The Body : limits, constructions, intensity
International PhD Conference
20-22 September 2017
Nous habitons notre corps bien avant de le penser, Albert Camus
The body has been the object of manifold re-definitions, and yet it remains an undiscovered territory, bordering on the uncanny. It is a nomadic entity, a witness of history, of stasis and movement. While various forms of knowledge can but asymptotically touch the body, art gives a kaleidoscopic representation of it. Existence seems to be the only common ground of this whirlwind of art, science and philosophy. Indeed, for all human beings, to exist means, more than anything, to adhere to the body that we are. The body turns into the precondition not only of every gesture, but also of every thought. And yet it seems absurd to reduce existence to its biological dimension only. Whereas grasping the irreducible complexity of the body is at the core of the scientific project, voicing it is the ill-concealed destiny of literature. If, according to Nietzsche, “only that which has no history can be defined”, we face here an irreducible complexity that escapes the realm of words, an elusive swerve that is nonetheless intimately tied to life. This conference aims at theoretically thinking the multi-faceted core of being in the world, the body.
Proposals are not limited to, but may address any of the following topics:
The altered body
Body and illness
Body and trauma
Body and suffering
The fragmented body
The transformations of the body
The Seasons of the body: from childhood to old age
Pregnancy, maternity, abortion
Suicide and euthanasia
The dead body
The mask and the double
Obesity and anorexia
The body and the Other
The limits of the body
The self vs the body
The body as jail
The body of the Other
Cyborg
Body and sexuality
Sexual satisfaction
Sexual dependency
Transexuality, intersexuality
Sexual orientation
Sado-masochism
Body and culture
Religion
Rites of passage
Death rituals
Reincarnation
Anthroporfism and zoomorfism
The body as political act
Body’s rights
Body trade
Body and arts
Body art
Performance art
Actual body and virtual body
The PhD international Conference will take place in Verona on 20-22 september 2017
Abstracts: Please submit an abstract of 250 words as well as a short biography of 100 words by April 30, 2017 to the following address: convegnocorpo@gmail.com
The time limit for each presentation is 20 minutes, followed by discussion. All submissions should be written in English or Italian.
Organising and scientific committee: Giulia Angonese, Francesca Dainese, Andrea Nicolini, Carlo Vareschi
Address: Università degli Studi di Verona, Via San Francesco 22, 37129 Verona, Italy.