Conference announcement

Context

The 20th cen­tury wit­nes­sed seve­ral major wars that affec­ted the lives of many people in the world, inclu­ding women. Women lived through these wars and many of them took part in the figh­ting them­sel­ves to pro­tect their coun­tries. Women also had to main­tain their acti­vi­ties in society and at the same time they had to cope with per­so­nal suf­fe­ring and adver­si­ties caused by wars.

The theme of women and war has been a long time concern of many aca­de­mics and artists. A large amount of data rela­ted to the women’s role in the two World Wars, as well as the wars in Vietnam, has been col­lec­ted and ana­ly­zed by the aca­de­mics in many mul­ti­dis­ci­pli­nary resear­ches. Women’s role in wars is also often depic­ted in the arts inclu­ding cinema, music and lite­ra­ture.

This theme will be the sub­ject of the pre­sen­ta­tions and dis­cus­sions at the confe­rence on “Women and War : An inter­na­tio­nal pers­pec­tive” held at Hoa Sen University in coo­pe­ra­tion with Institut d’Asie Orientale from Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon (France), Centre d’Histoire de l’Asie contem­po­raine - Université Paris 1 (France) and Southern Women Museum (Vietnam).

Objectives

This confe­rence is above all to ful­fill the wish of many aca­de­mics, artists, and war vete­rans to have a chance for gathe­ring and having dis­cus­sions and exchan­ging ideas, expe­rien­ces, research metho­do­logy, research approa­ches, his­to­ri­cal mate­rials, war records, and revie­wing movies and lite­ra­ture rela­ted to the theme of Women and Wars.

It is also meant to pro­vide an oppor­tu­nity for revie­wing research pro­jects, movies and lite­ra­ture that have been pro­du­ced about women and war so far, as well as for eva­lua­ting various research methods being applied in this topic such as revie­wing his­to­ri­cal records, having in-depth inter­views with war vete­rans, revie­wing lite­ra­ture, movies, and music.

Furthermore, the confe­rence can serve as a basis for the crea­tion of inter­na­tio­nal net­works and exchange bet­ween aca­de­mics, social acti­vists, and artists from Vietnam and abroad.

Content of pre­sen­ta­tions and dis­cus­sions

Theoretical and empi­ri­cal research by aca­de­mics from Vietnam and abroad and their research methods will be pre­sen­ted to broa­den our know­ledge and ins­pire fur­ther research on gender study, and stu­dies of women. In addi­tion, his­to­ri­cal records, movies, and lite­ra­ture will also be pre­sen­ted to give us an over­view of the multi-dis­ci­pli­nary and inter-dis­ci­pli­nary approa­ches of various research on this theme.

Results from revie­wing dif­fe­rent his­to­ri­cal records such as memoirs, inter­views with war sur­vi­vors, sur­veys will be pre­sen­ted to reveal the various aspects of women’s lives in the times of war : begin­ning from their heroism, to the psy­cho­lo­gi­cal effects caused by war that women had to bear such as fee­lings of lone­li­ness, loss and pains. Research on post-war dif­fi­culties that women had to face will also be pre­sen­ted. Movies, lite­ra­ture, and music that pic­ture humans at times of war and peace will be pre­sen­ted to the aca­de­mics and public at the confe­rence. Discussions and conver­sa­tions with the authors, actors and actres­ses will also be held.

Time

The confe­rence will take place during the 17th, 18th, and the 19th of October 2011. The 20th of October is sche­du­led for a dis­cus­sion with former women pri­so­ners at the Southern Women Museum.

Working lan­gua­ges

The wor­king lan­gua­ges will be English, French, and Vietnamese.

Venue

The confe­rence will take place in : Hoa Sen University

02 Tản Viên street, District Tân Bình | Hochiminh City, Vietnam

Tel : (848) 3547 1172 | Fax : (848) 3830 1878

Some impor­tant infor­ma­tion about the confe­rence :

The orga­ni­zing com­mit­tee would like to remind the pros­pec­tive atten­dees about some impor­tant infor­ma­tion on the confe­rence. We are cal­ling for papers from scho­lars, col­lea­gues and social acti­vists to contri­bute to the suc­cess and the diver­sity of the pre­sen­ta­tions deli­ve­red at the confe­rence.

The pre­sen­ta­tion should be writ­ten on A4-sized paper, Times New Roman font at size 13. This format should be consis­tent throu­ghout the entire paper. The full name, title, postal and email addres­ses, and tele­phone number(s) of the author(s) should be inclu­ded. Participants are advi­sed to send the title and the abs­tract of the paper to the Conference Organizing Committee by April the 15th, 2011. The com­ple­ted paper should be sent to the orga­ni­zing com­mit­tee by August the 15th, 2011. Register online to par­ti­ci­pate in the confe­rence by September the 15th 2011.

Please send the abs­tract, the com­ple­ted paper, and any ques­tions or com­ments on the confe­rence via e-mail to :

Mrs. Bui Tran Phuong, PhD, President of Hoa Sen University | btphuong@­hoa­sen.edu.

Ms. Thai Thi Ngoc Du, PhD | ttn­du@­hoa­sen.edu.vn | Tel : (84) 918 230 714

Ms. Le Hoang Anh Thu, MSc | lha­thu@­hoa­sen.edu.vn | Tel : (84) 938 972 017

A report with pre­sen­ta­tions made during the confe­rence will be publi­shed by Hoa Sen University.