We are assembling a 90-minute Organised Panel for the AAS-in-Asia 2026 conference at the Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan (25–27 September 2026) held under the theme “Centering Asia: Refiguring Connections, Recharting Futures.”
Currently, we are looking for 1-2 papers for our Panel: “Two Wheels, Many Asias: Bicycles, Power, and Everyday Modernities across Asia”.
Our proposed session explores how the bicycle as an unassuming yet transformative technology, reshaped mobility, governance, and everyday life across diverse Asian contexts. We invite contributions that investigate the social and cultural dimensions of cycling, from its regulation and circulation to its roles in shaping class, gender, and aspiration.
Possible angles include:
- Policing, regulation, and the governance of mobility
- Bicycles, labour, and social hierarchy
- Advertising, trade networks, and repair economies
- Cycling clubs, leisure, and respectability
- Visual and material cultures of cycling
We particularly welcome archival, visual, and material-based studies that address connections across regions such as South, Southeast, and East Asia.
Confirmed participants: Teuku Reza Fadeli (Universitas Indonesia / KITLV Leiden) and Harald Fischer-Tiné (ETH Zürich). We are now looking for one or two additional presenters to complete the line-up.
Please send a brief abstract (≤ 200 words), a paper title, and a 50-word bio (with affiliation and email) by 5 November 2025.
The full proposal will be submitted to AAS by 13 November 2025.
For queries or to express interest, contact:
Teuku Reza Fadeli (teukureza@ui.ac.id) and Harald Fischer-Tiné (harald.fischertine@gess.ethz.ch).
Contact Information
Teuku Reza Fadeli, PhD (University of York).
Visiting Fellow | KITLV/Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies
Lecturer, Department of History | Universitas Indonesia
Contact Email: teukureza@ui.ac.id
