The 5th International Crossroads Asia: Area Studies Futures' from September 22-23 at ZEF.

Abstract:

The 5th International Crossroads Asia conference has provided a platform for sharing and discussing conceptual and methodological innovations in Area Studies research that transcend traditional disciplinary approaches. Among the questions that were addressed are:

• How do globalisation, digitalisation, urbanisation and migration challenge concepts of ‘areas’?
• How does space intersect with a sense of belonging, and how do spatial constellations shift through time?
• How can Area Studies account for the Anthropocene?
• What can contribute to overcoming epistemic hegemonies, ethnocentrism and "othering"?

About the speaker:

Prof. Dr. Anna-Katharina Hornidge is Professor of Development and Knowledge Society at the University of Bremen, as well as head of the Department of Social Sciences at the Leibniz-Center for Tropical Marine Ecology (ZMT) in Bremen, Germany. As former coordinator and current executive board member of Crossroads Asia, sha has driven the network's activities on synthesizing empirical research for the rethinking of area studies. Her research interests include epistemic cultures and knowledge regimes, innovation diffusion and sustainable resource use, with regional specializations in the post-soviet southern Caucasus and Central Asia as well as Indonesia.