Deadline: 15 April 2011
The Body in the Cinemas of South Asia
International Conference
Centre of Oriental Studies
Vilnius University
30 June – 2 July 2011
Call for papers:
From the 1950s, diplomatic relations between India and the USSR facilitated the circulation of Hindi films in Eastern Europe. Over the years this has produced a large contingent of Eastern European scholars of Indian cinemas whose work, however, has tended not to circulate outside the former Eastern bloc. The Centre of Oriental Studies of Vilnius University is pleased to announce the first conference on South Asian cinemas designed to bring together and promote dialogue between scholars based in Western European countries, Asia and the US, and scholars from Eastern Europe.
The subject of the conference is ‘the body’ in the Cinemas of South Asia.
The human body has long been an object of debate and research in the Humanities. It has also figured prominently in Indian culture for centuries. While a large number of studies exist on the history of the body and its representation in a range of South Asian arts, considerations of the body in South Asian cinemas are still few and far between. Notions of the body often inform much of the scholarship on cinema, including South Asian films. Rarely, however, has the subject been given full and direct consideration as a central dimension of South Asian cinemas.
Below is a list of topics and themes around which interested film scholars, film-makers and cinema professionals may give their presentations. The list is not exhaustive and is intended as a guide. We welcome suggestions and proposals on related topics.
We are particularly interested in papers focusing on popular South Asian cinemas and discussions of what ‘exploitation cinema’ is or might be in those industrial contexts.
• the body as ‘the material frame’ of humans and other animals;
• the symbolic significance of the body, the use of body as representation and the importance
of the body in metaphorical discourse;
• the relation between the body and the self;
• subjectivity and body language, body image and body management;
• parallels between the body and social structure: the body as the raw material which culture
forms and inscribes to create social differences;
• the religious importance of the king’s body to the continuity of social relations; the
fundamental centrality of the body to conceptions of religious power;
• the body as the site of tension and negotiations of notions of sex (the physical - anatomical,
biological and physiological - differentiation of reproductive functions) and gender (the
socio-cultural differentiation of male and female functions and roles);
• the representation of sexuality and/or its repression; cinematic images of a sexual nature,
their censorship and their exploitation; the filmic displacement of representations of sexual
desire;
• the historical subordination of the female body, viewed as the dangerous site of
uncontrolled female sexuality and desire; the containment of female sexuality as a means
to regulate social relations;
• the relation between the body and technology; technology’s potential to replace or enhance
bodily functions and parts, to channel and capitalise on the performance of the body and of
physical energy;
• the body in space; landscape and the body; violence and territorialism.
Abstracts of no more than 400 words should be sent to Valentina Vitali (v.vitali@uel.ac.uk) and Deimantas Valanciunas (deimantasval@gmail.com). Abstracts must include the participant’s name, institutional affiliation (if any) and contact information.
The language of the conference is English. The time allowed for presentations is 20 minutes.
The deadline for abstracts is 15 April 2011. There is no registration fee.
The conference venue is the Centre of Oriental Studies at Vilnius University, located in the heart of the old town. Founded in the 16th century, the University of Vilnius is the oldest and largest higher education institution in Lithuania. It can also be considered one of the oldest universities in Central and Eastern Europe. The Centre of Oriental Studies is the only educational and research institution in The Baltic States offering extensive Asia studies programs.
For more information, visit Vilnius University and the Centre of Oriental Studies websites at http://www.vu.lt/en/ and http://www.oc.vu.lt/en
More information here.
The Body in the Cinemas of South Asia
International Conference
Centre of Oriental Studies
Vilnius University
30 June – 2 July 2011
Call for papers:
From the 1950s, diplomatic relations between India and the USSR facilitated the circulation of Hindi films in Eastern Europe. Over the years this has produced a large contingent of Eastern European scholars of Indian cinemas whose work, however, has tended not to circulate outside the former Eastern bloc. The Centre of Oriental Studies of Vilnius University is pleased to announce the first conference on South Asian cinemas designed to bring together and promote dialogue between scholars based in Western European countries, Asia and the US, and scholars from Eastern Europe.
The subject of the conference is ‘the body’ in the Cinemas of South Asia.
The human body has long been an object of debate and research in the Humanities. It has also figured prominently in Indian culture for centuries. While a large number of studies exist on the history of the body and its representation in a range of South Asian arts, considerations of the body in South Asian cinemas are still few and far between. Notions of the body often inform much of the scholarship on cinema, including South Asian films. Rarely, however, has the subject been given full and direct consideration as a central dimension of South Asian cinemas.
Below is a list of topics and themes around which interested film scholars, film-makers and cinema professionals may give their presentations. The list is not exhaustive and is intended as a guide. We welcome suggestions and proposals on related topics.
We are particularly interested in papers focusing on popular South Asian cinemas and discussions of what ‘exploitation cinema’ is or might be in those industrial contexts.
• the body as ‘the material frame’ of humans and other animals;
• the symbolic significance of the body, the use of body as representation and the importance
of the body in metaphorical discourse;
• the relation between the body and the self;
• subjectivity and body language, body image and body management;
• parallels between the body and social structure: the body as the raw material which culture
forms and inscribes to create social differences;
• the religious importance of the king’s body to the continuity of social relations; the
fundamental centrality of the body to conceptions of religious power;
• the body as the site of tension and negotiations of notions of sex (the physical - anatomical,
biological and physiological - differentiation of reproductive functions) and gender (the
socio-cultural differentiation of male and female functions and roles);
• the representation of sexuality and/or its repression; cinematic images of a sexual nature,
their censorship and their exploitation; the filmic displacement of representations of sexual
desire;
• the historical subordination of the female body, viewed as the dangerous site of
uncontrolled female sexuality and desire; the containment of female sexuality as a means
to regulate social relations;
• the relation between the body and technology; technology’s potential to replace or enhance
bodily functions and parts, to channel and capitalise on the performance of the body and of
physical energy;
• the body in space; landscape and the body; violence and territorialism.
Abstracts of no more than 400 words should be sent to Valentina Vitali (v.vitali@uel.ac.uk) and Deimantas Valanciunas (deimantasval@gmail.com). Abstracts must include the participant’s name, institutional affiliation (if any) and contact information.
The language of the conference is English. The time allowed for presentations is 20 minutes.
The deadline for abstracts is 15 April 2011. There is no registration fee.
The conference venue is the Centre of Oriental Studies at Vilnius University, located in the heart of the old town. Founded in the 16th century, the University of Vilnius is the oldest and largest higher education institution in Lithuania. It can also be considered one of the oldest universities in Central and Eastern Europe. The Centre of Oriental Studies is the only educational and research institution in The Baltic States offering extensive Asia studies programs.
For more information, visit Vilnius University and the Centre of Oriental Studies websites at http://www.vu.lt/en/ and http://www.oc.vu.lt/en
More information here.
