Pathways to Prosperity: Canada

The 9th International Conference of the International Society for the Study of Chinese Overseas (ISSCO) will take place in Vancouver, Canada from July 6-9, 2016. Founded in 1992 by Professors Wang Gungwu, Wang Ling-Chi and a multidisciplinary group of scholars, ISSCO is a scholarly organization that seeks to promote research and understanding of the historical and contemporary experiences of Chinese migrants and their descendants living outside of mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. ISSCO holds a major international conference every three years. Previous ISSCO international conferences have been held in San Francisco, Hong Kong, Manila, Taipei, Copenhagen, Beijing, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. ISSCO also holds smaller regional conferences on an annual basis. Previous ISSCO regional conferences have been held in Cuba, South Africa, New Zealand, Panama and other countries.

Vancouver 2016 will be the first ISSCO conference to be held in North America in nearly twenty-five years. Perched on Canada’s beautiful Pacific coast and consistently rated as one of the world’s “most liveable” cities, Vancouver is also home to one of North America’s oldest and most vibrant and rapidly growing Chinese populations. ISSCO Vancouver will showcase the rich history and contemporary relevance of Vancouver’s Chinese Canadian communities, including Vancouver’s role in the making of the Cantonese Pacific, as well as emerging changes shaped by new patterns of emigration from China.

ISSCO Vancouver 2016 welcomes panel proposals and individual paper and poster session proposals from members and non-members including academics, librarians and archivists, graduate students and undergraduate students. The conference will accept papers in both English and Chinese. Paper proposals should include a 300-500 word abstract, a 150-word personal bio and a cv of no more than two pages with your email address and phone number included. Panel proposals should include the above as well as a panel abstract of 300-500 words. Abstracts, personal bios and cv’s should be sent in a single attachment in either Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or Rich File (.rft) format. Name the attachment with your last name and the words “paper proposal” (for individual paper proposals) or the panel organizer’s last name and the words “panel proposal” (for panel presentations). The text should be prepared on letter/A4 size paper (8” x 11”), single-spaced and in 12-point font. Please email your submission to ISSCO.2016@ubc.ca.

The conference organizers welcome paper and panel proposals on all aspects of the study of Chinese overseas. Potential themes include but are not limited to the following: new digital technologies and their role in shaping Chinese identities; Chinese relations with indigenous peoples; museums and the commemoration of Chinese migrant experience; gender and Chinese migration; Chinatowns and the changing ethno-landscapes of North American cities; language, education and the construction of Chinese identities; literature and the construction and transmission of Chinese identity; Chinese and non-Chinese mixed identities; Chinese overseas business networks; immigration policies and their impacts; the impact of the Cold War on global Chinese migrations.

Conference Conveners:

• Glen Peterson (History, University of British Columbia)
• Henry Yu (History and St. John’s College, University of British Columbia)

Important Deadlines

• Deadline for Submissions: October 31, 2015
• Acceptance Notification: January 2016
• Deadline for Final Paper Submission: May 22, 2016