Call for papers: Body and Sexuality in Context: East and West, Ancient and Modern, ACLA Seminar

Approaching the issue in a Foucauldian vein, this seminar operates on the assumption that body is more than a physical entity; rather, body should be considered as a cultural and social presence. Likewise, as a cultural construct, sexuality is constantly and often heavily contested in its respective social context. By bringing together a set of research papers from different genres, this seminar aims at exploring various literary expressions of and reflections on body and sexuality in different literatures. Attention will be directed to how social norms and discourses on body and sexuality are constructed, modified, de-constructed, and/or reconstructed.

The questions this seminar is interested in discussing include but are not limited to the following:

How does body get problematized in its particular social and cultural circumstances? In which way does social discourse conflict with or exert influence upon physical desires? What are the genealogies/trajectories of certain concepts on body? How does discourse on body and sexuality shape certain literary expressions?

This seminar invites papers and participation from scholars of different disciplines. It is particularly interested in reaching out to the scholars in the field of Chinese Studies. If interested, please send an abstract of around 250 words to Leihua Weng at wengla[at]plu[dot]edu by Oct. 10. You will be asked to submit your abstract on the website of ACLA by Oct. 15 (the official deadline).