Northeast Modern Language Association
April 12-15, 2018 Pittsburgh, PA(Im)possible Bodies: Spaces and the Body in Early Modern Europe
This panel explores the spatial limits of bodies in early modern Europe. The spatial limits of bodies, broadly conceived, refer to the determinant role that real or abstract boundaries play on the physical and/or imagined body. These limits can take many forms, including aesthetic conventions, battlefields, domestic confines, geographic boundaries, and religious sites. Notions of the body may be equally diverse, extending to animals, communities, environments, and genders. Panel discussion will provide a rich examination of intersections between spatial perspectives and studies of early modern bodies.
Possible questions for panelists to consider include: How does the suffering or fragmented body impact the space that the body inhabits? How does the experience of one’s own body affect a perception of space? Where did changing theories of anatomy and cartography overlap in the Renaissance? In what ways did early modern men and women navigate tensions between physical and spiritual bodies? To what extent did sexuality influence social mobility in early modern cultures?
Papers from a broad range of disciplines are welcome, including literature, art history, European history, religious studies, and women and gender studies.
Please submit abstracts through the following link by Sept. 29, 2017: Call for Papers