CAPSTRANS CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS 2007

• CALL FOR PAPERS: OCCUPYING 'THE OTHER' AUSTRALIA AND MILITARY OCCUPATIONS FROM JAPAN TO IRAQ
  University of Wollongong
  29 - 30 November 2007

Sponsored by The Japan Foundation, CAPSTRANS, Monash University and the Faculty of Arts at the University of Wollongong

Background

In the early stages of justifying the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the Allied Occupation of Japan was held up as a successful model to follow.  Yet how much is really understood about the nuances of the practice of occupation power and the hierarchical relationships between occupier and the occupied?  What are the legacies of occupation? How do we define occupation? Most of the scholarship on the Allied Occupation is dominated by the US-Japan relationship, yet Australia also played a significant role, sending tens of thousands of people to participate in the British Commonwealth Occupation Force, based mostly in the prefecture of Hiroshima.  Australia has since played a role in occupation and/or peacekeeping missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor and so on.  How are we to understand this ongoing military commitment to the region, and how can the occupation of Japan contribute to understanding this commitment and, more generically, the role of military occupations today? 

This symposium aims to bring together journalists, public commentators and scholars from a variety of disciplines who are investigating Australian involvement in
foreign military occupations.

Possible topics include:

• Australian political, military and diplomatic aims of occupation
• Performance/structures of power in occupied territories
• Daily life and relations between occupier and occupied
• Gender and occupation
• The language of occupation; colonialist/neo-imperialist discourse
• Media reporting of occupation
• Literature and art of occupation
• Reactions to occupation by occupied/occupiers
• Reclaiming of power/agency by occupied
• Comparative studies of occupation (eg Japan-Iraq)
• Theoretical studies of occupation

Examples of places could include:

Japan; Germany; Iraq; Afghanistan; East Timor; Papua New Guinea; Solomon Islands
Other places/ideas will also be considered.

There are a limited number of sponsored places available to cover return domestic travel expenses to Wollongong and accommodation for two nights.  Decisions to allocate sponsored places will be made during the abstract reviewing process. Some unsponsored offers to participate may also be made.

Please send 150-200 word abstracts and a 150 word bio by 31 July 2007 to:

Dr Christine de Matos
CAPSTRANS, University of Wollongong NSW 2522
Email: cdm@uow.edu.au
A symposium website will soon be available.

Notification of successful abstracts will be made by 31 August 2007.