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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From: 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