Embodied Discourse, Embodied Practice

Central to the human experience both as a definer of identity and as a means for social interaction, bodies - real or imagined, individual or collective - are also essential to our perception of what surrounds us. In Merleau-Ponty’s words, “The body is our general medium for having a world.” Starting with the earliest records of human expression, bodies have been at the core of manifold discourses spanning from epistemology and religion to art and literature, creating connections between the myriad aspects of human experience while separating the phenomenal and the metaphysical realms. At the same time, they have also functioned as a privileged site for practices aimed at controlling, disciplining, and punishing individuals, groups of people, or entire nations.

This symposium aims at investigating discourses and practices connected with the body as they relate to Japan, bringing together scholars of different disciplines from across the world. We invite scholars in all fields of the humanities and social sciences to join us and present their research.