Third Annual Humber Liberal Arts and Sciences Conference

September 28 - 29, 2012
North Campus

The term “culture” is used in many different contexts, but we can speak of culture as learned patterns of knowledge, belief, and behavior that are shared and which enable a group of people to make sense of life. Culture, however, can often contribute to tension and conflict, both within a group and between different groups. The role that culture plays in generating social, political and economic crises has long been studied by academics. But concerns about how culture factors into contemporary problems in these areas has become a matter of increasingly intense public debate. There are a number of current controversies surrounding culture: the American “culture wars” between conservatives and progressives on issues such as same-sex marriage and immigration, which are also reflected in debates about reasonable accommodation of cultural difference in other liberal democratic countries; the cultures that are forming through new social media and the impact they are having on society, economics, and politics; the argument that there are intractable cultural differences between the West and Islam, or the West and China; the concern that socially embedded “cultures of entitlement” will block necessary political and economic reform in North America and Europe; and the alarming recognition that a globalized “culture of consumption” continues to cause irreversible environmental damage. The question of how to modify, reform, or even revolutionize cultural perspectives such that they can respond to these types of issues has perhaps never seemed more pressing.

And yet, as researchers and theorists who study this culture factor well know, culture is not simply a lens that can be replaced when it has become cracked. There is no culturally neutral zone from which to analyze or act on culture itself, even if one is tempted to judge it as dysfunctional or outdated. In this way, culture is not simply an object of study; rather, the discourses involved in the study of culture require constant interpretation, scrutiny, and reinterpretation.

This conference invites disciplinary and multidisciplinary papers that look at culture and its relation to economics, technology, psychology, law, politics, religion, social policy, sociology, anthropology, history, postcolonial theory, fine and performing arts, music, film, literature, language, education, media studies, architecture and design, environmental studies, gender studies, queer studies, critical race theory, pedagogy, and philosophy. Papers and panels may be issue or case-study based, or focused on theoretical and methodological issues.

Proposals for individual papers, panels or workshops should be submitted by Friday, May 18, 2012. Click here to for the proposal form.

Proposals should be approximately 250-500 words in length and include a description of all presentation requirements (AV, etc.). Please submit proposals by email to LASConference@humber.ca.