Ecology and Landscape in Asian Literature and Film

Call for Papers for RMMLA 2014 Panel "Ecology and Landscape in Asian Literature and Film"

Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association Convention October 9-11, 2014 in Boise, Idaho

Faced with ecological change and disasters of an unprecedented scale, critical thinkers around the world are re-evaluating the relationship between Mother Nature and human beings. How are our views of nature, and the symbiosis between human beings and the natural world, changing and evolving? Should we regard non-human nature as passive material objects or as agential beings with which we share an equal partnership? If we do share agency with the non-human world, how do we reconfigure our role in it? This panel explores these eco-critical considerations in the context of Asian ecological writings with a special focus on landscape. For instance, fictional and cinematic texts on the catastrophic aftermath of the recent tsunami, earthquake and typhoon in Asia soberly reflect on the shifted and altered interactions between the human and non-human worlds. Other authors and film-makers engage time-honored Asian cosmologies, philosophies and ethics to propose alternative possibilities of ecological well-being and land-human relationships.

We welcome original papers that examine any aspect of the broad topic of ecology and human/natural landscape in the Asian context in any period of the early modern, modern or contemporary era. We also welcome cross-cultural and non-Asian critical perspectives in a comparative context. Please submit a proposal of 250 words and a brief bio to Xinmin Liu (xinmin.liu@wsu.edu) or Graldine Fiss (gfiss@usc.edu) by March 1, 2014. Notice of acceptance or rejection will be sent out on or before March 31, 2014. http://rmmla.wsu.edu/conferences

Geraldine Fiss at gfiss@usc.eduandXinmin Liu at xinmin.liu@wsu.eduEmail: gfiss@usc.eduVisit the website at http://rmmla.wsu.edu/conferences