SOCINFODO: Suggestion - CSA 2006

Hello Everyone :-)

Happy St Lucia Day! Bon fet

Last year, as an outcome of the first Cardicis
conference, 5 of us - Daniel Pimienta, Raymond Noel,
Roberto Mori, Reina Raveles and myself - presented a
panel at the Caribbean Studies Association conference
in Santo Domingo, theme: Caribbean Cooperation in the
Age of Information Society. (details on the website
<http://cardicis.org/fase2.php?lan=en&pg=f2Csa> )

This year the conference will be held in Trinidad (see
below)
Once again it appears to me that there are areas of
common interest between their conference and our
conference :-) I am also a great believer in the
desirability of making a point not once but several
times, to ensure its assimilation :-) :-)
Would anyone be interested in taking part in a panel?
My idea is that we could present "the nature of
Cardicis" - ICT, action research, cultural diversity,
diaspora, and also inclusion - of academics with ICT
people with civil society, and of the languages of the
region and those who speak them with one another -
from several different perspectives, but other people
may have other ideas?

I have written to Dr Ghodsee and she has kindly
extended the deadline for proposals to 4th January
2006. This makes a proposal possible, but we still do
not have very much time.

If you are interested please contact me as quickly as
possible.

Thank you
Deirdre

CALL FOR PAPERS:
31st Annual Conference of the Caribbean Studies
Association in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, May
29 to June 2, 2006, (Crowne Plaza Hotel).

  "The Caribbean in the Age of Modernity: The Role of
the Academy in Responding to the Challenges of the
Region."

  "The fact is that the Caribbean region, as the first
overseas outpost of European imperialism and
capitalism, was "westernized," "modernized," and
"developed" before most of the colonial world had even
become colonial, and that the peoples of the Caribbean
- whatever their physical type- are the peculiarly
disfranchised beneficiaries of centuries of Western
capitalist solicitude."
Caribbean Transformations by Sidney Mintz, 1989:
Columbia University Press: Morningside Edition: New
York

  "The Caribbean was itself the creation of a modernist
scheme established with unusual clarity and
completeness by Europeans,
and today the IMF and World Bank continue to exert
this peculiar
rationality of economics,if in less extreme fashion."
Modernity, An Ethnographic Approach: Dualism and Mass
Consumption in Trinidad. (1997) Berg Publishers,
Oxford, UK.
  __________________________________

  The challenges of underdevelopment and globalization
continue to exact considerable hardships upon the
people of the Caribbean region. In the face of these
challenges, the traditional isolation of the Ivory
Tower is especially problematic. Far too often,
scholars based at universities, engage in research and
academic work that are not readily available to
individuals outside the academy. This is in distinct
contrast to professionals,
administrators,policy-makers, and politicians whose
work, by its very nature, is one of practical
engagement and problem solving. As a result of this
separation, the
strengths and benefits of scholarly research are often
not utilized by those preoccupied with addressing
pressing matters,
and questions are raised regarding the value of public
investments to support universities and scholarly
endeavors that are not regarded as helpful or relevant
to the peoples of region.

The theme of the 31st annual conference of the
Caribbean Studies
Association is aimed at addressing this dilemma
directly.
How can scholars located in the academy engage more
directly and more specifically in research that is
relevant to the many
challenges facing the Caribbean region? What types of
research and scholarship might be of greatest value
and what forms should they take?

We seek scholarly papers from individuals spanning the
broadest
disciplinary and methodological range whose work
focuses upon the
Caribbean and its Diaspora. In this we include the
Circum Caribbean region incorporating Central America,
Colombia,
Venezuela, Mexico, and North-East Brazil. We also
seek to encourage papers and contributions from
professionals, those engaged in the formulation and
implementation of public policy, and public and
private sector administrators. We see this conference
as an opportunity to begin a dialogue among and
between scholars and practitioners to chart a course
for the
practical engagement of academic researchers with the
problems
facing the Caribbean region. We invite individual
papers but
strongly encourage panel proposals with themes
intended to provoke stimulating discussion and debate.
Graduate student papers and panels are particularly
encouraged. Papers and panels from all disciplines
are sought, including (but not limited to):

the social sciences and humanities, biological and
physical sciences, as well as interdisciplinary fields
such as gender and women's studies, Diaspora studies
and ethnic studies.
Artists in film, music and theater are also encouraged
to participate.

Papers from professional practitioners, policy makers,
politicians, and public and private sector
administrators from the region are especially
encouraged. We also encourage papers that
interrogate, enhance and preserve the rich cultures of
the region.

All paper presentations will last for an absolute
maximum of 15 minutes.

Please e-mail a paper (or panel) title, a 300-word
abstract (for each paper), a brief CV (for each
presenter), and a disciplinary affiliation no later
than December 20th to Dr. Kristen Ghodsee at
kghodsee@yahoo.com <mailto:kghodsee@yahoo.com>.
Include in this e-mail your complete contact
information or the complete contact information of the
panel chair.
Panel chairs will be responsible for communicating
with their panel members.

All those who submit papers and/or panels will be
notified no later than March 1st of their
participation.
Received on Tue Dec 13 09:58:13 2005