About the Conference
The international conference ‘Confucianism and World Disharmony: The Quest for Harmony in Difference’ will be held from Wednesday 28th August to Friday 30th August 2019 at Bond University on the Gold Coast, Australia. It is hosted by the Centre for East-West Cultural and Economic Studies and the Faculty of Society and Design (Bond University), organised with support from the World Consortium for Research in Confucian Cultures and The Centre for East-West Relations (Beijing Foreign Studies University).
Conference Themes
For over three thousand years, Chinese philosophy and Confucian thought have built up sophisticated approaches exploring social, political and environmental harmony. One of the key understandings of these approaches is that a diversity of roles and relationships are required for the evolution of sophisticated states and adaptive cultures. Confucianism became one of the main drivers of societal norms across much of East Asia, and has been going through a global academic revival over the last two decades. The Confucian tradition has insights that can help us reflect on the root causes of, and remedies for, disorder in the 21st century. An engaged Confucianism can be inclusive of diverse national identities and build bridges of dialogue to alternative philosophical and religious traditions. The conference has been designed to draw in a wide range of intercultural, interdisciplinary and critical viewpoints.
Keynote Speaker
The keynote speaker will be Professor Chenyang Li (School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore) who specializes in Chinese and comparative philosophy, and has written widely on related political, cultural and educational issues.
Prominent Scholars
Prominent Scholars making presentations at the conference include Professors Roger Ames, Tian Chenshan, Chenyang Li, Raoul Mortley, Bee Chen Goh and others from East Asia, Australasia, the United States and Europe.
Panels and Themes
Delegates can suggest or form their own panels, but the following issues are central to the overall Conference themes:
- Harmony and Everyday Experience in Confucian Thought
- The Language and Practice of Harmony: Comparative Perspectives
- Confucianism in Expanding Asian and Global Contexts: North to South, East to West
- The Confucian Approaches to Aesthetics
- Confucius and Confucianism: Philosophy and Institution
- Confucianism and Education
- Avoiding Conflict and Moderating War: Transformative Relations in Confucianism
- Chinese Diplomatic Dialogues: Past and Present
- ‘Peace’ in Comparative Perspectives
- Conceiving a Good Life: Confucian and non-Confucian Perspectives
- Inter-Cultural and Inter-Civilizational Approaches to Global Harmony
Recommended Submission Timeline
- Abstract Submissions (150-300 words): Friday 5 April 2019
- Paper or Slides Submission: Friday 16th August 2019
- Initial Review Process of Chapters for book publication: September-December 2019
The Conference conveners are willing to consider late submissions but these should be received by mid-August 2019.
Contact Details
For further details about the Conference and for Submissions, please contact one of the following:
Dr. R. James Ferguson (jferguso@bond.edu.au); Dr. Yi Chen (ychen@bond.edu.au); Professor Roger T. Ames (rtames@hawaii.edu); or Professor Tian Chenshan (cstcewr@bfsu.edu.cn).
For early Registration:
To attend the Conference, in whole or part, please contact Cindy Minarova-Banjac, the Research and Communications Coordinator for the Centre for EastWest Cultural and Economic Studies at Bond University (cminarov@bond.edu.au, cc jferguso@bond.edu.au). There is no cost, but registration is necessary since places are limited.
Click here to see the flyer.
