ISVS-13 Seminar 2024: 5 more days extended for Abstract submissions until 20th July 2024

ISVS 13 will be held in Sri Lanka. It is hosted by the Asian School of Knowledge in partnership with the University of Moratuwa which also hosted the ISVS-5 in 2008. The seven themes include a session on all aspects of the Vernacular Settlements: Traditions, Culture, Rituals, Performances & indeed Architecture, in addition to the main theme on cultural heritage.

ISVS-13 Seminar will be in an apt location in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The buildings have been designed by the world renowned Sri Lankan architect Geoffery Bawa, employing the language of traditional Sri Lankan Architecture. This location provides the right atmosphere to engage in conversations about the role of vernacular traditions in the modern world. Some of the participants will have accomodation in the premises itself, and will be able to enjoy both Sri Lankan hospitality as well as the exotic Sri Lankan natural landscape. It will be a great place to be in 2024. It is hybrid and will have both in-person and online sessions. Nevertheless, do make it a point to be 'in-person' to avail this great opportunity to be among the other scholars and to stay in a place with lush green landscape designed by Geoffery Bawa.

Understanding and Documenting Cultural Heritage for a Culturally-Anchored Future:

Historical Vernacular and the Contemporary Settlements

ISVS 13 will be held from 28th -30th November in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on the theme 'Understanding and Documenting Cultural Heritage for a Culturally-Anchored Future: Historical Vernacular and the Contemporary Settlements.' Sri Lanka is full of Vernacular Settlements, Historical Sites, Wild life, Beaches and Nature. There is no better place to continue the journey of ISVS than Sri Lanka, after the cyclones in Thailand, with its breath-taking Nature and unmatched-hospitality. Sri Lanka is one of the world's best places to visit. We invite you to come to Sri Lanka, present your paper and enjoy the great places, food, Nature and culture.

We look forward to seeing you in Sri Lanka in November 2024.

The Theme

Vernacular and Cultural Heritage go hand in hand. On the one hand, vernacular is undeniably a significant cultural heritage. On the other hand, cultural heritage exists everywhere including in the vernacular settlements. Whatever the case may be, cultural heritage has a significant role to play both in the present and the future of the human settlements. That is because Man is a social and cultural being and his existence requires him to be both socially and culturally anchored in a geographical space. Erase his cultural anchor, and he is going to be an uprooted wonderer, as the case of the Australian aborigines have clearly demonstrated, when uprooted from his abode by the Migrant settlers. To identify, conserve and articulate such cultural heritage, it must be first understood. The deeper meanings they carry have to be revealed and symbolic meanings have to be enriched. Indeed, both the present settlements as well as the future settlements would be poorer without such cultural heritage being layered underneath the communities inhabiting those settlement landscapes. Among many things that need to be done to identify, conserve and articulate cultural heritage, they must first be understood and documented. The ISVS-13 seminar invites the scholars dealing with vernacular settlements and cultural heritage to explore the numerous ways and means of documenting cultural heritage. These may include oral, verbal as well as manual documentations, not to mention other means such as buildings and structures, manuscripts and traditional ways of keeping the memories of such heritage alive along with the most modern digital technologies. Accordingly, following themes are suggested, but the papers are not limited to these themes. Other innovative papers can also be suggested.

Theme 1: Oral documentation of cultural heritage

Theme 2: Verbal and written documentation of cultural heritage

Theme 3: Manual documentations of cultural heritage

Theme 4: Buildings as documentations of cultural heritage

Theme 5: Digital ways of documentation of cultural heritage

Theme 6: Documentation, Power and Institutions

Theme 7: Vernacular Traditions, Culture, Rituals, Performances & Architecture

Theme 1: Oral documentation of cultural heritage

Under this theme, papers that deal with oral documentations such as songs, poems, stories and other narratives can be presented.

Theme 2: Verbal and written documentation of cultural heritage

Under this theme, papers that deal with written documentations such as manuscripts, books, newspapers, letters, public announcements, deeds, or any other form of written documentations of cultural heritage can be presented.

Theme 3: Manual documentations of cultural heritage

Under this theme, manual documentations involving drawings, cartoons, paintings and other media documentations can be presented.

Theme 4: Buildings as documentations of cultural heritage

While buildings themselves are a form of cultural heritage, buildings can also be seen as having recorded the histories of events and places. Under this theme, such interpretations can be presented.

Theme 5: Digital ways of documentation of cultural heritage

Under this theme, modern digital ways of documentations of cultural heritage can be presented.

Theme 6: Documentation, Power and Institutions

Under this theme, the role of institutions in negotiating the complex social and political aspects as related to documentation within the act of documenting any cultural heritage can be presented. It is understood that documenting is not a value neutral one and is loaded with questions of power, transmission of knowledge and control over people and practices. They can be reflected upon here.

An Invitation to Participate

Those who are interested in participating in the ISVS-13 under one or more of these themes are requested to submit first a 300 word long abstract, introducing the issue, the way the data was collected and what conclusions were drawn from the research. The abstracts are reviewed by the ISVS Review Panel and if approved, the authors will be asked to produce the final papers and submit them for presentation at the seminar.

Publication

All the papers presented at the seminar will be published in the ISVS e-journal, after subsequent development, review and revisions.

Please send the paper proposal abstracts to conference@isvshome.com or ranjithdayaratne@gmail.com using the template as noted below.

ISVS13 Abstract Template

Submission Deadlines

Seminar announcement: 30th May 2024

Submission of Abstracts: 20th July 2024

Approval of Abstracts: 30th July 2024

Submission of Full Papers: 15th September 2024

Review of Full papers: 30th September 2024

Final Submission of papers: 15th October 2024

Please send the final paper only to conference@isvshome.com prepared using the template as noted below.

ISVS13 Template for Final Papers

Date of Seminar: 28th to 30th November 2024

Conference Fee

Local: 100 USD for a presenter 30000.00 Rs.

Local: 50 USD for an attendee - 15000.00 Rs.

Foreign: 150 USD for the main participant presenter

Foreign: 100 USD for an attendee

Accomodation Options

Modest accomodation is available on-site for 40 participants on a first-come, first-served basis at a modest price. Similar other accomodation is availabe close to the venue. A number of luxury accomodation in 3 star and 5 star hotel are available within 2-3 of the venue. KM We will let you know the details soon.

Contact

For any inquiries, please contact Ranjith Dayaratne at ranjithdayaratne@gmail.com or conference@isvshome.com