Feminist Sinologies

 October 5-7, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, CCS

This conference invites papers that think about the production of  
knowledge made possible by the synergies between feminist theory and  
sinology. “Feminist Sinologies” should be taken to be more  
conceptually and topically expansive than the study of Chinese women,  
past and present.

It is our aim to bring together theoretically rich and well-  
historicized papers across many disciplines in the humanities that  
develop meaningful linkages between theories in feminism today (such  
as intersectionality, recessive action theory,  female masculinity,  
ecofeminism, reflexivity/positionality, queer theory, queer assemblage  
queer temporality, disability studies, postcolonialism, lyric theory,  
Marxist historicism, and affect theory, just to name a few) and  
oft-explored topics in sinological studies (such as Chinese  
modernism/modernity, translingual and translation praxis,  
(Neo)Confucianism, (Neo)Buddhism and the West, nationalism and visual  
culture, Chinese-Jesuit print culture, Chinese diaspora and coolie  
culture, human rights discourse, performative Chineseness, socialism  
and democracy, positivism and international law, financescapes,  
ecoscapes, and the global economy–also just to compile a short list.

The panel seeks papers working with all historical periods. Papers  
might situate the conjunction of feminism and sinology in the context  
of contemporary geopolitical issues; compare and contrast a  
“feminism-studies” approach and a sinological studies approach to a  
certain text or work of art; or close-read a particular event that (it  
will be argued) can no longer be understood without a  
feminist-sinological framework.

An interdisciplinary committee will be formed to select the papers.  
Announcements for the selection will be posted June 31, 2012 by email.  
Participants must be prepared to submit un-committed work.

Those interested are invited to send a 250-word proposal describing  
the nature of the project and its relevance to the central concept of  
Feminist Sinologies to Nan Z. Da (nda@umich.edu) by June 1, 2012

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