese works and sources translated into English should be
written in Italics-cursive writings with the initial letters capitalized
(i.e. 元史 Official History of the Yuan). If already exists a standard
translation for the title of a given source please provide it; on the
contrary, if the source has never been mentioned before and there is no
reference to it neither in English nor in any other European language
please provide a reliable translation and write it in square brackets, as
follows: 秦邊紀略 [Records on the Borderland].

Non-English words and phrases, such as latin legal terms de facto, per se
etc. or similar expressions taken from other European languages, should be
written in Italics-cursive writings (i.e. literatus, en passant).

Citations and quotations from Chinese always need to be translated into
English, pinyin is not mandatory but recommended in case of poems and
verses.

Examples for the Bibliography

Primary sources

Qingchu Pubian Xiaocheng 清初莆变小乘 [late 1600s], by Chen Hong 陈鸿, repr.
in 
Qingshi Ziliao 清史资料 Vol. 1, ed., Beijing: Zhongguo Shehui Kexueyuan
Lishi 
Yanjiusuo Qingshi Yanjiushi, Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, pp. 64-107.

Secondary sources

 
Books:

Crossley Pamela K. & Siu Helen F. (2006), Empire at the Margins: Culture,
Ethnicity and Frontier in Early Modern China, Los Angeles: University of
California Press.

Books in a collection of several volumes:

Ge Zhaoguang 葛兆光 (2000), Qi Shiji Zhi Shijiu Shiji Zhongguo de Zhishi,
Sixiang yu Xinyang 七世纪至十九世纪中国的知识：思想与信仰, in Zhongguo
Sixiangshi 中国思想史 Vol.
2, Shanghai: Fudan daxue chubanshe 复旦大学出版社.

For works by the same author, please do not repeat the name but use an
underscore line, as follows:

Millward James A. (1996), “New Perspective on the Qing Frontiers”, in
Hershatter Gail et. all, ed., Remapping China: Fissures in Historical
Terrain, Stanford: Stanford University Press.

______ (2007), Eurasian Crossroads: A history of Xinjiang, New York:
Columbia University Press.

Articles in a book:

Elman Benjamin A. (2007), “Ming-Qing Border Defence, the Inward Turn of
Chinese Cartography, and Qing Expansion in Central Asia in the Eighteenth
Century”, in Lary Diana, ed., Chinese State at the Borders, Vancouver:
University British Columbia Press.

Articles in a periodical:

Lee Su-Hoon (2000), “The Rise of East Asia and East Asian Social Science’s
Quest for Self-Identity”, in Journal of World-Systems Research (vi), N° 3,
fall/winter, pp. 768-783.