[csaa-forum] Fwd: Workshop: Politics of Past and Present

[Devleena Ghosh]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Stephanie Lawson <Stephanie.Lawson at humn.mq.edu.au>
> Date: 29 October 2007 5:40:29 PM
> To: Devleena.Ghosh at uts.edu.au
> Subject: Workshop: Politics of Past and Present
>
> Hi Devleena,
> Thanks for coming over last Friday - it was great to see you again and
> I'm esp. glad you could meet the infamous Preston.
> I'm sending you a notice for the workshop, although I know how  
> difficult
> it is to (a) find time for these things and (b) get out to the  
> Macquarie
> campus. But if you can come, that's be great too. If not, see you  
> at the
> book launch.
> love,
> Steff
>
>
>
> The Politics of Past and Present
>
> Is the past real? If so, how can we know that reality? Since we  
> know the
> past only in and through the present, how can we know it as ‘past’? If
> we only know the past as claims made in the present – interpretations
> that are contested and often mutually contradictory - how can we  
> settle,
> through such claims, the truth of the past? What epistemological and
> ontological implications attach to the difficulty of distinguishing  
> past
> from present? What are the implications for recuperating the  
> historical
> past, and what are the challenges for understanding the politics of  
> the
> present? What normative and methodological issues arise for the  
> study of
> the past and interpretation of the present? How are studies of the  
> past
> and of the present related? And how do issues of political and  
> cultural
> identity play out in contests over this relationship?
>
> If you are interested in all or any of these questions, then please  
> join
> us for a half-day workshop in the Department of Politics and
> International Relations, Macquarie University, on Friday 30th November
> 2007.
>
> The workshop will open with a short presentation by Preston King,
> Visiting Professor in Politics and International Relations and  
> author of
> Thinking Past a Problem: Essays in the History of Ideas (Frank Cass,
> 2000). We shall then have a number of other short presentations  
> (approx
> 5-10 minutes) on different approaches to the above questions to  
> initiate
> further debate and discussion. Offers of short discussion papers from
> staff and postgraduate students in any discipline are welcome,  
> provided
> that they address these key questions. The purpose of the  
> presentations
> is stimulate, rather than dominate, discussions.
>
> We plan to meet first for an informal lunch at the Staff Club at 12.00
> followed by the workshop from 1.30-4.30 in Rm 127, Bldg W6A. Note that
> there is no fee for the workshop but we will each pay individually for
> lunch. Refreshments during the afternoon will be provided by the
> Department.
> [for locations see http://www.ofm.mq.edu.au/maps_campus.htm]).
>
>
> Please send offers of discussion papers  to:
> Stephanie Lawson
> Politics and IR
> Macquarie University
> Stephanie.Lawson at mq.edu.au
>
> by 14 November
>
>
>

(Dr) Devleena Ghosh
Senior Lecturer, Social Inquiry Program
Bon Marche (Bldg 3), room 550 (enter via Harris St)

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
University of Technology, Sydney
Australia

Postal address: PO Box 123, Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia
Phone and Voice Mail: +61-2-95141963
Fax: +61-2-95142332
www.transforming.cultures.uts.edu.au
http://research.hss.uts.edu.au/IndianOcean/



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