Announcement

Organised by
Social Science Baha, Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies, Britain–Nepal Academic Council, Centre for South Asian and Himalayan Studies–CNRS & Nepal Academic Network (Japan)

CALL FOR PAPERS
The Thirteenth Annual Kathmandu Conference on Nepal and the Himalaya
24–26 July 2024

Proposals are invited for stand-alone papers or three-paper panels. The papers can deal with any aspect of life in Nepal and the Himalaya from the perspective of the social sciences, arts, and humanities. Papers can also be comparative so long as Nepal or the Himalaya, broadly defined, are also included. The language of the conference is English.

Papers
Interested individuals are asked to submit an abstract not exceeding 500 words (excluding the bibliography) along with a one-page CV in the template provided here.

Panels
Individuals or institutions can propose three-paper panels to provide a variety of perspectives on a particular theme.

Proposals for panels should consist of the name of the convenor of the panel; the topic, and a brief description of the panel; the three papers to be presented with titles; and abstracts not exceeding 500 words for each paper (excluding the bibliography) along with a one-page CV for everyone in the panel in the template provided here. The proposed chair and discussant(s) should also be listed along with the submission and their prior permission sought.

Note on panel proposals: The organisers would like to request panels that are part of research projects, with funds allocated for activities such as dissemination, to contribute extra funds beyond the registration fees to the conference. Such contributions would help reduce the loss that Social Science Baha has been incurring every year in organising the conference.

Poster
The conference has also been inviting submissions for poster presentations since 2019. Interested individuals/institutions are asked to submit an abstract not exceeding 1000 words (excluding the bibliography) along with a one-page CV for everyone involved in the presentation in the template provided here. Depending upon the number of submissions, we will have a separate poster presentation session this year for increased interaction and engagement. The responsibility of putting up the presentation, including all logistics, shall lie with the individual/institution submitting the proposal.

Submissions have to be emailed to conference@soscbaha.org by 15 January 2024. Participants will be notified by 15 February 2024.

Since the Conference Organising Committee will be making its evaluation on the basis of the following three criteria – i) research question/hypothesis, ii) methodology, and iii) outline/structure of paper – submissions are required to follow the same format.

The length of the final paper is expected to be around 5000 words and the papers are due on
1 July 2024 for advance distribution to all registered participants via a designated Google Drive Folder.

All participants, including the panel chairs and discussants proposed, will be required to register to attend the conference. Participants are expected to make their own arrangements for travel and accommodation and those requiring a letter of support to seek travel grants to attend the conference can write to the Conference Secretariat.

The structure of registration fees is as follows:

Participants whose papers are selected will be required to register for the conference by 30 April 2024 to ensure inclusion of their paper in the conference. Details on modes of payment will be provided at a later date.

The Conference Organising Committee consists of two representatives each from the five co-organising bodies.

Dates to remember

1.         Submission deadline for abstracts and panels: 15 January 2024
2.         Notification of paper and panel acceptance: 15 February 2024
3.         Deadline for registration by paper presenters: 30 April 2024
4.         Final papers due: 1 July 2024
5.         Conference dates: 24–26, July 2024

Conference Secretariat

The Annual Kathmandu Conference on Nepal and the Himalaya
Social Science Baha
345 Ramchandra Marg, Battisputali, Kathmandu – 9, Nepal
Phone: 977-1-4472807 | conference@soscbaha.org

Please also note the future conference dates
2025:    23–25 July
2026:    29–31 July