What is a body?
What does it mean to touch a body?
What does it mean to have/be an untouchable body?
What does it mean to touch a body?
What does it mean to have/be an untouchable body?
THE EVENT HAS NOW TAKEN PLACE; THE CALL FOR PAPERS IS INCLUDED HERE FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES.
Typically, discussion of the concept of ‘body’ and ‘bodies’ has tended towards the longstanding theme of dualism, where the body, as material, is contrasted against the mind, as spiritual. Through a more nuanced understanding of the concept of the ‘body’, though - ranging from the organic body, the collective or social body, to even a textual body - we can usefully problematise and readdress this dualistic tension.
We can further problematise the concept by questioning specifically what it means to touch a body; touching is commonly associated with physicality and connection, but it can also refer to a more immaterial sense of connection. The notion of an ‘untouchable body’ therefore might refer to a religious or social taboo, or a distancing or loss of some form of connection.
At this interdisciplinary one-day symposium, we invite PGRs to reflect on these issues. We will be presenting items from the Special Collections at John Rylands Library that pertain to these themes (more information in "Collections" tab) to prompt discussions. There will be an opportunity to present either 20 minute papers, with time for questions, or to pre-release a short paper to the delegates that will be briefly introduced in the light of your own research and then will be the focus of a more concentrated, longer discussion.
Topics for papers may include, but are not limited to:
Typically, discussion of the concept of ‘body’ and ‘bodies’ has tended towards the longstanding theme of dualism, where the body, as material, is contrasted against the mind, as spiritual. Through a more nuanced understanding of the concept of the ‘body’, though - ranging from the organic body, the collective or social body, to even a textual body - we can usefully problematise and readdress this dualistic tension.
We can further problematise the concept by questioning specifically what it means to touch a body; touching is commonly associated with physicality and connection, but it can also refer to a more immaterial sense of connection. The notion of an ‘untouchable body’ therefore might refer to a religious or social taboo, or a distancing or loss of some form of connection.
At this interdisciplinary one-day symposium, we invite PGRs to reflect on these issues. We will be presenting items from the Special Collections at John Rylands Library that pertain to these themes (more information in "Collections" tab) to prompt discussions. There will be an opportunity to present either 20 minute papers, with time for questions, or to pre-release a short paper to the delegates that will be briefly introduced in the light of your own research and then will be the focus of a more concentrated, longer discussion.
Topics for papers may include, but are not limited to:
- Philosophical (and/or theological) dualism
- Decomposition of bodies
- Taboos surrounding (dead) bodies
- Delicate bodies, such as historic books, manuscripts and objects
- Diseased, displaced or monstrous bodies
- Digital, conceptual or non-physical bodies
- The body of Christ - as an individual and/or corporate body