Call for Papers: Orientalism / Occidentalism

[Evgeny Steiner]

Dear Colleagues,

We'll be happy if you participate. Please post at your departments.

 CALL FOR PAPERS



International Conference:

*Orientalism/Occidentalism:  Languages of Cultures vs. Languages of
Description*

Hosted by the Russian Institute for Cultural Research in Moscow

23-25 September 2010



This Conference intends to stimulate the study of the cross-cultural
phenomenon of Orientalism, broadly understood as fictional narratives
or an academic
description of the East (Asian and African cultures) in Western art,
literature and scholarly research.              An analysis of the
interpretations of the East by the West (and vice
versa) and their historical evolution has emerged as especially important in
light of ongoing globalization which has triggered the intensification of
ideological, religious, economic and cultural differences between the East
and the West.

Orientalism, the European interpretation of the East, bears negative
connotations in some Asian societies and among certain Western scholars.
 Occidentalism, or the depiction of the West as seen from the East, often
oscillates between excessively enthusiastic and overly critical portrayals
of its subject.  This Conference’s presentations and discussions aim to
distill a critical understanding of Orientalist/Occidentalist discourses and
question cross-cultural assumptions.  The goal is to provide a forum in
which old issues, new data, and fresh methodological approaches can be
discussed and developed.



Topics for discussion will include:


Section 1:  Classical Orientalism of the 19th Century

   - The Orient of the Romantics from the Maghreb to the Caucasus
   - Academic Orientalism:  an exotic entourage and the “eternal laws of
   beauty”
   - The erotic myth of the East as sublimation of Western sexual complexes
   - The world of wild and cruel passion in Oriental decorations
   - The world of Islam seen through the prism of Orientalism
   - Chinoiserie and Japonisme

Section 2:  The East as "The Other" in the Western mind of the 20th century

   - Cubism's Africanism
   - Surrealism and the ‘Primitive’
   - Avantgardism and the “Natives” in mass culture

*Section 3:  Looking from the East:  Images of the Occidental world in
Afro-Asian cultures*

*Closing Discussion:  The East and the West:  the ways to cultural
convergence*



*Keynote speakers*: Prof. Shigemi Inaga (Nichibunken, Kyoto), Prof. Sergey
Serebryany (RSUH, Moscow), Prof. Timon Screech (SOAS, London), Prof. Vera
Tolz (U. of Manchester), Prof. Toshio Watanabe (U. of Arts, London)

The conference will be conducted in Russian and English with synchronic
translation.

Proposals for papers (duration: 20 minutes) are invited from art historians,
historians of literature and specialists in cultural studies that examine
the phenomena of Orientalism/Occidentalism.  Papers should address the ways
and limitations of cross-cultural discourse in both historical and
contemporary contexts.

Please provide an abstract (up to 300 words) highlighting the argument of
the proposed paper, include affiliation and contact details, and please
indicate if A/V is needed.

Proposals are welcome by 20 December 2009

Kindly submit proposals to orientalism at ricur.ru.In case of any questions
please write to a Conference organizer Dr. Evgeny Steiner:
evenbach at gmail.com

Notification of the Program Committee's decisions will be sent out by late
February 2010.

Abstracts will be published at the time of the conference.  A volume of
selected papers is expected to be published in due course.

Financial assistance with accommodation and meals for out of town and
foreign participants is possible.  The availability will depend on the
Conference's budget and the number of presenters.

-- 
Professor Evgeny Steiner
Senior Research Associate
Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures
SOAS, University of London
Brunei Gallery, B401
Russell Square
London WC1H 0XG
United Kingdom

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