Globalisation and internationalisation have multiplied and accelerated inter-cultural, inter-ethnic, and inter-religious encounters, intentionally or not. In a world where time and place are increasingly compressed and interaction between East and West, North and South, grows in density, numbers, and spread, East-West studies has gained a renewed mandate. Over the past few decades, advances in transportation and communication have resulted in dramatic increases in the flow of capital, ideas, goods, people, and information between East and West. As a result of increased exposure, East to West and West to East, new modes of awareness are resulting in new but complex concepts of who "I", "we" and "they" are. These new senses of identity are revealed in contemporary literature, in feature films and television dramas, in "pop culture" and through educational media in school classrooms. Not enough is known about how local identities become internationalised, and how international influences become localised, and thus requires us to re-think the politics of identity formation. Always careful not to essentialise or reify things, including identities, much new theoretical ground can be gained by paying attention to the tendency of identities to hybridise, to mix and combine, to transform themselves, depending on contingencies and circumstances.

To further our comparative understanding of how evolving and hybridising identities - concepts of self and other - are articulated, expressed and shared through various media in Asia and in the West; to ascertain the extent of "internationalisation" of individual, group and national identities; to examine how foreign goods, ideas, and self-concepts are "localised" when they take root in soil far from their origins. The conference aspires to re-think a mix of old and new ideas in social theory: globalisation, identities, hybridity and hybridisation, transnationalism, disapora, and overdetermination. The conference organisers plan to publish selected papers from the conference in an edited volume.

1.  Cinema/TV: including creative works of entertainment and documentaries, focusing on portrayal of "self", "other" and "self as other".

2.  Pop Culture: music, commercial advertisements, fashion, cartoons, etc., as they relate to questions and models of identity among youth in an increasingly commercialised, diversified and hybridised urban environment.

3.  Literature/Language: including prose and poetry, written in Asian and Western languages, published in Asia and overseas, embracing identity issues such as "self", "other" and "self as other" (self-awareness of expatriates and immigrants).

4.  Education: focusing on formal and informal, intended and unintended, models of identity and citizenship, portrayals of national identity in the context of internationalising societies in textbooks, audiovisual teaching materials, and school-sponsored student activities.

5.  Internet and Email: focusing on the ways in which identity is transmitted, constructed and interpreted in virtual space. Does our concept of self remain stable when we communicate via the Internet and email, or do we alter this, consciously or unconsciously?

6.  Sociology, Anthropology, and Psychology

7.  Geography, History, and Political Science

8.  Arts and Humanities

9.  Business and Economics

The deadline for abstract submission has already passed on October 15, 2003.

Presenters should submit full papers to the Conference Secretary by January 26, 2004.

David C. Lam Institute for East-West Studies (LEWI)

LEWI is an academic consortium hosted by Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), a public-funded institution with a Christian heritage. With its mission to promote intercultural dialogue, the Institute has a global membership of 28 universities and has established research programmes on three continents: The Western Pacific Rim-China Research Programme at Swinburne University of Technology, Australia; the North America-China Research Programme at Simon Fraser University, Canada; and the Europe-China Research Programme at Hong Kong Baptist University. 

Wing Lung Bank International Institute for Business Development (IIBD)

IIBD, also hosted by HKBU, was established in 1993 and named in recognition of the steadfast support and generosity of Wing Lung Bank. Its objective is to facilitate growth and development of international business activities and to promote international business education in countries represented by member universities through the cooperation and joint ventures of its various members. The Institute seeks to provide knowledge and information appropriate to global business development, making full use of modern networking technologies. 

For information about the academic programme, please contact the conference co-chairs Prof. Jan Walls (jwalls@sfu.ca), Simon Fraser University, or Dr. David Hayward (dhayward@groupwise.swin.edu.au), Swinburne University of Technology.

Miss Jennifer Law, David C. Lam Institute for East-West Studies (LEWI), Hong Kong Baptist University
Tel: (852) 3411-5217; Fax: (852) 3411-5128; Email: lewi@hkbu.edu.hk 

The official language of the conference will be English.

The conference will be held at the Lam Woo International Conference Centre of our University. Located on the Shaw campus on Renfrew Road, Kowloon Tong, the Centre houses attractive meeting rooms with the latest audio-visual aids. 

Participants may stay at the Dr. Ng Tor Tai International House (NTT) on HKBU's campus (Map of HKBU Campus), which is next door to the conference venue and within easy access to public transportation, restaurants and shopping.

To register for the conference and reserve accommodation at NTT International House, please download and return the following forms to the Conference Secretary by fax: (852) 3411-5128 or email: lewi@hkbu.edu.hk

  Conference Registration Form

International Conference on East-West Identities:

Globalisation, Localisation and Hybridisation

26th to 27th February 2004, Hong Kong Baptist University

Conference Programme

*** Each presenter will be given 15 to 20 minutes to speak, and there will be at least 15 minutes of Q&A at the end of each session.

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DAY 1 - 26th February 

DAY 2 - 27th February