"Chinese Diaspora in Latin America & the Caribbean:An International
Conference of the ISSCO"
Date: Friday-Sunday, December 10-12, 1999
Place: University of Havana, Havana, Cuba
Languages: English and Spanish (two-waytranslation)
Conf. Hosts: Universidad de la Habana (founded1728)
University of California, Berkeley(founded 1866)
Grupo Promotor del Barrio Chino,Havana
Casino Chung Wah, Havana
BACKGROUND
Since 1992, ISSCO ( International Society for the
Study of Chinese Overseas), an international scholarly
organization, has been sponsoring international
conferences on the Chinese diaspora in different parts
of the world. The conferences to date have focused
primarily on the Chinese in countries in Southeast
Asia, North America, and Australia and the scholarship
reflects similar tendencies. For this reason, ISSCO
has decided to hold this year's regional conference on
the Chinese in countries in Latin America and the
Caribbean. The conference, however, still welcomes
scholars from throughout the world and accepts
scholarly papers covering all aspects of the Chinesediaspora.
CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES
Since this is the very first international conference
devoted predominantly to the Chinese diaspora in Latin
America and the Caribbean, it will have four rathergeneral objectives:
to establish preliminary contacts and communications
between Chinese communities throughout Latin America
and the Caribbean region on the one hand and the
Chinese communities throughout the world on the otherhand;
to solicit both scholarly papers and community reports
and studies on Chinese communities throughout the
region, especially their history, race relations,
community development, and cultural transformation.
However, papers on Chinese in other parts of the world
and on global and transnationl issues involving the
Chinese diaspora are also welcome;to promote lasting dialogues and exchanges
of information and scholarship throughout the Americas;
and to explore new areas and frontiers of research on the
Chinese diaspora in Latin America, the Caribbean, and throughout the world.
The conference will open on Friday, December 10 at the
University of Havana and end on Sunday morning,
December 12. The Sunday morning session will be
devoted to research issues on the Chinese in Latin
America, designed for scholars with interested in this area of research.
LANGUAGES
English and Spanish will be the official languages of
the conference. Translation will be provided in all
plenary sessions and in select concurrent sessions.
REGISTRATION
The registration fee for the three-day conference is
US$150, to be paid on-site in cash. (This is a
requirement of our conference hosts). The registration
fee will cover the conference materials, translation,
coffee breaks, receptions, lunches and dinners during the conference).
To help plan the conference smoothly, we ask everyone
planning to attend the conference to register first by
e-mail with Conference Co-chair L. Ling-chi Wang at
the University of California, Berkeley OR by
completing a registration form to be distributed soon.
The Berkeley Office will communicate and coordinate with the Havana Office.
HOTEL ACCOMMODATION
Since this is the first time such a conference is
organized in the region of Latin America, the
conference sponsors are finalizing one-week hotel
packages for conference participants who want to take
advantage of the conference to learn more about the
Chinese Cuban community and Cuban history, culture and
society and to do some sight-seeing and recreational
activities. We are aiming at three different prices:
low, medium and high. Preliminary estimated price
range for these packages of 7 nights is somewhere
between US$150 to $600, including breakfast. Details
of these packages will be distributed as soon as theyare finalized.
TRAVEL TO & FROM CUBA
All international participants are to make their own
travel arrangements to and from Cuba and to secure the
necessary travel documents. Please note that the
preferred currency for visitors to Cuba is the U.S.
dollars. Many hotels, restaurants, and shops for
foreign visitors accept only U.S. currency. Cuba does
have regular currency exchanges with Canada, Mexico,
many European and Latin American countries and
selected credit cards can be used in some
establishments in Cuba. However, it is safer and more
convenient to travel with U.S. currency.
Since the U.S. does not have diplomatic relations with
Cuba, all U.S. participants in this conference must
seek formal approval to travel to Cuba from the U.S.
government. The University of California, Berkeley
will petition on behalf of all U.S. participants for
their licenses from the U.S. Department of Treasury
and make travel arrangements to and from Cuba.
PAPER PROPOSALS & ROUND-TABLE DISCUSSIONS (in Englishor Spanish)
The Havana conference particularly welcomes research
papers and community reports on any aspects of the
Chinese diaspora in countries in the Caribbean and
Latin America. In addition, the conference also
welcomes research papers and community reports on
Chinese in countries throughout the world and papers
on transnational and comparative issues affecting the
Chinese. The conference program committee will also
accept panel proposals based on a country, region, or
transnational topics. Chinese Community leaders are
particular welcome to participate in Round-table
Discussions on contemporary lives of the various
Chinese communities throughout the world.
All proposals must be submitted to the Conference
Program Committee, co-chaired by Prof. L. Ling-chi
Wang of the University of California, Berkeley and Dr.
Eduardo Torres-Cuevas, presidente de la Casa de Altos
Estudios Don Fernando Ortiz, Universidad de La Habana.
Please send all proposals to:
L. Ling-chi Wang, chair Department of Ethnic Studies University of
California Berkeley, California 94720-2570, U.S.A.
E-mail: LCWang@uclink4.berkeley.edu Fax: 510-642-6456.
Dr. Eduardo Torres-Cuevas, Presidente Casa de Altos Estudios Don Fernando
Ortiz Universidad de La Habana
Ly 27, Vedado, C. de La Habana, Cuba.
E-mail: Ltabares@rect.uh.cu Fax: (537) 33-5737
Note: Since communication resources, including
telecommunication and internet access, are still
limited in Cuba, the Conference Committee asks that
all communications be directed to the Berkeley Office
in the U.S. The Berkeley Office will then communicate
and coordinate with the Havana Office.
POST-CONFERENCE VISITS
Havana was once the political, financial and cultural
center of the Americas before New York assumed its
current status. It is rich in history, architecture,
arts, and culture. The Chinese community was
established in June 1847 when the first ship arrived
from China with several hundred Chinese contract
laborers. Soon about 200,000 Chinese were brought into
Cuban plantations to replace the emancipated African
slaves by Spain. There are Chinese historic sites on
the island. The mistreatment of the Chinese in Cuban
plantations was notorious, prompting even the impotent
Qing government to appoint the Cuba Commission, headed
by diplomat Chen Lan-bin in 1874 to investigate their
mistreatment in the Cuban plantations. Chen's report,
The Cuba Commission Report, originally published in
1876, was re-published 1993 by the Johns Hopkins
University Press (Baltimore, Maryland, USA) with a new
introduction by Denise Helly of Canada.
Chinese Cuban community is visible, although most
Chinese are now blended into the Cuban population
through intermarriages. Havana Chinatown, in disrepair
for years, is now being revived. You will have an
opportunity to meet from both the new and oldChinatown.
Cuba, therefore, has many historic sites and beautiful
beaches for visitors. Havana also has many
architectural wonders and world-class performing arts,
from classical ballet to Afro-Cuban jazz, are
plentiful and accessible. Chinese martial arts andmedicine are quite
popular.
TENTATIVE CONFERENCE PROGRAM
see ISSCO Website:
http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~ethnicst/ISSCO (underconstruction)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
L. Ling-chi Wang, Chair Tel.510-642-7439 (Direct)
Department of Ethnic Studies510-643-0796 (Message) 506 Barrows
Hall
510-642-6555 (Message) University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-2570 U.S.A. Fax:510-642-6456
E-Mail:lcwang@uclink4.berkeley.eduAPAHE Conf. Info:
http://socrates.berkeley.edu/`ethnics/apahe/main.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com