CFP The Body in Asia, NUS Singapore, 12-13 April 2007

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Forwarded from H-ASIA

June 20, 2006

 

Call for papers: The Body in Asia, National University of Singapore,

Asian Research Institute, 12-13 April, 2007

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H-Net Announcements <announce

 

The Body in Asia

 

Location: Singapore

Call for Papers Deadline: 2006-09-01

Date Submitted: 2006-06-14

Announcement ID: 151622

 

Why " The Body in Asia "

 

The body is both human cosmos and culture canvas. It has been used by

many peoples, religions and political regimes to identify themselves,

to express their beliefs, and to launch social movements. In other

words, many socio-cultural and political phenomena and problems

manifest themselves through the body. Although the study of the body

has flourished in the West in the twentieth century as is evident

from the works of Marcel Mauss to Mary Douglas, it has not really

started in Asia. Yet, the Asian field is exceptionally rich because

Asia is home to many religions and to a host of rich body cultures.

The peoples and political regimes of East, Southeast and South Asia

have experienced colonisation, decolonisation and now globalisation.

All this makes " the body in Asia " a rich mine for us to dig. As such,

ARI is initiating and steering the study of the body in the Asian

context.

 

We are calling for an international conference to which we can bring

the first wave of Asian scholars who have explored the body as a

topic of research. We want to explore a variety of ways in which

East, Southeast and South Asianists can, learning from the works done

by Western scholars, undertake the study of the body. The conference

will focus on three themes and we invite paper proposals focusing on

the following themes:

 

 

Sociological (fashions, food culture, weight-loss, tattoos, health

fads and cosmetics)

 

Religious (the sacred, purity, transgression, cleanliness and so forth)

 

Artistic (dance, performance, martial arts, and representation).

 

We wish to invite papers from East, Southeast and South Asian

historians, sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists and

religious studies experts. While the conference wishes to provide up-

to-date, comprehensive analyses of the various ways the body has been

studies, it also hopes to contribute to the wider literature on

religious globalisation and politics in the modern world. We hope to

publish most if not all conference papers in a volume tentatively

titled " The Body in Asia "

 

 

Manjit Kaur

Asia Research Institute

Shaw Foundation Building, Block AS7, Level 4,

5 Arts Link, Singapore 117570

Phone: (65) 6516 4820

Fax: (65) 6779 1428

Email: arimkks

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ED NOTE: The notice as posted does not provide the date of the

conference. A check of the ARI website informs that the event is

planned for April 12 and 13,

2007. FFC