Contemporary Women’s Writing: (Wo)Man and the Body
11-13 July 2012
Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
‘Bodies have all the explanatory power of minds. Indeed, for feminist purposes, the focus on bodies, bodies in their concrete specificities, has the added bonus of inevitably raising the question of sexual difference that mind does not’ – Elizabeth Grosz, Volatile Bodies: Towards a Corporeal Feminism (1994)
It is in order to raise the question of sexual difference that women must construct a textual space to allow their bodies to be heard. Textual representations of corporeal specificities and the various inscriptions on raced, classed, gendered and sexualised bodies have always been central to women’s writing. The study of bodily discourses and the affective responses of the body to physical environments and societal mandates are also central to feminist literary scholarship. In view of the significance of corporeality in women’s textual productions, the Contemporary Women’s Writing Association and Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures of National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan invite submissions of papers on the theme of ‘(Wo)Man and the Body’ for the fourth international conference on contemporary women’s writing, to be held in Taipei from 11th to 13th July 2012.
Papers and panels in English are sought on all genres of literary and popular writing since the 1970s, including fiction, poetry, plays, autobiography, travel writing, graphic novels etc. in any language. Papers and panels are also sought on the relation of this writing to theory, criticism and teaching. Please note that all presenters are required to be members of the Contemporary Women’s Writing Association (http://www.the-cwwa.org/). Possible topics might include: bodies and bio-politics; bodies and environment; bodies and identities; bodies and migration; bodies and sexualities; bodies and space; bodies and spirituality; bodies and textuality; bodies and work; the medicalisation of bodies; (post)human bodies.
Selected papers will be published in a special issue of Contemporary Women’s Writing (an AHCI journal published by Oxford University Press)
SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS OR PANEL PROPOSALS
E-mail the conference contact person (below) with the following information:
Your full name as you would like it to appear in the conference booklet
Contact information (e-mail and mailing address)
A short biography including academic affiliation and area(s) of study
A 250-word abstract in MS Word (doc or docx) format
Any audiovisual equipment required
DEADLINES
Applications and abstracts: 20 September 2011 (a newly extended deadline)
Notification of acceptance: 30 September 2011
CONTACT PERSON:
Dr. Pin-chia Feng Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures National Chiao Tung University Hsin-chu, Taiwan
E-mail: cww2012.taiwan@gmail.com
CONFERENCE VENUE: International Conference Hall of Center for Condensed Matter Sciences National Taiwan University Taipei, Taiwan
For young international scholars: dorm-rate accommodations available.
