Published: July 26, 2023

We are happy to announce that the XXI²õ³ÙÌýBiennial Symposium of the American Council for Southern Asian Art (ACSAA) will be held in Ann Arbor, MI. It will be hosted by the University of Michigan with generous support from the Department of the History of Art. 

ACSAA symposia occur in alternating years and serve as opportunities to meet colleagues, reconnect with mentors and graduate school cohorts, and share one’s current research with the field. From senior scholars to graduate students, ACSAA symposia are one of the primary ways ACSAA members gather and support one another, develop ideas in a collegial environment, and participate in the ACSAA community. 

This is a call for: 

  1. Individual paper submissions 
  2. Proposals for pre-formed panels 

Individual papers and panels alike should reflect original and unpublished scholarship in the history of South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan art. All members are welcome to propose ideas for new papers or panels, even if they presented a paper or chaired a panel at ACSAA XX held in Georgia in 2022. To encourage a diversity of voices, an individual scholar’s participation in the symposium will be restricted to no more than two formal roles (e.g. as a speaker in one panel and as a chair/discussant of another panel). 

All presenters, panel chairs, and discussants must be ACSAA members in good standing. To join or renew your ACSAA membership, please visit https//acsaa.us/membership/ 

The Organizing Committee welcomes proposals on a broad range of topics in our field. The Committee would especially like to encourage submissions informed by new archaeological research, ethnographic fieldwork, careful attention to primary textual sources, as well as those that are informed the study of race, caste, and Indigeneity, and by ecocriticism and materiality, irrespective of medium, region, and time period. Individual papers and/or panel proposals honoring the life and work of ACSAA’s founding members and the organization’s supporters, especially those who have passed away recently, are also welcome. 

Individual paper proposals should include a title, abstract (250 words maximum), and one-page CV of the presenter. Pre-formed panel proposals should include a panel title and abstract (250 words maximum), individual paper titles and abstracts (each 250 words maximum), and a one-page CV for the panel chair and each presenter. Panels may include a minimum of three and a maximum of five speakers. Each panel will have an allocated time of ninety minutes. 

Submit all materials and inquiries to: acsaa2024@gmail.com

A symposium website will be launched in the coming weeks and be updated periodically. 

Individual Paper Proposals due: August 1, 2023 Pre-Formed Panel Proposals due: August 1, 2023 Final Selection Announcement: December 1, 2023 

ACSAA 2024 Organizing Committee: 

Nachiket Chanchani (Chair), University of Michigan Madhuvanti Ghose, Art Institute of Chicago Katherine Kasdorf, Detroit Institute of Arts
Akshaya Tankha, University of Michigan 

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