MCLC: Horizons of Sinophone Studie--cfp

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: Tzu Hui Hung <celinahung at nyu.edu>
Subject: Horizons of Sinophone Studies--cfp
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List members may be interested in this CFP for the forthcoming ACLA
conference at NYU (March 20-23).

2014 ACLA SEMINAR PROPOSAL
 
Horizons of Sinophone Studies:

Perspectives from Comparative Race/Ethnic Studies and Translation Studies
Tzu-hui Celina Hung, NYU Shanghai

 
The recent emergence of Sinophone Studies pioneered by Shu-mei Shih has
propelled scholars to confront the interconnectedness of Chinese studies,
postcolonial studies, Asian American and diaspora studies, and theories of
ethnicity and race. While Sinophone studies promises a countermeasure
against the China-centric and Han-centric genealogy of Chinese literary
and cultural discourse, its emphasis on the multiplicity of, and hierarchy
among, sounds and scripts points further to other questions yet to be
fully addressed but of equal polemic intensity. Examples include but are
not limited to the following:

 
- In what ways can Sinophone studies equip the non-Sinophone, non-Chinese,
and non-Han with the necessary theoretical and analytic tools to
articulate cultural affinities beyond Sinitic-language written texts?

- How can Sinophone studies accommodate articulations of mixed-race
identities or effectively borrow from Western theories of race to
reconceptualize and even intercept the term ethnicity (minzu, or
nationality) as has been predominantly used in mainland China and Taiwan?

- How can Sinophone studies be theoretically useful for, or enriched by,
the studies of long-term ethnolinguistic transformation among the Chinese
diaspora, such as the use of pidgins and creoles often found in formerly
colonized societies or among trading communities.

- In a similar vein, how can one discuss Sinophone studies in contexts
where Sinitic languages are waning and where translation is needed? Where
does Sinophone studies intersect with writings about Chinese in English or
other languages?

 
Scholars of literature, visual culture, linguistics, history,
anthropology, and other related areas are welcome to submit paper
proposals. (The deadline for paper proposals has been extended to: 11/15
midnight, Pacific Standard Time.)

ACLA conference website: http://acla.org/acla2014/
Submit a proposal: http://acla.org/acla2014/propose-a-paper/

Tzu-hui Celina Hung
Assistant Professor of Literature
NYU Shanghai
celinahung at nyu.edu