The Canadian South Asian Studies Association/Association canadienne d’études sud-asiatiques (CSASA-ACESA) is a scholarly association affiliated with the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences. CSASA-ACESA will host its fourth Annual meeting on June 3-5, 2025, at the Federation’s Annual Congress, Canada’s largest academic gathering (May 30 to June 6, 2025) at George Brown College, Toronto. The format will be primarily in-person, with a limited number of online / hybrid sessions to accommodate colleagues based internationally. Please save the date and forward this announcement widely; for questions, contact the members of the organizing committee—
| Julie Vig, York University CSASA-ACESA President, Congress Programme Co-Chair julievig@yorku.ca | Andrea Farran, McGill University CSASA-ACESA Treasurer and Vice-President, Congress Programme Co-Chair andrea.farran@mcgill.ca |
| Sarwat Viqar, John Abbott College Steering Committee Member sarwat.viqar@johnabbott.qc.ca | Arafaat Valiani, University of Oregon/University of Calgary Steering Committee Member arafaat.valiani@ucalgary.ca |
| Shobna Nijhawan, York University Steering Committee Member shobna@yorku.ca | Sloane Geddes, University of Toronto Conference Convenor kathryn.geddes@mail.utoronto.ca |
Individual, Panel, and Roundtable Proposals:
Study of South Asia offers an invaluable lens to engage with complex issues in our globalized world in historical and contemporary terms. We invite colleagues to submit individual paper proposals, fully formed panels, and roundtable submissions on their original research, on topics related to social science- and humanities-oriented study of South Asia. Individual proposals, panels, and roundtables that represent a diversity of views are especially solicited. Scholars presenting original research at all career stages, including MAs and PhDs, are encouraged to apply. Proposals and papers may be written in English or French. Details on presentation length will be disseminated to accepted participants.
Theme:
Echoing the 2025 Congress theme “Reframing Togetherness”, CSASA-ACESA invites submissions that consider this idea in South Asian settings, including transnational and diasporic communities. We are particularly interested in emerging scholarship that is interdisciplinary, and engages with discourses on coloniality, indigeneity, and hierarchy in South Asia; decolonisation of the field of South Asian Studies, and scholarly interventions that decentre whiteness, patriarchy, and casteism. In this vein, we especially welcome submissions concerned with post-colonial and decolonial topics, and scholarship that centres the voices and narratives of those who have been historically excluded from knowledge production. CSASA-ACESA especially welcomes submissions dealing with these topics in relation to premodern South Asian histories, languages, and material cultures, and invites colleagues to highlight analytical tools that their scholarship on South Asian Studies can offer to wider scholarly discourse.
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Proposal Format and Length:
Individual Papers: Paper abstracts should be a maximum of 250 words; accepted proposals will be matched with other thematically-related submissions.
Panels: Full panel submissions must be comprised of three or four presenters, a moderator, and a respondent. Panel proposals must include a title and a thematic abstract (150 words), and individual presentation proposals (250 words each) for each participant.
Roundtable: Full roundtable submissions must be comprised of at least three speakers (and no more than five), and a moderator. Roundtable proposals must include a title and a thematic abstract (250 words), accompanised by a list of all participants with an outline of their proposed contributions (100 words each and a 100 word speaker bio).
CSASA-ACESA 2025 Business Meeting
South Asian Studies in the
Canadian Academic Ecosystem:
How can South Asian studies contribute more centrally to Canadian academic discourses? Our Conference will include a business meeting and general planning session where members can share suggestions and ideas for CSASA-ACESA to serve the needs of our community and increase our impact on the Canadian academic landscape.
Submissions and Deadline:
CSASA-ACESA will be introducing a new submissions portal, to be made available from January 15 (details to follow). Submissions must be uploaded to the new portal by February 15, 2025, 23:59 EST. Acceptances will be released by March 1, 2025.
Early bird registration prices are valid until March 20, 2025.