Call for Papers
New Research in Cham Studies: An International Conference
Dates: 18-19 June 2012
Place: École française d’Extrême-Orient, 22, avenue du Président Wilson 75116 Paris The Conference
The Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore and the École française d’Extrême-Orient, Paris, are pleased to announce the convening of a joint international conference on New Research in Cham Studies. To be held over the two days 18-19 June 2012 at EFEO in Paris, the conference will explore the newest researches around the globe in the areas of Cham history, religion, architecture, epigraphy and linguistics.
Rationale
During the first major tide of French scholarly investigation of Cham culture in the 1870s-1910s, there was a gradual accretion of knowledge and initial deepening of studies in the field. While French research continued, in the 1920s and 1930s Indian scholars contributed their skills to further understanding the inscriptional and historical vestiges of Cham civilization as well as the Indian connections. Key works such as Maspero's Le Royaume du Champa (1913), Majumdar's Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East: Champa (1927), Coedès' Histoire ancienne des États hindouisés d’Extrême-Orient (1944) and Stein's Le Lin-yi (1947) made efforts to bring together existing knowledge and understandings of the Cham past. In the decades after World War II, however, research on ancient Champa came virtually to a halt, with little progress being made with the inventories of monuments and inscriptions. Attention shifted instead to the modern Cham language and its speakers, with the creation of a new dictionary, studies of the linguistic affiliations of Cham and of various other languages belonging to the Chamic group. Ethnographic studies also saw significant progress. A number of conferences were organized in the 1980s and 1990s to further the exploration of the Chams and of Champa, one important new topic being the linkages between the Chams and the "Malay world."
Recent years have seen increasing attention being paid to the neglected history of the Cham people in the centuries following the fall of Vijaya in 1471; to the connections between the Chams of Cambodia and those of Vietnam; to the royal archives of Panduranga; and to Cham political and religious identities.
Meanwhile, there have been new studies of recently-discovered inscriptions; new interpretations of ancient Cham religious iconography; archaeological excavations at sites of ancient Cham temples and settlements; comparative studies of Cham and Malay texts, terms and concepts; examination of the linguistic connections between the Cham and highland peoples; and investigations of linkages between Champa and the Khmer polity.
In order to allow this new scholarship to be presented and discussed, we are convening this conference in Paris in 2012 to examine Cham history society and language.
The Collaborating Institutions
The École française d’Extrême-Orient (http://www.efeo.fr/) has the longest history in the world in terms of the study of Cham history, literature, epigraphy, and archaeology. It has for more than a century now actively been promoting the publication of scholarly work in these fields. It is collaborating in organizing this conference with the Nalanda-Sriwijaya Centre (http://nsc.iseas.edu.sg/). Based in Singapore, this Centre explores the inter-connections between Asian polities and cultures through time.
These two institutions are linking to convene this Conference and will jointly publish an edited volume of the best papers presented at the gathering. The languages of the Conference will be English and French.
Call for papers
Proposals are invited from scholars with research interests in the issues to be addressed at the New Research in Cham Studies Conference. Proposals should include a paper title, an abstract of 300 words and a short CV of the proposer.
Some travel funds will be available and applicants are requested to advise whether they will require funding.
Proposals should be submitted by 15 December 2011 to: nscconferences[atmark]iseas.edu.sg
Proposers are requested to place New Research in Cham Studies in the Subject line of their email.
Successful applicants will be advised by 1 January 2012
Conference Committee
Arlo Griffiths
Andrew Hardy
Pierre-Yves Manguin
Tansen Sen
Geoff Wade
