Global Sixties: Transnational Connectivity and Global Consciousness - November 30 to December 1, 2018 - SHANGHAI UNIVERSITY

Global Sixties: Transnational Connectivity and Global Consciousness

INSTITUTE OF GLOBAL STUDIES
SHANGHAI UNIVERSITY
CHINA

If one year epitomized the Sixties, a tumultuous decade during which major social movements seemed to have stormed the whole world, 1968 stands out. In this year, massive protest movements erupted in Paris, Prague, Chicago, Mexico City, Tokyo, and other major cities across the globe. All these movements not only precipitated novel political and cultural experiments but also shaped the global power structure. The events of 1968, however, left us with a controversial legacy, including not just a conservative counter-revolution, known as the neo-liberal agenda in the subsequent decades, but also the achievements of the Civil Rights movement and a growing public awareness about gender equality and environment protection.

Taking the opportunity to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of 1968, the Institute of Global Studies at Shanghai University invites paper and panel submissions for an interdisciplinary conference titled: Global Sixties: Transnational Connectivity and Global Consciousness, to be held from November 30 to December 1, 2018 at Shanghai University, P.R.C. The conference seeks to encourage research which makes empirical or theoretical contributions to the Global Sixties, a new research paradigm recently established, by inviting submissions that address any of (but not limited to) the themes listed below:

1. Specific events of 1968, explored through either local and transnational lens. E.g. The May 1968 events in Paris, the Japanese student uprising, the Tlatelolco massacre, etc.
2. The Second/Third World ‘Sixty-Eight’: the crisis of ‘actually existing socialism’ and domestic discontent in former colonies, e.g. the Prague Spring, the Naxalite movement in India, the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) in Peru, Apartheid in South Africa.
3. Iconic figures with global influence: Che Guevara, Martin Luther King, Jr, Nelson Mandela, etc.
4. ‘Revolutionaries’ on the road: fellow-travelers and the establishment of (in)formal transnational networks and connections prior to and after 1968.
5. The gendered 1968: the rising feminist movement in the U.S., Europe and Latin America and its complicated relationship with the New Left
6. The catalyzing effect of image and sound: e.g. street graffiti in Paris, the music of Bob Dylan, and the world-wide circulation of the Little Red Book.
7. The intersection of counter-culture and radical politics: the hippies, the Situationist International, etc.
8. The legacies of 1968 and its contemporary heirs: the demise of welfarism and the rise of neo-liberalism as a dominant global ideology, the Arab Spring and the Occupy Wall-street movement, etc.

Those interested in presenting at the conference are invited to send the complete paper, together with a short abstract of no more than 250 words and a curriculum vitae to global1968@163.com by September 30, 2018. The selection process is competitive. Inquiries about submissions and other issues should be directed to the conference secretariat at global1968@163.com or xiaoxiaoxie@shu.edu.cn. The conference does not charge a fee but will also not cover travel and hotel expenses. (Suggestions can be offered regarding finding suitable hotels near the campus upon inquiry).