[Reader-list] Fwd: Call letter for abstracts for a conference on environmental activism in New Delhi, Dec 9th and 10th 2010

[Iram Ghufran]

Fwd:

Subject: Call letter for abstracts for a conference on environmental 
activism in New Delhi, Dec 9th and 10th 2010
From: Monica Narula <monica at sarai.net>
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2010 01:34:41 +0530
To: announcements at sarai.net


Between mainstream and the fringe: environmental activism in a 
globalised world


International Conference on Dec 9th and 10th, 2010 at Jamia Milia 
Islamia, New Delhi

Organised by University of Heidelberg in collaboration with Centre for 
Culture,Media and Governance, JMI


Environmental activism entered the political domain in the 1980s. The 
demand for rights and justice pitched activists against their 
adversaries: the state, business corporations, corporate media and the 
judiciary. Over the next 20 years, however, these mainstream actors 
slowly colonised the environmental agenda. It is important therefore, to 
understand the effectivity and nature of mainstream concern around 
environment as well as the renegotiated charter for the fringe activists 
who have assumed a new dimension in a globalised world.

The continous push of globalisation brings with it other changes. 
Emerging transnational networks, the entry of Northeren NGOs into South 
and their collaborations with local partners and the corporatisation of 
the green agenda are changing the scope and nature of environmental 
politics. New financial arrangements are emerging with increased 
transnational funding giving rise to flows of ideas and knowledge that 
transcend national boundaries and change the relationship between both 
state and non-state actors. The contested terrains of control over 
natural resources are “glocally” renegotiated between various agents.

It is to map the changes within the sphere of environmental activism and 
shifting transnational engagements that Heidelberg University’s Cluster 
of Excellence 'Asia and Europe', is organising a two day conference in 
Delhi on Decemebr 9th and 10th, 2010 at the Jamia Millia Islamia 
University (JMI) in New Delhi. The conference is being held in 
collaboration with the Centre for Culture, Media and Governance, JMI.

The conference lays a strong emphasis on practitioner experience and 
case studies and aims to facilitate a conversation between both 
activists and academics. (While the emphasis of the conference is on 
India and South Asian case studies, relevant papers from other parts of 
the world are welcome.) Keeping our broad concerns in mind, the 
conference invites papers around the following themes (but not 
restricted to):


1) Media Discourse on the environment

Mainstream media narative of environment and its politics. Communication 
strategy of the fringe in the mainstream media clutter.


2) Transnational donors and environmental agenda

Guiding principles for funding actions/research in the South and donor 
expectations.

Compliance and subversion of donor agenda by Southern civil society.


3) Business imperatives in new ’environment’

Corporate sponsorship of green movement and its business benefits.

Business leadership through financing clean technology.

Public relations and the politics of reputational advantage.


4) Warfare in hyperreality

Determinants of successful activism in New Media/Social networking and 
politics of new technology


5) Youth movements on environment

Staking claims for the future and relevance of ’immature politicians’



6) Political Parties, state and the superstructure of environmental 
administration

Appealing to the eloctorate with the green agenda.

The bureaucratisation of people’s movements.



7) The grassroot in global networks

Retaining local identity in global resistance movements.


8) Judiciary, rights and wrongs

Can judicial activism restore environmental justice or does it bypas the 
democratic process?



Deadlines


The deadlines for abstracts is May 30th. Abstracts are to be sent to 
batabyal at asia-europe.uni-heidelberg.de and somras at gmail.com

You will be notified by june 30th if your abstract is succesful and you 
will have to submit a full paper (between 7,000 to 10,000 words) by 
October end for dissemination to other participants and paper 
discussants. Submission of a full paper is essential as a book is 
planned around the conference.


Discussants

For those who do not wish to present a paper but would like to lead the 
discussion of papers in their areas of interest, do let us know at the 
same email ids regarding your areas of work, publications, etc and we 
will notify you regarding submissions.



-- 
Somnath Batabyal, Dr
Post Doctoral Fellow
Cluster of Excellence-- (Asia Europe)
University of Heidelberg

Adjunct Fellow,
Centre for Culture, Media and Governance,
Jamia Millia Islamia
Monica Narula
Raqs Media Collective
Sarai-CSDS
www.raqsmediacollective.net
www.sarai.net