The 2013 Conference on Anthropology & Sustainability in Asia »

Anthropological Perspectives on Holistic Sustainability

CASA 2013 will be held at The Landmark Bangkok Hotel
Bangkok, Thailand
December 18-20, 2013

The 2013 Conference on Anthropology & Sustainability in Asia will be held in Asia’s ‘City of Angels’: Bangkok, Thailand. CASA 2013 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 2013 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 2013 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. 

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.

CASA 2013 Senior Adviser and CASA Founding Chair

Dr Matthew Krystal, PhD (Tulane University, USA) Department of Sociology & Anthropology North Central College (USA)

Matthew Krystal describes himself as a cultural anthropologist, working with living people to study the concept of culture and people’s behavior in their cultures and believes that in an increasingly globalized world, understanding human diversity is crucial and anthropology addresses cultural, economic and political dimensions of diversity. Most recently, Dr Krystal published a book on the enactment of identity in dance: Indigenous Dance and Dancing Indian.

Apart from teaching anthropology and conducting research, Dr Krystal also serves as an adviser to the Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) program at North Central College in which his students spend two weeks in Guatemala working with local coffee growers to have a rare look at the end result of their labor.

CASA 2013 Conference Vice Chairperson

Dr Kevin S.Y. Tan, PhD (University of Alberta, Canada)                                                  Community Leadership and Social Development Programme SIM University (Singapore)

Kevin S.Y. Tan is a cultural anthropologist and currently overseeing the master’s programme in Community Leadership and Social Development at SIM University, Singapore. He completed his bachelor’s and master’s education at the National University of Singapore before moving on to his doctoral programme at the University of Alberta, Canada, which he completed in 2008. Prior to his current appointment at SIM University, he has taught at the National University of Singapore, the Singapore Management University and Temasek Polytechnic. His research and teaching interests include social gerontology, religion, sociolinguistic issues and social stratification.

Apart from his academic pursuits, he occasionally strives towards self-actualization by being a weekend gamer of massive multiplayer online games and practises Shito-ryu Karate to slow the rate of his expanding waistline.

CASA 2013 Vice Chairperson Assistant Professor Claudio Delang, PhD (National University Singapore) Department of Geography Hong Kong Baptist University (Hong Kong SAR)

CASA 2013 affiliates include,

CASA 2013 Advisory Committee