Territorial Bodies: World Culture in Crisis 2023 - Report
We would like to thank the Humanities Research Centre at University of 糖心TV for generously funding Territorial Bodies: World Culture in crisis 2023, a one-day interdisciplinary conference which took place at university of 糖心TV on 25th February 2023.
Territorial Bodies
Territorial Bodies: World Culture in Crisis 2023 was based around the notion of 鈥榯erritorial bodies鈥�, a concept which drew inspiration from the Latin American feminist transnational concept of 鈥榖ody-territory鈥�, which has been used as a 鈥榮trategic鈥� tool to engender new forms of global solidarity, linking multi-form violence at various scales (Gago, 2020: 95). By bringing together interdisciplinary research, we hoped to critically evaluate the terms 鈥渂ody-territory鈥� as a lens through which to critique overlapping forms of violence in an era of socio-ecological crisis. In particular, we invited critical discussion surrounding the extent to which the 鈥榯erritorial body鈥� offers an analytical tool for addressing urgent social, ecological, and political challenges, from ecological breakdown to the rise of statelessness, to violence against women and racial exploitation.
The conference brought together 55 delegates from across the world, synthesising diverse research from various disciplines such as geography, sociology, history, visual arts, comparative literature, politics and international relations. The conference programme encompassed wide-ranging perspectives on the concept of 鈥榯erritorial bodies鈥�, from the extractive plunder and dispossession of land, to the violation of gendered bodies, to the exploitation of racialised bodies and uneven flows of migration.
The conference included two keynote addresses from field-defining interdisciplinary scholars, Dr. Lauren Wilcox and Prof. Kathryn Yusoff. Dr. Lauren Wilcox鈥檚 keynote entitled 鈥淥n the map, the territory, and the body鈥� unpacked the 鈥渆ntanglements of 鈥榯he map,鈥� 鈥榯he territory鈥� and 鈥榯he body鈥� in modern international and political thought in order to provide an understanding of their co-constitution鈥�. Prof. Kathryn Yusoff鈥檚 address entitled 鈥淕eologic Bodies, Planetary States鈥�, argued that Geologic Life substantiates a key 鈥渁nalytic for geography that positions inhuman forces in political terms as preceding biopolitical concepts of life and understanding changes of state as a political domain鈥�.
The day also included eight panel discussions on themes including Embodied Extractivism; Aquatic Bodies; Gender; Body, Space; Mining Bodies; Travelling Bodies; Bodies and Accumulation; Reimagining Territories and Travelling Bodies. The papers presented in these panels concerned varied research interests and geographies, from, 鈥淭he Science of Mining in the Himalayan Rivers鈥� (Saumya Pandey), to 鈥淭he Case of Sperm Smuggling in the Occupied West Bank鈥� (Gala Rexer), to 鈥淎quatic territorial bodies as submerged sites of ecological (re)existence and peace鈥� (Beatriz Arnal Calvo), and so many more. Each of the papers presented brought new perspectives to bear on the notion of 鈥渢erritorial bodies鈥� as a framework for deciphering crisis in the twenty-first century.
Outcomes
Our hope is that the conference will lead to an edited collection via the , Routledge. We have already released a call for papers for this collection. The edited collection is tentatively entitled Territorial Bodies: World Culture in Crisis.
We were also fortunate enough to receive additional support from The Centre for Women and Gender; BCLA and GRP (connecting cultures). This funding allowed us not only to deliver the conference but also to provide travel bursaries and fee reimbursement for our speakers.
