International Symposium "Visions of Peace: The West and Asia"

Otago Museum, Dunedin, New Zealand
10-12 December 2009
Open to the public
Sponsored by The Japan Foundation and Division of Humanities, University of Otago

"Visions of Peace: The West and Asia" is a multi-disciplinary symposium which explores various traditional conceptions of peace in the Asian and the Western historical worlds. Current literature, prompted by September 11, focuses on the laws and ethics of just wars; the ideas and ideals of peace as they were conceptualized by past Asian and Western thinkers appear to have escaped scholarly attention. The symposium is intended to fill this lacuna, thereby shedding light on the hitherto overlooked or underappreciated visions of peace in the global historical landscape. The event will be organized according to the following cultural units and traditions: Islamic, Jewish, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and European. The symposium will approach the diversity of the global traditions of the idea of peace at the interface of religion, philosophy and political thought from the viewpoint of intellectual history. The main, but by no means exclusive, focus will be on the "pre-modern" period (i.e. before c.1800). General theoretical and historical questions to be addressed might include: What did "peace" mean in a given tradition? Was it primarily political? Was peace the end or a means for something else? Is it achievable in this world? What are the conditions of peace? What are the contexts in which peace was valued? What is the relationship between war and peace? How did each tradition understand the legitimacy of violence?

Plenary Speakers

Kaushik Roy (Viswabharati University, India)
Yu Kam-por (Hong Kong Polytechnic University)
Shin Chiba (International Christian University, Tokyo)
David Cortright (Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame)
Malik Mufti (Tufts University)

This symposium is open to the public and the admission is free. However, please complete and submit the registration form, which is available on this website (see below).

Venue

The symposium will take place in Kakapo & Takahe Rooms at the Otago Museum, next to the University of Otago's campus. Please click the following for the Museum's location. For further information regarding the Museum, please refer to its web site.

Registration

Registration form is available from here. Please complete and return it as email attachment to: takashi.shogimen@otago.ac.nz by 1 November 2009. No registration fees are charged.

Travels to and from Dunedin, New Zealand

The speakers whose paper proposals have been accepted are asked to arrange their own travels. The University of Otago is unable to offer any financial assistance.

Transfer from the Dunedin Airport to the City of Dunedin

Taking a taxi costs about $70NZ (one way). The cheaper option is to take a shuttle. It costs $20NZ (one way). No prior reservation is required: simply hop in a shuttle waiting outside the airport building. If you wish to take a shuttle from your accommodation to the airport, however, you must arrange it during your stay in Dunedin.

Accommodation

The University of Otago has its own guest house called "Executive Residence." You might wish to book your room by contacting them directly: http://www.business.otago.ac.nz/com/executiveresidence/.

Please book your accommodation by contacting directly the accommodation of your choice. There are motels and hotels within walking distance from the symposium venue. Generally, accommodations on George Street in North Dunedin are recommended; for example:

http://www.858georgestreetmotel.co.nz/
http://www.755regalcourtmotel.co.nz/accommodation.html
http://www.hotel526.co.nz/

You can readily search for accommodation that suits your needs by searching websites such as:

http://www.aatravel.co.nz/accommodation-newzealand/ http://www.tourism.net.nz/region/dunedin/accommodation/

Lunches and Dinners

For lunch, there are many kinds of restaurants such as NZ, Lebanese, Indian, Thai, Chinese, Korean, Cambodian, Japanese etc. (typically lunch costs somewhere between $7 and $15) on Albany Street and George Street, within 5 minutes walk from the Otago Museum, but the nearest option is the cafe located in the Museum where the symposium takes place.

The Reception is to be organized for the evening of 10 December at the Staff Club of the University. The directions to the Staff Club will be provided in the information package which you will get upon arrival. Please indicate whether or not you wish to attend the Reception on the Registration Form.

The Symposium Dinner is planned for 11 December. The venue is yet to be determined. The cost will probably be around $50 per head. Again, please indicate whether or not you wish to join us for this occasion on the Registration Form.

Timetable

The schedule of the symposium is now available.