Call for Paper Submissions

Following the success of the first international symposium on Global South Studies (GSS) 2024, we are delighted to announce the theme of this year’s symposium, our second, is CARE. We expect the symposium 2025 to transcend the norms and conventions of an academic gathering where the scholarship is produced merely by scholars and researchers, those in the ivory tower of academia. In GSS 2025, we understand that care is a performative act and can take forms of presentation in various socio-cultural canons. Care and the work of care are re-routed and re-configured in many scenes of everyday life through Southern theories. 

Raewyn Connell wrote an important text, Southern Theory (2020), while data from the periphery have occasionally been included in the considerations of theorists at the metropole, it is rarer for them to make reference to the social thought or social experience generated in the majority world. Hence, it is critical to think of some way to embody a cultural response to the colonized world, and thus, through GSS 2025 we propose global-southerning as a gerund and an act of doing to look at the body of the literature of care beyond academic work. Care is pictured, performed, and translated in daily life porous contexts, in histories and cultures, in traditions and beliefs, and in societies from the old times to the present. Performative acts and forms of care as well as narratives of care have been always evolving and shifting indeed in emerging world situations, such as under the influence of new technologies and AI, and mass media and the expansion of global popular cultures in inter-Asia.

This year’s symposium theme asks the Global South Studies community to shift away from descriptive Eurocentric understandings of care framed by Global North philosophies, theories, and praxes to multi-faces and nuances of care constructed and nourished across our societies and cultures in everyday life experiences and practices (i.e., folklores, old stories, children’s literatures, traditional dances and rituals, families, education and pedagogy, and youth cultural works via movies, music videos, clothing and accessories that build their identities of care/self-care). We invite scholars and students, particularly those from the Global South or colleagues who are interested in the Global South work, to submit research using interdisciplinary lenses and critical approaches in the arts, humanities, and social sciences to the scholarship of care that has been constructed in everyday life settings. We encourage researchers to engage in global interdisciplinary dialogues and push traditional modes of inquiry and knowledge mobilization to advance research and serve the public good.

Keynote Speakers

– Professor Ly Tran, Deakin University, Australia
– Professor Isabelle Roskam, UCLouvain – Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium
– Associate Professor Le Van Canh, Tran Nhan Tong Institute of Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam
– Associate Professor Tran Thanh Nam, VNU University of Education, Hanoi, Vietnam

Plenary Speakers

– Professor Vina Adriany, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Indonesia
– Dr. Ethan Trinh, Atlanta Global Studies Center, Georgia State University, USA
– Associate Professor Nguyen Huu Cuong, Van Lang University, Vietnam

Areas of focus

We are interested in these topics & areas of Global South Studies:

Theme 1: CARE in Southern theories and histories

• Social theories of care
• Historical times that have shaped the Global Southern knowledges of care
• Distinguished ideologies and praxes of care across Asia
• Shared understandings, beliefs and practices of care across Asia
• Indigenous knowledge systems of care in the Global South

Theme 2: CARE as performative act in the arts & cultures

• Worlding care through the Southern arts
• Situated knowledge of care through performing arts
• Embodied care in Southern cultures (i.e., movements & dances, rituals and greeting cultures)
• Multimodal forms of care in inter-Asian popular culture
• Care as part of cultural and visual identity constructs
• Care in porous contexts of culture and education and pedagogy 

Theme 3: CARE in today’s digital worlds 

• Care as digitalized in cyber worlds
• Globalization, (trans)nationalism, and neoliberalism of care
• Faces of care on digital platforms and social media hubs
• Ethics of care in AI studies
• The construction of care and narratives of care generated by AI and new technologies

Theme 4: CARE in science of well-being/wellness

• Care in public health and community service
• Ethics of care in research with vulnerable populations
• Care and trauma-informed practices
• Care-related concerns in psychotherapy and counseling

Theme 5: CARE as an agent for social & eco-justice 

• Care in eco-feminist theories and research
• Care as key to transforming society and thinking
• Politics of care and morality
• Care in peace and conflict studies
• Care in human rights, community work, and activism

Submission requirements

All submissions will be evaluated through an anonymous review process. Please do not include any identifying information in the paper.

1. Paper (30 minutes/each). A paper is an individual paper with one or more co-authors.
Please submit an abstract of 300 words or fewer excluding references. Abstract uses APA 7^th and must address the following six elements: (1) Objectives, (2) Perspective(s) or theoretical framework, (3) Methods of inquiry, (4) Data sources, (5) Results, and (6) scholarly significance of the research.

2. Roundtable (20 minutes/each). A roundtable is a moderated meeting that allows 3-4 presenters/group presenters to speak on a topic of shared interest. 
Please submit an abstract of 300 words or fewer excluding references. Abstract uses APA 7^th and must address the following six elements: (1) Objectives, (2) Perspective(s) or theoretical framework, (3) Methods of inquiry, (4) Data sources, (5) Results, and (6) scholarly significance of the research.

3. Performing Arts (20 minutes/each). The performer or a group of performers presents their work in chosen art genres: a poem, a dance, a live session of art creation, an interactive conversation/talk/dialogue with the audience, singing or remix of soundtracks, a live creative writing session, etc.
Please submit an abstract of 200 words or fewer excluding references. Abstract uses APA 7^th and must address the following items: (1) The topic, (2) Art form, (3) Objectives, (4) Methods of artful inquiry, (5) Any structure to follow, (5) Expectations, (6) The stage. Please note that the performer(s) are responsible for all preparation to make their performances possible, any special requirements must be communicated to the organizers.

4. Workshop (45 minutes/each). A workshop is facilitated by researchers as trainers to demonstrate an interactive and innovative initiative with hands-on activities that engage the audience in knowledge re/production, sharing, and transformation.
Please submit a description of 300 words or fewer excluding references. The description uses APA 7^th and must address the following elements: (1) an overview of the topic, (2) purposes and objectives, (3) a plan for activities, (4) instructional techniques, (5) creativity and innovation, and (6) scholarly contributions.

5. Pecha Kucha (1-2 minutes/each). A session for graduate students (Masters & PhDs) to present their ongoing research, exchange ideas, and obtain feedback from peers and senior fellows. The goal of a PechaKucha is to tell a story rather than trying to describe slides; 1-2 minutes for one presentation followed by a general discussion to conclude the session.
Please each submit a description of 100-150 words excluding references. Use APA 7th and address the following six elements: (1) Objectives, (2) Perspective(s) or theoretical framework, (3) Methods of inquiry, (4) Data sources, (5) Expected outcomes, and (6) rationale of the research.

*New ideas: 
– This year we encourage roundtables of scholars to speak their local languages if they can form a group of at least 5 people of their nationality or those who are fluent in their language. This group needs to submit together ONE 300-word proposal in English on an overarching topic related to their shared experience expressing their interest in speaking the language in common in their session. Please provide the names of all discussants and their contact information in the proposal.
– We also accept proposals written and presented in local languages as long as the authors and presenters secure a quorum (at least 5 attendees).