Panel presentation :

This panel is part of a set of four panels dealing with methodological issues. These panels aim to engage further reflection on new conceptual and methodological approaches dedicated to the study of Asian countries. This panel will deal with some major conceptual issues related to political theories (self-determination, liberalism etc.), culture, ethnicity, and nation symbols such as territory, ceremonies or rituals in several Asian countries (Vietnam, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, India). It will focus on the formulation and the reception of these concepts in colonial or nation building contexts. Drawing on different sources and approaches (linguistic, comparative political theory, anthropology, textual and visual exegesis), the four papers of this panel aim to shed new insight on Western and local influences in the process of formulation, appropriation and adaptation of these concepts in a particular national context. They will discuss conceptual dichotomies such as premodernity/modernity, domination/resistance, cultural transfer/indigenization. Among the cross-cutting issues of this panel, special attention will be devoted to the difficulty for the researcher to grasp the real scope of local and Western contributions to many cultural, social, and political concepts commonly used in Asian countries. Due to socio-historical and ideological factors, it is indeed a challenging task to clarify the intertwined influences upon which concepts or theories were forged and evolved. Through the reassessment of their historical roots, each paper of this panel will reflect on broader aspects, such as links between conceptualization and colonisation, as well as between conceptualization and nation-building process.