Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2002 18:25:25 +1000
Subject: SPOON-ANN: Call for conference papers: conference on benevolence


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Please circulate as widely as possible.  Thanks,

Helen Gilbert
Postcolonial Research Unit
School of English, Media Studies and Art History
University of Queensland
QLD  Australia  4072
Ph: 61 7 3365 1445
Fax: 61 7 3365 2799


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Burden, Benefit, Trace?
The Legacies of Benevolence

UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND ­ BRISBANE
11-14 DECEMBER 2003

Long before Rudyard Kipling urged his readers to Œtake up the white man¹s
burden,¹ benevolence was integral to cultural domination, whether through
the formal structures of empire, or through associated charitable activities
such as the provision of medical aid, education, or missions. As the rise of
the middle classes and the emphasis on Puritan conscience increasingly
replaced the notion of aristocratic patronage and noblesse oblige,
Œbenevolence¹ functioned as an umbrella term under which imperial and
neo-imperial domination, particularly cultural domination, were rationalised
and promoted within government and among the subjects of empire. For the
British, the Œburden of benevolence¹ and the work of Œcivilising¹ were seen
as differentiating their own from other European imperial enterprises. To a
certain extent, a similar self-perception is evident now in the policies and
practices of the contemporary world¹s dominant imperial power, the United
States. This conference will consider benevolence, and representations of
benevolence, in a wide variety of forms. Papers on the following topics will
be welcomed:

-> Anthropology and academic study
-> Culture
-> Ecology and Environment
-> Education and training
-> Governance and administration
-> History
-> Literary representation
-> Medicine and welfare
-> Migration and resettlement
-> Military and police activity
-> Religion and missionary activity
-> Trade and commerce

For updates and further information, see the conference website:
http://emsah.uq.edu.au/conferences/benevolence-2003/

Abstracts should be sent electronically by 30 April 2003 to
Helen Gilbert ­ H.Gilbert-AT-uq.edu.au
Leigh Dale ­ L.Dale-AT-uq.edu.au