> Writers, Critics, and Scholars: The Public Intellectual and Chinese
> Literature
>
> The Biennial Conference of the Association of Chinese & Comparative
> Literature
>
> Tsinghua University, Beijing,
> June 19-21, 2009
>
> In answer to the question, Why study Chinese literature?, to what extent
can
> the answer be framed in terms of contributing to public discourse on China?
> What does Chinese cultural expression have to say to the rest of the world?
> How can we tell whether a work is directed at an exclusively Chinese or
> universal audience? If it is Chinese only, does that mean there are no
> lessons to be learned from it in other cultures? What can translators and
> scholars offer the global audience from the Chinese experience?
>
> Call for Papers
>
> The next biennial meeting of the ACCL will take place at Tsinghua
University
> in Beijing. This event is jointly sponsored by ACCL and the
> Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies at Tsinghua, with
> support from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Tsinghua
> University. Conference accommodations and panel sessions will be at the
UNIS
> International Exchange Center, just outside the East Gate of Tsinghua
> University. Rooms at UNIS will be provided at a discounted rate for
> conference attendees, and graduate students coming from outside Beijing can
> apply for financial aid. Daily breakfasts at UNIS, one luncheon and one
> dinner banquet will be provided free of charge.
>
> The conference theme is Writers, Critics, and Scholars: The Public
> Intellectual and Chinese Literature. We invite papers and panels from
> scholars all over the world on this theme or other topics in Chinese and
> comparative literature. Papers may be given in Chinese or English,
> preferably Chinese.
>
> This conference offers an opportunity to explore the relationship between
> literature and public discourse in China. This relationship has many facets
> (the outline below is not intended to be comprehensive, but to stimulate
> thought):
>
> 1. The author (perceived) as a public intellectual endeavoring to effect
> change through literary creation
>
> a. Traditional (e.g., Qu Yuan, Li Bai, Du Fu, Bai Juyi, Yuan Zhen, Su
> Shi, Wang Anshi, Li Qingzhao, Huang Zunxian, Xue Shaohui, Chen Jitong, Kang
> Youwei, Liang Qichao)
> b. Modern (e.g., Hu Shi, Gu Hongming, Lu Xun, Mao Dun, Guo Moruo, Ding
> Ling, Lin Yutang, Liu Binyan, Su Xiaokang, Yu Qiuyu)
>
> 2. The aesthetics of artistic social commentary
>
> a. Is the artist's public intellectual role harmful to art? Does it have
> to be?
> b. How can we gauge the social effects of works of literature (premodern
> or modern)?
> c. Reportage literature and other socially engaged artistic forms
> d. Since the 1990s, what artistic media still speak to current events
and
> issues? Is literature still one of them? To what degree is this colored
by a
> global audience?
> i. Jia Zhangke's films, documentary and independent films
> ii. Fine arts on the global market
>
> 3. Authors, critics, and scholars acting as public intellectuals through
> engagement in social action or (nonartistic) expression through the media
>
> a. Writers' roles in the evolution of modern Chinese society (e.g., Chen
> Duxiu, Hu Shi, Lu Xun, Guo Moruo, Ding Ling, Liu Binyan, Bo Yang, Su
> Xiaokang, Li Ao, Long Yingtai, Gao Xingjian, Yu Qiuyu, Yu Jie, Chen
Danqing,
> Ai Weiwei, Cui Weiping)
> b. Ministers of Culture Guo Moruo, Mao Dun, Wang Meng
> c. Crises and influential works
> i. Wang Shiwei, "Wild Lilies," Ding Ling "Thoughts on March 8" and the
> Rectification Campaign
> ii. Liu Binyan, "Between People and Monsters"
> d. Newspaper columnists on contemporary culture (e.g., Zou Taofen, Deng
> Tuo, Ding Wang)
>
> 4. Scholars of Chinese culture contributing to media discourse on China
> (within China and across national borders)
>
> We hope through in-depth and detailed discussions we can examine the writer
> as social/cultural agent of change from new perspectives.
>
> Please submit panel proposals and/or paper abstracts to [log in to unmask]
>
> Work plan:
>
> �October 15, 2008 Call for papers
> �December 15, 2008 Deadline for submission of abstracts and/or panel
> proposals (including panel participants' abstracts)
> �January 31, 2009 Letters of acceptance posted
> �April 30, 2009 Deadline for confirmation of attendance and paper
titles;
> conference program released
> �May 30, 2009 Deadline for submission of revised English and Chinese
> abstracts
> �June 19-21 Conference
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