This session welcomes papers addressing any aspect of Asian studies—including (but not limited to) literary and digital representations of cultural, artistic, racial, and linguistic diversity.

In the context of globalization, ethnic issues are never far from us: this is especially true in both cultural and political contexts throughout Asia. For instance, Neo-Orientalism exists not only in the tension between the West and the East, but also within Asia itself. In particular, the tension between mainstream ethnicities--and racial minorities--has become a fraught issue, as expressed in multiple media platforms and various performances. And this tension has accordingly become both provocative and controversial.  Even with the best of intentions, the characterization of such minorities can be stereotyped, exoticized, discriminatory—or patronizing.

This session accordingly offers an opportunity to make such global minorities (and the scholarly research about them) more visible. Such cultural and racial minorities exist throughout Asia – including, for example, the Mongolian, Uyghur, Tibetan, and Mi in China; the Ainu and Ryukyuan in Japan; and the many multi-ethnic immigrants in Thailand. Papers for this session might ask, for instance, how public figures associated with a minority group deal with the tension between their ethnic identity and the mainstream culture’s representation of them.  Here, one might also consider how the public images of politicians, educators, and performers evolve (the example of the Inner-Mongolian singer Ayanga comes to mind). In this context, one might ask how such celebrities construct their public personas—on screen, on stage, on social media, in chat rooms, in music videos—and through other platforms of fan culture.  And how do state governments influence the representation of such minorities?

All approaches to cultural and racial diversity are welcome, including critical race theory, discourse analysis, cross-linguistic comparisons, and so on. Please send a 300-500 word abstract together with a bio to zc164@georgetown.edu by Tuesday, July 21.