Call for Papers

Call for Papers for an Edited Collection: Embodied Practice, the
Media, and Identity in Canadian Contexts
In recent years, the increasing research focus upon various embodied
ways of knowing and experiencing the world has been accompanied by
shifting theoretical and methodological approaches to the
interpretation and representation of both individual and collective
human experiences in interdisciplinary contexts. "Embodied"
practices include, for example, the recent "affective turn"(Clough and
Halley 2007) within academia, the rise and popularization of various
sensorial and experiential methods and modes of representation, and
"educultural" approaches (Lea and Sims 2008). Such approaches seek to
understand and explore the intersections among feelings, sensations,
emotions, and affect and practice. In many ways, these models
challenge scholars to critically re-examine pervasive mind/body
dualisms as well as longstanding hegemonic discourses in the
interpretation of social experiences. Despite the growing body of
literature on affect, emotion, and embodiment, however, there exists a
paucity of ethnographic or other qualitative analyses of such domains
of experience within Canadian contexts. As such, we are seeking
original, previously unpublished papers that utilize qualitative
approaches to explore collective affective states within the context
of Canadian society. In particular, we are interested in papers that
explore the relationship between embodied practice, media and the
production of identities within Canadian contexts. Possible topics
might include: examinations of emerging methods and methodologies; the
role of the mass media, spectacles, or other performative genres in
the development of affective states; the relationship between embodied
practices, media, and the construction of identities of nationalism,
gender, sexuality, race, or ethnicity, all within a Canadian context.
Final chapters should be in English and between 6000-8000 pages long.
Accompanying photographic materials are encouraged, but authors will
be responsible for obtaining publication rights.
Deadline:
Please submit a 500 word abstract and an abridged C.V. to Dr. Lynda
Mannik (lmannik@yorku.ca) and Dr. Karen McGarry (mcgarry@yorku.ca) by
September 20, 2010. We will review all submissions and acceptances
will be sent to authors by October 30, 2010. Final drafts of accepted
papers will be due on April 1, 2011.
About the editors:
Dr. Lynda Mannik is an anthropologist currently working in the Social
Anthropology Department at York University. She is the author of
Canadian Indian Cowboys in Australia: Representation, Rodeo and the
RCMP at the Royal Easter Show, 1939 (University of Calgary Press,
2006) and, a forthcoming book with UBC Press titled, "Photography,
Memory and Refugee Identity: the Voyage of the S.S. Walnut, 1948"
(2011). This fall she is embarking on a new research project in
conjunction with Memorial University concerning media portrayals of
Sikh refugees that arrived on Canadian shores in the late 1980s with a
focus on the active, relational nature of photography.
Dr. Karen McGarry is a cultural anthropologist at Trent University
whose research interests include sport, spectacle, and the production
of Canadian identities within mediated contexts. Her forthcoming book
titled, "Performing Nationalisms: Spectacle and Identity in Elite
Canadian Figure Skating," to be published by McGill-Queen's University
Press, is based upon ethnographic research with Olympic figure
skaters, and it explores the production of Canadian national
identities via the global circulation and international consumption of
skating imagery. Her work has also been published in a variety of
edited volumes and peer-reviewed journals, including Reviews in
Anthropology, Genders, The American Review of Canadian Studies, and
The Sport Journal.