Urbanization and the transportation revolution are fundamentally challenging our inherited knowledge-models about Asia. Asia is shifting from rural to urban, the Himalayan barrier between China and India is rapidly becoming part of the past, while Japan, which was the first to become a largely urban society, is rapidly strengthening its ties with South Asia. This is an exciting moment for us to be engaging in cross-regional conversations and research in interdisciplinary global perspectives. Two workshops are planned for 2013-2014 as part of the Duke-UNC Global History-Asian Studies Initiative. While members of the UNC and Duke History Departments will constitute the core planning group, we welcome participation by members of all departments at the two universities and at neighboring universities.
Sponsors: Duke University’s Dean of Arts and Sciences, Asian/Pacific Studies Institute, Center for South Asian Studies, and Center for International Studies; UNC-Chapel Hill’s College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of History, and the Carolina Asia Center; the Triangle Center for Japanese Studies
Schedule
- 9:00-9:20am: Coffee
- 9:20:9:30am: Introduction to Workshop: “The Idea of Global Asia” – Sucheta Mazumdar (History, Duke), Miles Fletcher (History, UNC Chapel Hill)
- 9:30-10:45am: Keynote: “Accelerated Urbanization in Asia: The Creative Destruction of Governance Institutions” – Andre Sorenson (Urban Geography, University of Toronto Scarborough); Discussant – Chad Bryant (History, UNC Chapel Hill)
- 10:45-11:00am: Coffee Break
- 11:00am-12:15pm: “Infrastructure and Urban Development: Evidence from Chinese Cities” – Yan Song (City and Regional Planning, UNC Chapel Hill); Discussant – Andre Sorenson
- 12:15-1:15pm: Lunch Break
- 1:30-2:15pm: “Ecologies at Risk and the Spatialities of Production: Climate Adaptation in Surat’s Textile Industry” – Meenu Tewari (City and Regional Planning, UNC Chapel Hill); Discussant – Vasant Kaiwar (History, Duke)
- 2:15-3:00pm: “The Chinese Eco-City and Urbanization Planning: Case Studies of Tongzhou (Beijing), Lingang (Shanghai), and Dujiangyan (Chengdu)” – Robin Visser (Asian Studies, UNC Chapel Hill); Discussant – Carlos Rojas (Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Duke)
- 3:00-3:15pm: Coffee Break
- 3:15-4:00pm: “Waheguru Naam Jahaz Hain (‘God’s Name is a Steamship’): Religion, Urban Milieus, and Modern Technologies of Circulation in North India” – Iqbal Sevea (History, UNC Chapel Hill); Discussant – Sucheta Mazumdar
- 4:00-4:45pm: “Kazan: A Cosmopolitan City and Russian Muslim Intellectuals Between East and West” – Mustafa Tuna (History and Slavic Studies, Duke); Discussant – Eren Tasar (History, UNC Chapel Hill)
DATE: November 2, 2013
LOCATION: 9:00am-5:00pm
TIME: Hamilton Hall, Room 569, UNC-Chapel Hill