ACCS 2015 - The Fifth Asian Conference on Cultural Studies

The International Academic Forum (IAFOR) invites you to participate in the Fifth Asian Conference on Cultural Studies (ACCS2015) and enjoy the great city of Kobe, Japan. Held alongside the Fifth Asian Conference on Asian Studies, at the Art Center of Kobe from May 28-31, 2015, join us as we discuss this year's conference theme, "Human Rights, Justice, Media and Culture" along with featured speakers Gerard Goggin (University of Sydney, Australia), John Enri (Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong), Angela Wong Wai Ching (Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong) conference chair Professor Baden Offord (Curtin University, Australia), and more! ACCS/ACAS2014 welcomed over 150 delegates, from more than 35 countries, and looks to continue the conversation with ACCS2015. We hope to see you in Kobe for this amazing annual event. To submit an abstract for presentation or participate as an audience member, please visit the website or contact us for more information. Submit your abstract online: http://iafor.org/cfp Conference Website address: http://iafor.org/iafor/conferences/accs2015/ Enquiries: accs@iafor.org Join IAFOR at ACCS2015 to: - Deliver your own research findings to a global audience - Have your work published in the conference proceedings and considered for peer-reviewed, open access IAFOR Journals - Benefit from IAFOR's interdisciplinary focus by hearing the latest research in both Cultural Studies and Asian Studies - Participate in a truly international, interdisciplinary and intercultural event - Participate in interactive audience sessions - Access international networking opportunities Discounts on registration fees are available for those able to pay registration fees early. Please see the registration page for details: http://iafor.org/iafor/accs2015-registration If you have attended an IAFOR conference within the past year, or belong to an affiliated university or organization such as CSAA, we offer a 10 percent discount in appreciation of your support. Questions can be directed to accs@iafor.org. See the full schedule of our conferences in Japan, Dubai, the UK, and the US. Conference Theme: "Human Rights, Justice, Media and Culture" Human rights praxis and ideas of justice are now core fields of investigation for cultural studies, media studies and Asian studies scholars. One example of this is how cultural research into the convergence of new media with everyday life, has brought into relief the growing significance of how struggles for freedom and justice are enabled by flows of social media. Various communities and peoples are now enabled to make claims for social recognition within human rights frameworks and language like never before. Cultural studies as a discipline is specifically attuned to studying questions of human rights and justice. As a field it is connected to human rights discourse and praxis through its ethical foundations and 'activating knowledge' as Stuart Hall once put it. One of the essential motivations of cultural studies scholars is to focus on the struggles evident in structures and institutions of power, representation, identity and subjectivity. This is undertaken with specific attention to power and its manifestation and negotiation in the cultural arena of everyday life. As a consequence, cultural studies researchers investigate ideas of justice and agency in compelling and innovative ways. They see agency, for example, as being implicated in the formation of moral, legal, political and ethical frameworks that are experienced in everyday lives, and which can be seen explicitly in the media. As cultural studies/human rights scholar John Erni notes, 'cultural studies has long been attentive to the complex interpenetrations of power, agency, and the social imaginary.' A central aim of this conference is to examine ideas of 'justice' and 'human rights' in relation to media and cultural production. The hope is to enable useful exchange, connection and dialogue around the praxis of human rights and to clarify the implications of how cultural transformation and the media are closely connected to social and political change in the everyday life of individuals, communities and nations. Submissions are organized into the following thematic streams: - Black Feminism - Critical Legal Studies - Critical Race Theory - Cultural Geography - Cultural History - Cultural Studies - Cultural Studies Pedagogy - Education - Gender studies / Feminist Theory - Justice Studies - Linguistics, Language and Cultural Studies - Media Studies - Orientalism - Political Philosophy - Political Theory - Queer Theory - Social Criticism - Sociology - Visual Culture