CFP: Workshop on New Insights on Chinese Legal Culture and History

Via H-Law, we have word of the following CFP:

Dear Colleagues,

We are organizing a workshop or a small conference to discuss and
publicize the most recent and exciting scholarship on history of Chinese
law & society and legal culture, tentatively entitled “Origins and
Transformation of Chinese Legal Modernity: New Inquiries and New
Insights,” currently scheduled in August 2012 at Columbia University. We
are looking for works based on original methodology, original analysis, or
significant findings informed by new sources in this area. While more
established scholars with novel topics or insights are always welcome,
younger scholars in the field, including recent Ph.D. or advanced Ph.D.
candidates, are particularly encouraged to submit a proposal for
consideration.

We have secured funding to cover most of the reasonable cost of travel and
local accommodation for those participants whose proposals are selected,
but participants are also strongly encouraged to seek other funds to cover
or defray their expenses. Those with their own funding should indicate
that when submitting proposals. Potential participants should submit an
abstract of 500 to 1000 words describing the topic, research question or
methodology, types of archives/sources (to be) used, major arguments (if
available now), and how it can shed new light on or contribute to the
study of Chinese legal history and legal culture in relation to the theme
of the workshop. An outline and update about the proposed paper will be
due twelve weeks before the workshop. A fairly developed draft paper will
be due and distributed among the participants six weeks before the
workshop in order to allow the participants to extensively discuss and
critique at the workshop itself.

The organizers plan to publish one or possibly two volumes of the research
papers which will be selected not just for their internal quality but also
for their fit with the other papers of the volume. Another workshop is
planned in Toronto in 2012-2013 if the funding is secured. One of our
goals is to produce a publication that can be used as a much-needed
textbook for related courses.

The preliminary deadline for the workshop proposals is August 20, 2011,
although we will consider proposals on a rolling basis starting from early
July. We will strive to inform the funded participants within four weeks
of deadline.

Workshop Organizers:
Prof. Madeleine Zelin, Dean Lung Professor of Chinese Studies and
Professor of History at Columbia University

Prof. Li Chen, Assistant Professor of History and Global Asia Studies at
the University of Toronto

Please email your inquiry or proposal to: lc2069@gmail.com.