HYBRID Sixth International Conference of the Asian Association of World Historians (AAWH): "Gulf and the Globe"

HYBRID Sixth International Conference of the Asian Association of World Historians (AAWH): "Gulf and the Globe"

Organizer
Doha Institute for Graduate Studies
Venue
Doha Institute for Graduate Studies
ZIP
-
Location
Doha
Country
Qatar
Takes place
Hybrid
From - Until
25.10.2025 - 26.10.2025
Deadline
15.02.2025
By
Connections Redaktion, Leipzig Research Centre Global Dynamics, Universität Leipzig

We cordially invite scholars from Asia and the world to participate in this conference to explore issues and themes related to world history. The convening of a conference in West Asia will highlight the dynamics of the wider West Asian region and the Asian and global significance of the Gulf region. In particular, conference presentations will build on the experiences of the Gulf in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as reflected in trade, migration, domestic and global politics, cultural dynamics and intellectual currents.

HYBRID Sixth International Conference of the Asian Association of World Historians (AAWH): "Gulf and the Globe"

The Sixth Asian Association of World Historians International Conference will be held at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Doha, Qatar, on 25-26 October 2025. The gathering in Qatar in 2025 follows meetings in Osaka (2009), Seoul (2012), Singapore (2015), Osaka (2018), and New Delhi (2022).

We cordially invite scholars from Asia and the world to participate in this conference to explore issues and themes related to world history.

The conference will be in hybrid mode, both in person and online. The precise modalities will be announced closer to the event.

General Theme: The Gulf and the Globe

AAWH has sought, from its beginning, to address the entirety of Asia in its global interactions. The convening of a conference in West Asia will highlight the dynamics of the wider West Asian region and the Asian and global significance of the Gulf region. In particular, conference presentations will build on the experiences of the Gulf in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as reflected in trade, migration, domestic and global politics, cultural dynamics and intellectual currents.

The Gulf region has been witnessing serious changes since the 19th century, and has been engaging with regional and global powers such as the Ottomans, the British, and recently the United States, China and Russia. The Gulf region has also had long standing relationships with neighboring Iran, with the Caucasus, and with the Mediterranean. The relationships with the latter have rested on many ties, including religious, ethnic and ideological ones. Given the significance of this region in West Asia and the Indian Ocean and on the global scene, the Asian Association of World Historians will convene its Sixth International Conference in Doha, Qatar. Known for its world-renowned museums and vibrant cultural scene as well as strong investment in the educational sector, especially universities, Doha has become a meeting point for cultural and intellectual exchange.

The Conference will consist of the following panels that capture main themes in the history of Asia, including the Gulf region. We welcome individual papers and pre-organized panels that fit within the following panels.

Panel 1: Maritime Trade, Oil and a Diversified Economy:
Keynote Speaker: Amal Ghazal, Professor of History and Dean of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.
In the past decades, oil production and trade have had a radical impact on nation-building, and on a demographic composition, largely shaped by the rise in, and dependency on, Asian and African immigration. Both geographical location and historical connections and networks will give a wide space for world historians to address related themes from different perspectives.

Panel 2: Archaeology, Anthropology, and Disease: Methodologies in World History
Keynote Speaker: Monica Green, Independent Scholar, A leading scholar in genetic and social studies of the Bubonic Plague, documenting new results on its expansion and persistence in many Asian regions.
This theme invites papers and panels on contemporary global issues related to health and disease foregrounded by the worldwide pandemic that has disrupted lives in recent years. This theme would highlight the interdisciplinarity of the methodologies in engaging with world history. The theme will build on previous engagement that took place in the 5th Congress at New Delhi in 2022.

Panel 3: Political Ecology of Development in 20th and 21st Century
Keynote Speaker: Vinita Damodaran, Professor of South Asian History (History and International Development) School of Media, Arts and Humanities, University of Sussex, UK
The last century, and since the beginning of decolonisation, witnessed the rebuilding and the restructuring of regions and nations under the paradigm of development. By the 21st century, indexes based on this paradigm have become the yardstick to measure nations and regions' position in world systems of politics, culture, business and investment. Such systemic undertakings flowing from different post-colonial governments, industrial conglomerates and multinational investment agencies and think tanks have been met with resistance and challenges from peoples’ movements, and alternative discourses from intellectual communities and civil societies.

Panel 4: Politics of Nation in the Age of Globalization
Keynote Speaker: Aditya Mukherjee, Former Professor of History, JNU, New Delhi
The sheer connectedness of the world in this century through larger multinational infrastructures of commerce, money, industry and politics and criss-crossing material cultures is undeniable. The pandemic has been the most humbling reminder of this connectedness. The emergence of the vaccine through the most unprecedented medical collaboration across the globe has also provided a deeply optimistic reminder of the possibilities of this connectedness. However, in various moments in this century, a certain culture of politics and a politics of culture have appealed to deeply narrow imaginations of nations which have gained currency. How do politics in the name of nations sustain and thrive in an ever-increasing globalised world? What happens to the legacy of anti-colonial struggles and decolonisation?

Panel 5: Writing and Teaching of World History: Ethical and Pedagogic Contestations
Keynote Speaker: Shiro Momoki, Vietnam-Japan University in Hanoi.
The panel looks forward to papers and panels that engage with content and pedagogic questions about developing curriculum and teaching world history in institutions of higher learning, traversing complex issues of representation and hierarchies of knowledge formation and production. It would also engage with the politics of revision and censorship in textbooks and curriculum parallel to the rise of populist movements and mass mobilization.

TIMELINE AND IMPORTANT DETAILS:

15th February, 2025: Deadline for submission of panel proposals (500 words) and individual abstract papers (500 words) in line with the conference themes and sub-themes, along with a short CV.
15th March, 2025: Announcement of panel proposal and paper abstracts

Submission Email aawh25conference@gmail.com

Conference Language English

Conference Fees
Scholars: US$ 100.00
Graduate Students’ Discount: US$ 50.00
Early Career Researchers and Graduate Students from South Asia: US$ 25.00
For online attendees who do not read papers: US$ 10.00

Delegates will make their own arrangements for travel, food and stay. Local hosts will assist them. Researchers from Global South whose papers are accepted can apply for consideration of subsidized stay and travel.

For details about the organization, please visit: https://www.theaawh.com/

About Doha Institute for Graduate Studies
The Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (DI) was founded in Qatar in 2015 as a Doha-based independent institution of higher education. The Institute offers MA and PhD programs in two schools: the School of Social Sciences and Humanities and the School of Economics, Administration and Public Policy. The Institute adopts a student-centered approach to learning, promotes interdisciplinary research, and uses Arabic as the primary language of instruction, with fluency in English a requirement. DI aims to graduate researchers and practitioners who can advance knowledge and better the human condition, while upholding the highest scientific, professional and ethical standards. It provides advanced leadership focused training that emphasizes the competencies necessary to satisfy the region’s needs in sustainable development and intellectual advancement. The Institute upholds the guiding principle of academic freedom and emphasizes the values of integrity and professionalism.
For more inforntion, please visit https://www.dohainstitute.edu.qa/en/About/Pages/default.aspx

About Doha
Doha is the capital city of Qatar, and its major financial and cultural hub. It has over 90 nationalities living in it and is world-renowned for its museums, art scene, and universities. One of the safest cities in the world, it is a top destination for tourists and visitors all year around. It has an old-meets-new charm that makes it unique in its appeal.
For more information, please check https://visitqatar.com/intl-en/about-qatar/doh

Contact (announcement)

aawh25conference@gmail.com

https://www.theaawh.com/