Conference Announcements

announcements about conferences, workshops, and colloquia in modern Chinese cultural studies

Trans Asia Photography–cfp

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Greetings,

Trans Asia Photography invites submissions for a general issue, Volume 13, no. 2 (Fall 2023). The journal examines all aspects of photographic history, theory, and practice by centering images in or of Asia, conceived as a territory, network, and cultural imaginary. It welcomes:

  • articles (5,000–7,000 words) that broaden understanding of Asian photography in transnational contexts
  • shorter pieces (1,000–2,000 words) in formats that include interviews, curatorial or visual essays, and portfolios

Deadline for research articles and shorter pieces: October 31, 2022.

Trans Asia Photography is an international, refereed, open-access journal based at the University of Toronto and published by Duke University Press. It provides a venue for interdisciplinary exploration of photography and Asia.

Guidance for authors on submissions can be found at: transasiaphotography.org/submit

For more information, contact the editors: transasiaphotography@gmail.com
The TAP Editorial Team
Deepali Dewan, Royal Ontario Museum & University of Toronto
Yi Gu. University of Toronto
Thy Phu, University of Toronto
transasiaphotography.org

Ming Qing Studies 2023–cfp

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Call for Papers: Ming Qing Studies 2023
edited by Paolo Santangelo (Sapienza University of Rome)

We are glad to inform you that the new edition of Ming Qing Studies 2022 will be published by WriteUp Books before the end of this year (see table of contents below).

Applicants are encouraged to submit abstracts for the next issues of Ming Qing Studies. The contributions should concern Ming-Qing China in one or few of its most significant and multifaceted aspects, as well as on East Asian countries covering the same time period. All articles will be examined by our qualified peer reviewers. We welcome creative and fresh approaches to the field of Asian studies. Particularly appreciated will be the contributions on anthropological and social history, collective imagery, and interdisciplinary approaches to the Asian cultural studies. All submitted papers must be original and in good British English style according to our guidelines and editorial rules. Please email an abstract (300-500 words, plus a basic bibliography) in MS Word or pdf attachments along with your biographical information to the addresses listed below. Please mention your full name with academic title, university affiliation, department or home institution, title of paper and contact details in your email. Continue reading →

ACCL Conference 2022

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Dear list members,

The biennial meeting of the Association of Chinese and Comparative Literature (ACCL) will be held on 20-22 June 2022! Our first-ever hybrid conference has been organized in conjunction with the Department of Chinese Literature, National Taiwan University, and the Taiwanese Society for the Study of Chinese Literature and Culture.

The conference will feature 36 panels and 160 active participants. Keynote speakers include Prof. Carlos Rojas (Duke Univ.), Prof. Huang Ying-che (Aichi Univ.), and Prof. David Der-wei Wang (Harvard Univ.).

All conference events are free and open to the public. Registration is required for the online (Zoom) portion of the conference; in-person events will be live streamed via Webex.

For the conference program and to register please visit the ACCL website:

https://www.chineseandcomparativelit.org/2022-conference-386172418026371.html

We are looking forward to see you at our biennial meeting!

Nico Volland (ACCL President)

Classicism in Digital Times symposium

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Harvard-Frankfurt-Lingnan Symposium
Classicism in Digital Times: Textual Production as Cultural Remembrance in the Sinophone Cyberspace
Date & Time: June 10, 2022 (15-18:00 CET; 21-24:00 Taipei; 09-12:00 Boston; 06-09:00 LA)
Online venue:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85429138251?pwd=M1YyeTdHckkrdTFiN3ZSenhIOEFEdz09

Meeting-ID: 854 2913 8251
Password: 380532

15:00-15:10: Greetings by Matthias Lutz-Bachmann (Frankfurt) and Zong-qi Cai (Lingnan)
15:10-15:20: David Wang (Harvard) and Zhiyi Yang (Frankfurt), Introducing the concept
15:20-15:30: Chieh-Ting Hsieh (National Chengchi U), “The Body That Counts”
15:30-15:40: Laura Vermeeren (U of Amsterdam), “Writing the Heart Sutra Online”
General Questions and Comments

16:00-16:10: Xiaofei Tian (Harvard), “The Thrill of Becoming”
16:10-16:20: Zhiyi Yang, “In the Digital Sand”
16:20-16:30: Fangdai Chen (Harvard), “Classicist Heterotopia”
16:30-16:40: Tarryn Chun (Notre Dame), “Spectacular Erudition”
General Questions and Comments

17:00-17:10: Paize Keulemans (Princeton), “Immersion without Mimesis”
17:10-17:20: Yedong Chen (Harvard), “Gaming with Chinese Characteristics”
17:20-17:30: Rossella Ferrari (U of Vienna), “Xiqu 2.0”
17:30-17:40: Michelle Yeh (UC Davis), “Classicist Television Drama in Digital Times”
General Questions and Comments

Posted by: Heidi Huang <heidihuang@ln.edu.hk>

RMMLA Chinese Lit and Film session–cfp extension

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CFP: [Deadline Extended to June 30th, 2022] 75th Rocky Mountain Modern Languages Association Annual Convention
Chinese Literature and Film since 1900 Session

Relationships of Crisis

At the present moment, between pandemic and war, as societies shudder and are torn apart by racism, the erosion of democratic institutions and civil rights, and the reliability of information and common ground for public discourse are questioned daily, the study of modern Chinese literature and film takes on a new light. By the time of the 75th RMMLA in Albuquerque, NM in October 13-15, 2022, the world may have changed significantly again, yet we nevertheless look forward to convening in person to renew our endeavors, and explore the relations between our work and the world. Our fields connect in new ways to current events and our call for papers in the Chinese Literature and Film since 1900 Session reflect this. We have gathered some themes around critical oppositions that resonate with concerns familiar to modern Chinese culture:

HUMAN-HUMAN RELATIONSHIP

  • Identities: Privilege and Margins
  • Ethnicity and National identity
  • Trust and Disinformation
  • Peace and War
  • Love and Hate
  • Enemy and Family
  • Collectivism and Individualism
  • Gender and Sexuality

Continue reading →

Workshop on Taiwan Literature

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Learn more about the rich literature from Taiwan through this workshop that explores key works by Taiwanese writers. Focusing on six books in the Literature from Taiwan Series, the panel experts will discuss works by Ye Shitao, Husluman Vava, Li Ang, Ta-wei Chi, and many more. The event will be held on May 27 and 28, 2022.

The six books that will be discussed are:

  • A Taiwanese Literature Reader edited by Nikky Lin
  • The Soul of Jade Mountain by Husluman Vava; translated by Terence Russell
  • A History of Taiwan Literature by Ye Shitao; translated by Christopher Lupke
  • A Son of Taiwan: Stories of Government Atrocity edited by Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-chun Lin
  • Transitions in Taiwan: Stories of the White Terror edited by Ian Rowen
  • Queer Taiwanese Literature: A Reader edited by Howard Chiang

To sign up for the event, please contact Professor Christopher Lupke (University of Alberta) at lupke@ualberta.ca. For more information on the books, see https://www.cambriapress.com/taiwanlitbooks.cfm

WICL-6

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The 6th Workshop on Innovations in Cantonese Linguistics (WICL-6) is an exciting conference hosted by faculty and grad students in the departments of East Asian Languages and Literatures and Linguistics at Ohio State University. Presenters are from four different regions of the world: North America, Europe, East Asia, and Australia!

WICL-6 will be held virtually via Zoom on May 27 and May 28, 2022. It is free and open to the public, although online registration is required. Details on the program schedule and online registration are available at the WICL-6 website:

https://u.osu.edu/wicl/wicl-6/

See you there if you are planning to attend WICL-6!

WICL-6 Organizing Committee

Hawai’i Intl. Conference on Chinese Studies–cfp

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Aloha!

The third annual Hawai‘i International Conference on Chinese Studies (HICCS), organized by the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, is hosting an in-person conference in 2023. HICCS will be held from January 4 (Wednesday) through January 6 (Friday), 2023. The conference will bring together educators and professionals from a wide range of fields in Chinese Studies to present papers on various aspects of Chinese culture and society in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and among overseas Chinese. Papers can address issues within China and in Chinese communities throughout the world.

The deadline to submit paper title and abstract is September 15. Please see the CFP here and HICCS website (English) ( 简体)  ( 繁體) for more information on submitting an abstract.

If you would like to add your name to our mailing list for future updates, please click here.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Pettit, HICCS co-chair
Peng Xu, HICCS co-chair

Chinese Independent Cinema Observer no. 3

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Dear list members,

The third issue of the Chinese Independent Cinema Observer, “The Keywords of Chinese Independent Cinema”, edited by Flora Lichaa and Yang Yishu, is now available to download from the Chinese Independent Film Archive:

https://www.chinaindiefilm.org/issue-3-the-keywords-of-chinese-independent-cinema/

This issue includes essays on a range of keywords in independent Chinese cinema by scholars, practitioners, and critics.

In addition, we have an online launch event for the issue, on Saturday May 28th at 1.30pm UK time/8.30am New York time/8.30pm Beijing time. The event, “How to Make the Invisible Visible: The Past and Present of the Dissemination of Chinese Independent Films”, will be chaired by the issue editors, and features guest speakers Cong Feng, Gan Xiao’er, Jiang Nengjie, Yang Zi, and Zhang Yaxuan. Further details on the event can be found here.

Registration for the launch is required.

Many thanks,

Luke Robinson

Digital Identities in China–cfp

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CFP: Digital Identities in China, a special issue of Chinese Literature and Thought Today (CLTT)*
Guest-edited by Dr. Paul J. D’Ambrosio

From award winning science fiction writers to the most unified social credit system in the world and from expansive use of digital identification cards to pervasive applications of artificial intelligence in everyday life, China is at the forefront of many digital frontiers. As ever increasing reliance on digital technologies shape our experiences and mediate our interactions, reflections on how our ways of understanding ourselves, others, and the world need to transform accordingly.

Many Western analyses criticize shifts to profile-based conceptions and frameworks as lacking “authenticity.” Digitalized identities—including those curated on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok—are appallingly antithetical to the self-narratives that appeal to creating or discovering an inner self.

Chinese literature and philosophy offer rich resources for questioning the absolute centrality of authenticity when reflecting on digital identities. They thus provide exciting resources for and examples of how shifts to digital identities can be engaged with, reflected on, and theorized about. In this special issue we invite authors to explore digital identities in China from the perspective of Chinese literature, philosophy, or other related avenues. Comparative or more Chinese centered approaches are equally welcome, as are new research proposals or English translations of previously published papers (in Chinese). Continue reading →

RMMLA Chinese Lit and Film–cfp

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75th Rocky Mountain Modern Languages Association Annual Convention
Chinese Literature and Film since 1900 Session
Call for Papers:

Relationships of Crisis

At the present moment, between pandemic and war, as societies shudder and are torn apart by racism, the erosion of democratic institutions and civil rights, and the reliability of information and common ground for public discourse are questioned daily, the study of modern Chinese literature and film takes on a new light. By the time of the 75th RMMLA in Albuquerque, NM in October 13-15, 2022, the world may have changed significantly again, yet we nevertheless look forward to convening in person to renew our endeavors, and explore the relations between our work and the world. Our fields connect in new ways to current events and our call for papers in the Chinese Literature and Film since 1900 Session reflect this. We have gathered some themes around critical oppositions that resonate with concerns familiar to modern Chinese culture: Continue reading →

Animators’ Roundtable Forum

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Source: Association for Chinese Animation Studies (4/21/22)
Animators’ Roundtable Forum: Hong Kong Animation, Zoom Webinar, May 12-14, 2022

The history of Hong Kong animation has always been translocal and transnational. It can be traced back to at least the late 1940s, when some mainland animators and cartoonists in exile like the Wan Brothers, Zhang Guangyu, Liao Bingxiong, and Te Wei made animated shorts and even experimented with the making of an animated feature film in postwar Hong Kong. But the local animated filmmaking did not begin until the 1950s, when advertising companies initiated the practice of using animation in commercials. Live-action filmmakers also began to skillfully incorporate animated special effects into martial arts cinema and experiment with animation techniques in short films. The early 1980s witnessed the rise of animated feature films with the release of Old Master Q series, which were co-productions between Hong Kong and Taiwan. Tsui Hark’s CGI feature A Chinese Ghost Story (1997) involved the professionals and studios in Japan, Taiwan, and mainland China. It was not until 2001 that a locally produced animated feature film, My Life as McDull, made its debut in Hong Kong. With the digital turn in the 1990s, independent animated filmmaking flourished, characterized by a variety of narrative and formal innovations that enriched the international film festivals around the world. Locally produced but marked by a distinct anime style with Hong Kong flavor, Kong Kee’s Dragon Delusions project (2018-present) opened a new path for Hong Kong independent animation. The co-production of Astro Boy (2009) between Hong Kong and the world also blazed a trail for Hong Kong commercial animation. Amidst the global flows of culture, can we still defend the “Hong Kongness” of Hong Kong animation in a floating city that is disappearing? Continue reading →

PAMLA 2022 Asian Lit and Culture session–cfp reminder

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The 119th annual PAMLA Conference will be held in Los Angeles, California at the UCLA Luskin Conference Center and Hotel between Friday, November 11 and Sunday, November 13, 2022.

The Asian Literature and Culture session welcomes proposals on topics pertaining to Asian literature and culture. Proposals that engage with the conference theme of “Geographies of the Fantastic and the Quotidian” are encouraged, but all proposals are welcome and will be carefully considered. Paper topics can include, but are not limited to, the following themes in relation to Asian culture and literature: fantastic spaces in literature and film, urban/rural space and quotidian life, architecture, cartography, travel/journeys, cyberspace and the metaverse, utopia/dystopia/heterotopia, ecocriticism, and studies focusing on the fantastic or quotidian in oceans or waterways.

Submissions may be made at the following URL by May 15th:

https://pamla.ballastacademic.com/

For more information about the conference, please visit:

https://www.pamla.org/pamla2022/

David Hazard <dhazard@alumni.stanford.edu>

Class in China webinar series

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Class in China – A series of webinars on the Peasants, the Middle Class and the Dominant Class
Marc Blecher, David Goodman, Yingjie Guo, Jean-Louis Rocca, Tony Saich and Beibei Tang have just published a co-authored two volume study of Class and the Communist Party of China.

Class and the Communist Party of China, 1921-1978: Revolution and Social Change
Class and the Communist Party of China, 1978-2021 : Reform and Market Socialism

In this series, the China Studies Centre will host webinars on the Peasantry, presented by Professor Yingjie Guo, Professor of Chinese Studies at the University of Sydney; on the Middle Class, presented by Professor Jean-Louis Rocca, Sciences Po, Paris; and David Goodman, Director of the China Studies Centre, University of Sydney. The webinars will be moderated by Professor Kam Louie FHKAH FAHA, former Dean of Arts at Hong Kong University.

The Peasant Class under the Impact of Industrialisation, Urbanisation, and Household Registration
Time: 5PM-6PM AEST
Date: Tuesday 3 May 2022

Between Dream and Nightmare in the Chinese Middle Class
Time: 5PM-6PM AEST
Date: Tuesday 10 May 2022

The Dominant Class after 1978: Elite Persistence and the Ironies of Social Change
Time: 5PM-6PM AEST
Date: Tuesday 17 May 2022

YANPING ZHANG | Centre Administrator
China Studies Centre, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Media, Power, Technological Determinism–cfp

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We are looking for proposals in China studies. 

Deadline Extended–May 1st.

Call For Papers: Media, Power, Technological Determinism
University of Washington Graduate Conference
June 4th, 2022, Seattle and Online
Paper Proposal Submission Deadline: May 1st, 2022

Keynote Speaker (Online): Nicole Starosielski (NYU)
Guest Panel Respondent (Online): Weixian Pan (NYU Shanghai)

Does the modern office floor plan of the skyscrapers redefine the division of labor? Does the thermostat in a documents archive secretly manipulate what we can read? We have little doubt in that Google shapes how we search for information, but does Google shape how we think too?

These perennial debates can be traced to Marshall McLuhan’s claims about the unstoppable force of media technologies in shaping our mind, body, and environment. Raymond Williams labels McLuhan as a “technological determinist”, condemning his disregard for the historical development of technology. But does this label of “technological determinist” give the right to abolish the way McLuhan understands media technologies? Indeed, like Williams, many have pointed out that technological objects do not independently exist among us, but are embedded in a cultural and political network. However, when we open the socially constructed “black box”, as Pinch and Bijker described, what is revealed may only be what Langdon Winner calls a “hollow inside”—void of power relations. Continue reading →