CFP: The Fracturing Of World Order - A Series of International and Interdisciplinary Online Mini-Conferences

The Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory and The New Polis in collaboration with representatives of the University of Denver announces a call for papers and presentations for a set of international and interdisciplinary online mini-conferences on the topic of “The Fracturing of World Order.” JCRT and The New Polis are part of the family of Whitestone Publications. The schedule of mini-conferences, which will be for one day only, is as follows:

Friday, June 17, 2022. 12:00-19:00 Greenwich Mean Time.

Deadline for submissions: May 16. 2022.

Friday, September 16, 12:00-19:00 Greenwich Mean Time.

Deadline for submissions: July 31, 2022.

SUBMIT proposals to [email protected]

Abstracts of papers, drafts of papers, or complete papers are welcome as well as talks and oral presentations, panel discussions, or short workshops. Topics include, but are by no means limited to the following:

• The ethical, social, cultural, political, and religious sources as well as long-term implications of the current war in Eastern Europe.
• Neoliberalism, populism, nationalism, and cosmopolitanism.
• Issues of social justice in a global context such as neocolonialism and decoloniality, indigeneity and indigenous rights, economic as well as racial inequalities, reproductive rights, human trafficking, corruption and organized crime, autocracy and democracy.
• Race, class, and gender issues as they relate to shifting political strategies and alliances at a global level.
• Methodological imperatives for re-thinking what we mean by such terms as “globalization” and “world order”.
• Critical and theoretical perspectives on what is happening on the world stage today in relation to changes since the end of the Cold War.
• The role of moral and religious values and beliefs in the shaping of world order and disorder.

At the same time, submissions should in a broad way address completely, or in part, these questions:

• What does the outbreak of war and Russia’s unspeakable disregard for international law, human decency, and basic human values tell us about what has been happening all along behind the scenes at various levels?
• Why is the neoliberal world order forged after the end of the Cold War so quickly fracturing, which was becoming apparent even before the events of February 2022?
• In what significant ways do we need to revise our assumptions about the process of globalization along with the theoretical models and methodological approaches we have used in the past?

Selected articles from each conference, or those prepared within three months after each conference, will be peer-reviewed and published in future issues of the journal The New Polis.

CONTEXT

The eruption of a major war in Europe that has gained global attention is only a symptom of seismic changes that have been taking place either out of sight or through inattention over the past decade. We may summarize these trends as the slow breakdown of the postwar neoliberal vision of “one world” through market-based economic integration, the universal expansion of democratic values and polities, participation by all countries in international governance and regulatory bodies, and a “rules-based” system of global competition as well as co-operation. As we all know, even if we tend to have divergent as well as polarized views on the subject, these globalist norms and ideas are frequently contradicted by the actual behavior of state and state-approved actors, let alone by the often hidden depths of hypocrisy and corruption which has furthered the unravelling of what passes for “world order”.

The aim of these mini-conferences is to challenge scholars, independent intellectuals, and more sophisticated policy-makers to confront the reality of, as well as boldly probe and dissect, the profound dysfunctions and invisible shifts that have been taking place and are taking place in a process that can be termed “deep globalization”, or what economic analyst Gary Bedford has termed “wild globalization”. Ideologically informed polemics about narrow issues are discouraged. We are looking instead for multidisciplinary and multi-topical (if appropriate) discussions of a certain related topics in singular research papers or essays.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Papers. Full drafts of papers should be submitted in our journal style (i.e., Chicago-style with footnotes rather than endnotes along with a select bibliography). Partial drafts or proposals should include an abstract of no more than 500 words accompanied by a full resume or curriculum vita.

Panels. Proposals for panels should include 1) an outline of the topic for the panel discussion not to exceed 700 words 2) full vitae or resumes for each of the panelists 3) an additional brief explanation of what each panelist will contribute to the session. Note that the maximum number of panelists is four, and the ideal is three.

Talks or oral presentations. Proposals should include a detailed outline of the talk, topics to be covered, and a bibliography (not to exceed ten citations) of relevant materials. The proposal should not exceed 700 words. A full curriculum or vita should also be included.

Workshops. Workshops can be from one to two hours in length and must in principle be open to all participants. Proposals for workshops should lay out and detail in no more than 1000 words (a) the rationale of the workshop together with its relevance to the conference 2) the methodology, structure, and/or pedagogy by which it will accomplish its purpose 3) the specific learning objectives 4) the personnel putting on the workshop along with a description of their specific roles. Full vitae or resumes for all personnel must be submitted along with the proposal.

Each proposals must include the following information at the beginning, or as part of its header: 1) title 2) names of all involved along with titles and affiliations 3) email addresses of all participants 4) telephone numbers (if multiple participants only the number of the principal submitting the proposal is required) 5) indication of which of the two dates for the conferences are preferred.

NOTE: If you do not want to be considered for any of the two dates, please indicate so. However, if there is a disproportion of proposals for one of the dates, you may have a better chance of being accepted if you allow both.