This conference explores the complex, multifaceted interactions between Europe and South Asia, from colonial encounters to postcolonial dialogues and contemporary global flows. Inspired by Edward Said’s seminal work Orientalism (1978), which critiqued Europe’s construction of the “East” as an exotic Other, we invite reflections on how European representations of the East as the cultural “Other” persist in literary writings, religious texts, travelogues, music, art and various other forms of media. Drawing on Homi K. Bhabha’s concept of hybridity and the “third space” (The Location of Culture, 1994), Gayatri Spivak’s interrogation of the subaltern voice (Can the Subaltern Speak?, 1988), Dipesh Chakrabarty’s provincialization of Europe (Provincializing Europe, 2000), and Paul Gilroy’s analysis of postcolonial Atlantic routes (The Black Atlantic, 1993), among others, we seek to unpack power dynamics, cultural exchanges, and mutual transformations. Keeping in mind the complex historical connections between Europe and various South Asian countries, as well as the expanding South Asian diasporas in Europe and rising global geopolitical tensions, this conference asks: How has Europe “encountered” South Asia, and how has South Asia reshaped Europe?
We welcome interdisciplinary papers from scholars, artists, and activists in cultural studies, postcolonial theory, history, literature, philosophy, linguistics, media, anthropology, and beyond.
The conference will be held in English.
The conference is partly funded by COST Action 23144 – ESIND.
