CASA 2012 - 2012 Conference on Anthropology & Sustainability in Asia

The 2012 Conference on Anthropology & Sustainability in Asia will be held in Asia’s ‘City of Angels’: Bangkok, Thailand. CASA 2012 will provide a three-day interdisciplinary platform for scholars, researchers, policymakers, entrepreneurs, students, and practitioners. Set in the heart of Southeast Asia, Bangkok provides the ideal backdrop for a conference that will draw researchers and scholars from around Asia to discuss the importance of anthropology in regards to the CASA 2012 theme: Anthropological Perspectives on Holistic Sustainability.
Sustainability is a term of recent origin with widespread contemporary saliency. In its popular use, sustainability tends to focus mostly on issues of natural environment. The lens of environmental sustainability raises questions such as:
Can the natural world recover from damage caused by human activity at a rate faster than the damage is done?
Is the use of natural resources at a rate that is compatible with their regeneration?
What changes in human practice can lead to long-term availability of necessary natural resources?
Anthropological Perspectives on Holistic Sustainability will explore these and related questions, but in a way that considers sustainability beyond its ecological dimensions. Trends toward broader consideration of sustainability are in place. The World Bank and other governmental and non-governmental organizations have incorporated the concept of social sustainability into their approaches to development. The notion of a “triple bottom line” that considers profit, people and planet has entered the private sector discourse on sustainability. This conference considers the contributions that anthropology can make to expanding the horizons of sustainability.
CASA 2012 invites scholarly interactions among academics, researchers, doctoral students, and representatives from industry, as well as think tanks, non-profit / non-governmental organization professionals to submit proposals for 20 minute papers in English. Please submit a 300-word abstract and include (1) Full name, academic rank or job title, contact information, name of institution; (2) Full name, academic rank or job title, name of institution of co-authors; (3) Title of abstract/research paper; (4) a university or institution registered E-mail address. Proposals must be received by April 20th, 2012.
As the fields of anthropology and sustainability cross over into multiple areas and disciplines, authors are welcome to submit from a range of topics, perspectives, and disciplines. The range of research submissions may include conceptual, empirical, experimental, and case studies.