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下方為台大外文系 《感觸與情動：跨界的相遇 On Touching and (E)motion: Intercontinental Encounters》 研討會徵稿啟示。
On Touching and (E)motion: Intercontinental Encounters
"As human beings we inhabit an ineluctably material world. We live our everyday lives surrounded by, immersed in, matter. We are ourselves composed of matter. We experience its restlessness and intransigence even as we reconfigure and consume it" (Coole and Frost 2010: 1).
Over the past two decades, attention to materiality has transformed critical thought. Theoretical approaches such as Posthumanism and New Materialism, with their emphasis on the vital importance of living and non-living matter, have become essential frameworks in cultural analysis. These perspectives align with posthumanist critiques of the Anthropocene and its hierarchies, favoring a displacement of the human to situate humankind within a continuum that encompasses both natural and technological realms.
Conference Overview
To explore the creative and critical potential that emerges from interactions between the tangible and intangible, we invite you to a two-day international and interdisciplinary conference in Taipei, Taiwan. This gathering will illuminate points of contact between East and West, fostering culturally immersive dialogue across centuries of critical thought and intercontinental cultural relations.
We welcome contributions from all related disciplines, including Literature, Philosophy, Art History, Social Sciences, Linguistics, Media Studies, and Performance Arts. Moving beyond conventional cultural analysis, this conference creates space for innovative approaches that engage all the senses and venture into the boundless realm of virtual relations and identity construction.
The Touch of Our Time
German philosopher J. G. Herder observed at the end of the eighteenth century that "sight reveals merely shapes, but touch alone reveals bodies" (Herder 2002: 35), arguing for touch as fundamental to human experience. His words resonate powerfully in our contemporary moment, as we increasingly live significant portions of our lives in virtual space. Industry pushes this trend further by providing virtual partners and therapists for our emotional needs, potentially eliminating the necessity for inter-human connections altogether. In November 2024, Catalan artist Alicia Framis married a hologram as part of a performance art project which explores affective relationships, dramatically illustrating the growing significance of AI in our emotional lives, even to the point of fulfilling the conditions traditionally associated with marital relationships.
Suggested Topics
We invite contributions on the following themes, though creative interpretations and related topics are equally encouraged:
Historical and Philosophical Foundations
Eighteenth-century thought on being and the material world (Herder, Kant, Hegel)
The global movement of concepts and their intercultural transformations
Embodiment and Performance
Ephemerality of performance art and dance: the body as performance locus
Material residues of ephemeral practices (recordings, documentation)
Movement as the transmission of thoughts and processes across centuries and places
Material Expression and Identity
Handwriting as expression and embodiment of the self
Drawing as a means of expressing thought processes
The meaning of material objects as they move through time and space
Matter as palimpsest: layered histories of emotions and experience
Cross-Cultural Material Practices
Traditional Chinese Medicine in Europe: the movement of healing practices across continents and through time
Connection between material and spiritual worlds in traditional Chinese ancestor worship: paper money, paper effigies, and ritual objects for deceased relatives
Technology, Intimacy, and Virtual Relations
Virtual relationships with chatbots and AI companions
Long-distance relationships mediated by technology
Prosthetics and bodily extensions
The intersection of human and artificial intimacy
Cultural Representations
Cinematic representations of robot-human relationships
Literary explorations of artificial consciousness and emotion
Science fiction's engagement with questions of synthetic life and feeling
Media and Texts for Consideration
Films: "Her," "Ex Machina," "Blade Runner," "Poor Things," and episodes from "Black Mirror" Literature: Philip K. Dick's explorations of artificial consciousness and related works in science fiction
Conference Format and Participation
The whole conference will be broadcasted, while we prioritize in person presentations with at most two virtual slots per day. We especially encourage submissions from MA and PhD students in the humanities. Proposals for panels or roundtable discussions are particularly welcome.
Submission Guidelines
November 14th: Fill in the online form at the conference website (https://sites.google.com/
December 15th: Information of the outcome of your peer review / invitation to present at the conference
We look forward to receiving your innovative contributions to this vital conversation about touch, emotion, and intercultural connection in our increasingly material-virtual world.
Please keep in mind that the successful implementation of this conference is subject to funding and confirmation of speakers and final program details. The conference aims to attract 15-20 distinguished international speakers across the featured panels.
國立臺灣大學外國語文學系
《感觸與情動：跨界的相遇 On Touching and (E)motion: Intercontinental Encounters》 研討會
閻庭偉助理 敬上
Email: r13122008@g.ntu.edu.tw
