MCLC: Imagining Chinese Cinema in the 21st Century--cfp

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: sung hwee lim <s.h.lim at exeter.ac.uk>
Subject: Imagining Chinese Cinema in the 21st Century--cfp
************************************************************

Call for Papers
³Imagining Chinese Cinemas in the 21st Century²
9th-11th July 2012 (Mon-Wed), University of Exeter, UK

Funded by a Leverhulme Trust International Network grant, the research
project ³Chinese Cinemas in the 21st Century: Production, Consumption,
Imagination² would like to invite scholars and PhD students to the launch
event and workshop to be held at the University of Exeter from 9th to 11th
July, 2012. This project is led by Dr Song Hwee Lim (University of
Exeter), and the keynote speaker for the launch event is Professor Rey
Chow (Duke University).

The twenty-first century has been hailed as the Chinese century. This
project seeks to examine the role of art and culture (in particular, film)
as a form of ³soft power² capable of shaping both the region¹s self-image
and others¹ perception of Chinese culture, which has varying impacts on
local, national, regional and global levels. The phenomenal success of
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000) is a clear example of how a
quintessential Chinese film genre of wuxia (knight-errant swordplay) can
transcend national boundaries to become a global imaginary. This project
will pay particular attention to aspects of production, consumption and
imagination that have facilitated the transnational travel of Chinese
films.

The Exeter workshop will focus on the role of imagination in the
production and consumption of Chinese cinemas in the 21st century. It
seeks to address the following topics:

- What and how does imagination signify in Chinese film culture? What
kinds of hopes, dreams, alliances or futures can it inspire? What kinds of
conflicts, tensions, dialectics or catastrophes can it incite?
- Is imagination necessarily a liberating force or could it be potentially
dangerous? Where and how might imagination be policed and censured?
- How can issues of gender, class, sexuality and ethnicity be imagined in
Chinese cinemas?
- Does imagination have a material basis? What does it cost to imagine
Chinese cinemas in a century likely to be dominated globally by a new
superpower that is China?
- Who and what are the new imagined communities in the production and
consumption of Chinese cinemas? What is the role of imagination in the
production and consumption of film styles, stars and genres?

This Call for Papers is aimed at two groups of participants:

(a) We invite academics to send a 250-word abstract for a fifteen-minute
paper and a 50-word biographical note. Topics are open, though preference
will be given to those exploring Chinese cinemas of the 21st century and
the notion of ³imagination². Selected papers will be considered for a
special issue in the Journal of Chinese Cinemas to be published in
2013-2014.

(b) We also invite PhD students working on any area of Chinese cinemas to
present their dissertation outline or a chapter summary (250-word abstract
and institutional affiliation to be sent in the first instance) at a day
of workshop where the project¹s network partners will serve as discussants
to provide feedback. There will also be a roundtable session on ³Studying
Chinese Cinemas in the 21st Century² with Professor Chris Berry
(Goldsmiths College, London) and Professor Rey Chow (Duke University). Up
to ten sponsorships, which include two nights¹ accommodation and travel
expenses, are available to UK-based PhD students.

Please send your abstract to Song Hwee Lim at s.h.lim at exeter.ac.uk by 16th
April 2012. Selected participants will be informed by the Network
Facilitator by 30th April 2012. Please feel free to circulate this Call
for Papers to your contacts. We look forward to welcoming you to Exeter in
July 2012.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS:

- Exeter ("IMAGINATION", July 2012)
- Amsterdam ("CONSUMPTION", January 2013)
- Singapore ("PRODUCTION", July 2013)
- Taiwan (Symposium, December 2013)

NETWORK PARTNERS:

- Song Hwee Lim (University of Exeter, principal investigator)
- Michelle Bloom (University of California, Riverside)
- Brenda Chan (Nanyang Technological University)
- Kenneth Chan (University of Northern Colorado)
- Jeroen de Kloet (University of Amsterdam)
- Gaik Cheng Khoo (Australian National University)
- Kien Ket Lim (National Chiao-Tung University)

More information about the workshop will be available in the coming months
at:
http://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/research/conferences/chinesecinemas/


Song Hwee LIM (Dr.)
Senior Lecturer in Film Studies
College of Humanities
University of Exeter
Queen's Building, The Queen's Drive
Exeter EX4 4QH
United Kingdom

Editor, Journal of Chinese Cinemas
http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Journal,id=137/