*CFP* "PANDEMIC, FEAR AND HATE", THE 3RD INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP HATE SPEECH IN ASIA AND EUROPE

The 3rd International Workshop Hate Speech in Asia and Europe

Pandemic, Fear, and Hate

August 27th-28th, 2021

Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan

Online/offline hybrid event

 

This project began in 2017 to bring scholars across the continents together to discuss national, regional,and global dynamics of hate speech from diverse viewpoints that include the political, legal, historical, ideological and cultural perspectives. Through the first and second workshop, held respectively in Kyoto and Paris, we explored the hate speech contours in different Asian and European countries. Some of two workshops' papers were published via a special journal issue and an edited volume.

Next year, the workshop will continue and expand this conversation by considering acute tensions surrounding hate speech issues in the age of pandemic and including research on other continents, not strictly confined to Asia and Europe.

Although the COVID-19 was of natural origin, its impact on society is more a matter of a social crisis than a natural disaster. Pandemic is shaking society to its very foundation. This workshop pays attention to the fear, discrimination, and hatred between nations, communities, and individuals within the context of the anxiety and inequality brought by the pandemic. COVID-19 has spurred hate speeches across continents, from the conflict between the U.S. and China to discriminatory acts targeting the ‘other(s).’ The victims' profile varies from country to country, and diverse civil societies and nations have responded to this phenomenon in different manners. While no one can predict how this pandemic will shape the world after all, throughthis workshop, we expect to explore hate speech fueled by the pandemic crisis and seek philosophical, ethical, and theoretical perspectives that illuminate how to overcome the fear and the hate in this pandemic era.

We invite you to submit paper abstracts adopting different approaches such as media studies, history, sociology, anthropology, political science, legal studies, religious studies that examine, but are not restricted to, the following questions:

• What are the current contours of hate speech in this/the pandemic crisis?
• How can we better prevent and address social stigma associated with the COVID-19?
• What are the differences and similarities in the manifestations of hate speech across countries in the pandemic crisis?
• What are the legal and discursive characteristics of individual societies in dealing with hate speech in the pandemic crisis?
• What frailties and inequalities does the COVID-19 expose?
• How are different media platforms exploited to express and spread hatred against various minorities in the pandemic period?
• Why do ethnicity, sexuality, and religion often act as flashpoints in the pandemic crisis?
• Who are the scapegoats stigmatized by hate speeches linked to this health crisis?

A limited amount of support relating to accommodations for presenters who participate in the on-site meetings at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto will be available. Travel grants may also be available but are not guaranteed. We intend to publish selected papers from the workshop as a journal special issue and/or an edited volume with a reputable academic press.

This workshop will be a hybrid event including on-site and online meetings, with the detailed format yet to be determined. We will provide the participants with full details with the notification of acceptance.

 

Submission Guidelines

Please email your proposal with a title, an abstract of not more than 500 words in MS Word to hatespeechworkshop@gmail.com, together with your _name, position, institutional affiliation and email address_ by January 5, 2021. (Authors will be notified of abstract acceptance by February 1, 2021). Selected authors will be requested to submit full papers by July 30, 2021.

Please do not hesitate to contact us (hatespeechworkshop@gmail.com) for any questions regarding this workshop.