Announcing the 2nd KLASICA Taipei Symposium
Call for participation and contributions on
Social dynamics toward sustainable futures from narratives of vision and identity
The international Knowledge, Learning, and Societal Change Research Alliance (KLASICA) is very happy to announce dates and theme of the second KLASICA Symposium in Taipei. We very cordially invite researchers, policymakers, community activists, and practitioners who are concerned with societal transformations to sustainable futures in accord with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to join usin this exciting symposium.
Theme: Seeking insights into social dynamics by identifying affective expressions of narratives of vision and identity that guide or motivate societal change toward sustainable futures in different contexts and cultures and exploring their applicability for modeling of social dynamics.
We welcome applications to participate from all interested people from a wide range of disciplines and experiences and at all career stages. We particularly encourage participation of those who have experience or are concerned with any of the following:
- Narrative(s) that have played a significant role in framing or motivating actions by a community or collective
- Social movements related to sustainability transformations in different communities, contexts, and cultures or
- Computational modeling of social dynamics in the context of sustainability
In order that the symposium is an open and engaging mutual learning experience in which to work together to produce new insights and approaches to complex issues, we will limit the number of participants to a total of 50 people.
We especially invite contributions of abstracts or short papers presenting examples of narrative expressions of vision or identity.
We are seeking examples of narrative expressions of vision and identity that are evident in local or regional processes of change, including in social movements or identity politics. Contributions selected from those submitted in response to the call will be circulated prior to the symposium and used as a basis for discussion and development of a typology of narratives, as described below.A limited number of papers (15 to 20) selected from those submitted in response to the call will be used as the basis for discussion and development of a typology of narratives, as described below.
Objectives:
1) Identify and analyse examples of affective expressions of narratives that present a vision for sustainability OR that reflect individual or collective identity (worldviews). These narratives should be related to guiding and inspiring societal change toward sustainable futures as set out in the SDGs. The essence of the narrative may be expressed in various formats (e.g., visual, verbal, musical) appropriate to and resonant in local contexts. One of the key challenges is understanding the importance and power of relational, social ontologies embedded in narratives and how these influence decisions for collective action.
2) Create a typology of contemporary affective narrative expressions (and their forms or symbols) of vision or identity in regard to their function in offering guidance or rationale and motivation for or against societal change toward sustainable futures.
3) Based upon the motivations for and against change expressed in the typology of narratives, consider whether such expressions of motivation are viable and adequate as rules for agent-based computational models (ABM). The agents in aggregate represent collectives making decisions and acting in support of their goals for sustainable futures in a community or an alliance of purpose.
Intended output and outcomes:
A) Paper(s) or a special issue in an international journal (to be determined by participant co-authors) describing the analysis and derived typology of affective narrative expressions and their significance in responses to societal change toward the SDGs and on the potential that these offer for agent-based modeling of influences on collective behavior change.
B) collaboration with colleagues engaged in ABM on testing the feasibility and potential for innovative studies of contexts and conditions that could facilitate creative thinking about societal change toward sustainable futures in different cultures and contexts.
Logistics:
Costs of lodging, meals, and local transportation for the symposium within Taiwan will be kindly covered by RSPRC, National Taiwan University for those selected to join us in the symposium. There is no fee for registration.
Travel costs from locations outside Taiwan and return are the responsibility of participants.
NOTE: People attending the World Social Science Forum in Fukuoka, Japan from 25 to 28 September 2018 can make arrangements to fly directly from Fukuoka to Taipei and return – about 2 hours each way non-stop for 100-430 € round-trip.
The symposium will begin with an informal gathering and dinner on the evening of Saturday, 29 September and conclude at around 17:00 on Tuesday, 2 October.
Application to attend:
Please send the following information to Ms. Angela Borowski at [email protected]:
- a brief professional biography
- a short statement explaining your interest in participating
- a 3-5 page description of an example of a narrative and its affective expression and how they influenced or connected with issues of sustainability its in its particular cultural, spatial, and social context.
To reserve a space, applications must be received no later than 15 June 2018.
We are looking forward to receiving your applications.
