First Circular Letter

The Conference will focus on visual representations (maps, diagrams, charts, pictures, and so on) employed in non-Western and the pre-modern (from antiquity to the Scientific Revolution) Western scientific and technological traditions, including the disciplines identified as “orthodox” sciences (e.g., astronomy, mathematics, cartography, weaponry production) and “pseudo-sciences” (such as divination, traditional medicine, alchemy, geomancy).

The main topic of the Conference is the encounter of, and interaction between, two or several traditions belonging to different theoretical and social contexts. The questions we would like to address include: What happens when the artifacts (maps, diagrams, tables, etc.) produced within one tradition are interpreted by representatives of another one? Are there new “hybrid” styles of visual representations emerging from the interaction between two or several markedly different traditions, or one of the traditions would eventually replace the other one(s)? How a tradition of visual representation of objects or of theoretical concepts defines and maintains its “identity” in the context of interaction with another tradition?

The Conference will be held in the National Tsing Hua University (Hsinchu, Taiwan) on December 12-13 (Saturday-Sunday), 2009. Each presentation (up to 45 min) will be followed by questions and a discussion. Each of the two conference days will be concluded by a “round table” discussion.

The conference languages will be Chinese (Mandarin) and English. The participants presenting in Chinese will be invited to produce handouts in English.

The accommodation for the Conference participants (up to 6 nights in a 4-star hotel) will be provided by Tsing-Hua University free of charge.

A small number of traveling grants will be available; the foreign participants interested in obtaining the grants are invited to fill the Travel Grant Application Form attached to the Letter.

Those interested are invited to send their abstracts (no more than 400 words) to the Conference Secretary on or before September 10, 2009. The applicants will be notified by late September. 

The preliminary schedule:

First Circular letter posted on websites and sent to prospective speakers: on or before August 10, 2009.

Deadline for submission of abstracts: September 10, 2009.

Selection of accepted papers and notification of participants: September 30, 2009.

Local Conference Organizing Committee:

Huang Yi-Long

Hsu Kuang-Tai

Alexei Volkov

Mau Chuan-Hui

(all from Tsing-Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan)

International Advisory Board

Francesca Bray (University of Edinburgh, UK)

Georges Metailie (CNRS, France)

Vera Dorofeeva-Lichtmann (CNRS, France)

Michael Lackner (University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany)

Appendix 1:

Abstract form

Full Name (if you have Chinese name, please provide it as well)

Academic position

Institution, institutional address, email, fax

Proposed title of contribution

Abstract (no more than 400 words, in Chinese or English)

Please send your abstract to

Miss Bess CHERN, Conference Secretary at

visualconference2009@gmail.com 

In the subject line write “Visual Conference Abstract”

Appendix 2:

Travel Grant Application Form

Name

Institution, position

Rough estimate of the travel expenses (economy class)

Projected date of arrival

Projected date of departure

Please fill your travel grant application form in English and send it to

Miss Bess CHERN, Conference Secretary at

visualconference2009@gmail.com

The history of warfare and the history of medicine have been closely linked. War has often been an accelerator of advances in medical treatment and surgery, as doctors and nurses struggled to cope with the human cost and suffering resulting from mankind’s most destructive acts.

For veterans and their families, the post-war legacy of combat experience can sometimes seem as severe and persistent as the effects of wounds and injuries. War-damaged veterans are reminders of the enduring impact of war on Australian society.

The Memorial is convening a two-day conference, bringing together a range of experts to explore the impact of war, wounds, and trauma through the historical record and personal experiences. Participants will include renowned historians specialising in the medical and demographic consequences of warfare; medical practitioners and researchers in the field of military medicine; former and serving medical officers, surgeons, nurses; and veterans.

Join us at the Australian War Memorial for an absorbing, stimulating and at times confronting exploration of the interaction of medicine and war.

Registration: $280 ($200 concession and Friends of the Memorial)

For enquiries, email: events@awm.gov.au

For further information, program and registration details, keep watching the Australian War Memorial’s website (www.awm.gov.au):

http://www.awm.gov.au/events/conference/2009/