Panel

CALL FOR PAPERS: EUROSEAS CONFERENCE, 26-28 August 2010, Gothenburg, Sweden

Managing Social Relationships in Southeast Asia: Friendships, Business Contacts, and Support Networks
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Panel convenors:  Dr. Kirsten W. Endres, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle (Saale), and Eric Heuser, University of Freiburg

Social relationships are an inherent part of human life and have multiple functions and meanings across cultures. They may be based on kinship ties or intimate friendship, on political alliances or economic transactions, on patron-client obligations or mutual support. Not only are they essential for the continuation of families and lineages and for coping with the challenges and vicissitudes of everyday life, but they may also be employed to negotiate power and status within a community, to provide safety nets and social security, and to lubricate important business dealings. Rather than being clearly drawn, however, the boundaries between these different types of social relations must be seen as fluid and situational.
The objective of this panel is to explore the “art” of managing interpersonal relationships in different parts of Southeast Asia, and analyze various social practices by which complex webs of social relations, including family members, business partners, friends, patrons, etc., are produced and maintained. In particular, we would like to discuss the intersections and boundary-crossings between various social spaces and types of interpersonal relations. We invite contributions from a variety of disciplines dealing with (but not limited to) the following questions:

• How is “friendship” conceptualized in different parts of Southeast Asia? What are the rules and practices of friendship?
• What role do informal relationships play in the business world? To which degree are market activities embedded in local (and global) support networks?
• To which extent are social relationships embedded in and shaped by institutional and political contexts? To which extent are they gender specific?
• How do different types of social relationships relate to each other, and how and when do they intersect? In which socio-cultural discourses are they embedded?
• What kind of social relationships are thought to be important and useful in particular situational contexts, and how are they employed?
• What are the major areas of conflict in cross-cultural social relationships (business contacts, intimate relationships, etc.)?

We invite interested participants to send abstracts of their papers (250 words) and a short biographical note to the panel convenors (endres[at]eth.mpg.de; EA.Heuser[at]web.de) by January 31, 2010.