Saturday, March 22, 2008

CFP: Sport, Race and Ethnicity: Building a Global Understanding

Sport, Race and Ethnicity: Building a Global Understanding: 30 Nov - 2 Dec 2008
http://www.business.uts.edu.au/lst/sre/index.html

CALL FOR PAPERS: ABSTRACTS DUE 16 MAY
http://www.business.uts.edu.au/lst/sre/abstracts.html

A SELECTION OF THE BEST PAPERS WILL APPEAR IN A SPECIAL CONFERENCE EDITION OF THE ROUTLEDGE JOURNAL SPORT IN SOCIETY
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/14610981.asp

Dear colleagues,

you are warmly invited to attend the international conference Sport, Race and Ethnicity: Building a Global Understanding, which will be hosted by the University of Technology Sydney, Australia, 30 Nov - 2 Dec 2008. This event will bring together academics, policy makers and community representatives from around the world to discuss issues of sport and diversity, with a special focus on themes of 'race', indigeneity and ethnicity. The emphasis here is with sport in a global sense, considering developments in regions as varied as Australasia, East and West Asia, the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent, Africa, Europe and the Americas. Additionally, there will be scope for analysis of sport and diversity in localised contexts, such as Aborigines in Australia and Canada, Native Americans and Hispanics in the US, and Maori and Pacific Islanders in New Zealand. Just as significantly, there will be discussion of sport and society in cross-cultural contexts wherein themes of 'race', ethnicity, and religion intersect, such as among Chinese, Indian and Malaysian peoples around South-East Asia.

Keynote speakers: http://www.business.uts.edu.au/lst/sre/speakers.html

1. Prof John Hoberman (Univ of Texas at Austin) will discuss scientific and folkloric assumptions of athletic ability according to ‘race’. His talk will focus on theories of ‘black’ athletic aptitude in the context of the evolving area of medical genetics, whether ‘scientific’ assumptions of ‘racial’ capability are actually convincing, and the likely future of ‘race politics’ in light of science-race discourses in sport. His best known publication is Darwin's Athletes: How Sport Has Damaged Black America and Preserved the Myth of Race, Houghton Mifflin, New York, 1997.

2. Prof John Sugden (Univ of Brighton, UK) will speak about the role of sport in conflict resolution, reconciliation, and peaceful coexistence between rival ethnic and religious groups in Northern Ireland and the Middle East. These are regions where innovative sport programs are part of challenging, yet promising initiatives to try to break down longstanding hostility between historically antagonistic communities. His publications include J. Sugden and J. Wallis (eds), Football for Peace: Teaching and Playing Sport for Conflict Resolution in the Middle East, Meyer & Meyer, Aachen, 2007.

3. Dr Kevin Hylton (Leeds Metropolitan Univ, UK) will deliver a paper that emphasises the value of theoretically informed practical efforts to address problems associated with racial discrimination in sport. Specifically, he will consider how a turn to critical race theory can contribute to a better understanding and theorising of ‘race’, racism and antiracism in sport. In this session Dr Hylton will focus on the inconsistencies, contradictions and pragmatics of theory and practice in sport. He is the author of the much anticipated Critical Race Theory and Sport, Routledge, London, which will be published in July 2008.

For further details about the conference, please visit the web site http://www.business.uts.edu.au/lst/sre/index.html or email the Conference Chair at SRE2008@uts.edu.au. By all means pass on this notice to relevant colleagues and organisations.

Sincerely, Daryl
p.s. Conference organisers are seeking expressions of interest from sponsors, whose support will be vital to the aim of including speakers and delegates from various cultural, regional and socio-economic backgrounds. See: http://www.business.uts.edu.au/lst/sre/sponsors.html

Associate Professor Daryl Adair (PhD)
Conference Chair: Sport, Race and Ethnicity: Building a Global Understanding
University of Technology, Haymarket, Sydney, Australia.
http://www.business.uts.edu.au/lst/sre
Tel: + 61 2 9514 5498
Fax: + 61 2 9514 5140

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