Venue: University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Cultures are the reflection of constant blending, the very movement of the world. The term "métis" comes from Iberian and originally referred to the blending of Christian, Moslem and Jewish populations in the Peninsula. The term "métissage" is the "cultural exchange" of representations whose values change and adjust depending on the period, country and disciplinary approach. The term "Mestizo" has no English equivalent and in the South African context, the definition of "Coloured" has experienced many variations. From being synonymous with the mixing of races during the 19th century, "métissage" no longer only denotes a blending of peoples but also mixing of arts, thoughts, knowledge and cultures.
"By "métissage", we do not necessarily mean the emergence of a mixed culture, in other words, the fusion and hybridization of "identities", or what J. L. Amselle defines as "a mixture whose parts are impossible to distinguish". Before being a result, "Métissage" is a movement and a dynamic and creative process of the middle kingdom [the environment but also the middle space] which, through exchange, borrowing and reinvention, generates cultural traits or behaviours that are the result of fusion but at the same time, originality. These creations out of the middle space, whether lasting or momentary, profound or superficial, stabilizing or traumatic, are nonetheless all signs of permanent "métissage". (Gilles Harvard, Empire et Métissages, Indiens et Français dans le Pays d'en Haut 1600-1715, Paris, Septentrion, 2003, pp 44-45).
The purpose of the conference is to encourage thought, from a multi-disciplinary point of view, on the mixing of cultures that have formed the movement of our world. It is directed at political scientists, historians, geographers, sociologists, economists, linguists, jurists, literature specialists, anthropologists, philosophers, etc. In theory, we are open to any approach but will give priority to original subjects and slants. The theme will not be limited historically or geographically so as not to exclude works on ancient and contemporary worlds and on familiar or distant lands. Submissions may consist of case studies to open theoretical discussion.
The conference will be structured around three main areas: The genesis of métissage; Métissages, hybridization and otherness; Métissages and globalization
