The proposed two-day conference is organized by the departments of Sociology and Anthropology and Environmental Studies at Ashoka University, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, and The Australian National University. It is aimed at assembling the river island narratives, discussing and critically interrogating concepts and empirics, and enabling a meaningful conversation between early career researchers and senior, established scholars in the domain. The immediate output will be a special issue/section on river islands in an international, peer-reviewed journal that will include six to eight selected conference papers, with co-authorship being encouraged between junior and senior scholars (also adhering to gender inclusion and geographical representation principles).

The long-term goal however is to initiate a larger, more systematic conversation on river islands, across the global North and South, and promote interdisciplinary scholarly and action research on these hybrid ecologies through global partnership, facilitating cross-sectoral dialogues and collaborations.

Call for Papers

Session Themes:
1. Islands, Anthropocene and decoloniality
2. Islands, place-making, and the everyday
3. Infrastructure, “development,” and sustainability of river islands
4. Islands as spaces of disaster and vulnerability
5. Island (id)entities along shifting times
6. Islands in relations: rethinking “islandness” in a globalized world

Please submit your abstract (between 350-500 words) by July 25, and the full paper by Sep 30. You can submit your abstract as well as write to us for any further query at: riverislandsconference@ashoka.edu.in

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