Conjugal Relationships: An Assessment of Sino / West Discourse and Aesthetics

An edited volume to be published in 2022

Deadline for abstracts: 20 December 2021

We are now inviting chapter proposals for the book volume Conjugal Relationships: An Assessment of Sino / West Discourse and Aesthetics. This book aims to review the presentation of conjugal relationships in the Sino / West context. In what way is the act of marriage represented / misrepresented in different literary genres and their adaptations? What are the gendered characteristics that affect the overall conjugal relationships in Chinese societal practices? What are the essential features that give rise to nuptial arrangements from the Chinese perspective? How do Sino and / or West mentalities differ in terms of autonomy in marriage? To what extent could marriage be in the form of transaction of female / male bodies? Under what circumstances do wedding ceremonies constitute to archetypal or counter-archetypal notions in modern / pre-modern society? The volume serves to revisit the connection between marriage and various art forms including literature, film, theatre, adaptations, etc.

We welcome submissions that include, but not limited to, the following topics in Sino / West scenarios:

1. Marriage from ancient to present times
2. Empire, romance and marriage
3. The ethics of love and marriage
4. Duty and rights in conjugal relations
5. Marriage as ritual culture
6. Inter-racial / Inter-cultural marriage
7. Legitimacy in marriage and concubinage
8. Widowhood in Confucian ideology
9. Divorce as resistance
10. Re-marriage and its taboo
11. Conjugal violence
12. Conjugal transaction

The volume will be edited by Dr. Kelly Kar Yue Chan and Dr. Chi Sum Garfield Lau. They have rich experience in the academia and connections with various publishers. Their edited book, Chinese Culture in the 21st Century and its Global Dimensions: Comparative and Interdisciplinary Perspectives (Springer Nature) was published in 2020. A forthcoming edited volume, Cross-Cultural Encounters: Global Networks, Mediation, and Intertextuality in Modern and Premodern China (Springer Nature), will soon be released in late 2021 / early 2022.

Interested authors should send an abstract (no more than 250 words) and a short biography (no more than 150 words) to the editorial team (kkychan@hkmu.edu.hk and cslau@hkmu.edu.hk) by 20 December 2021.

Authors will be notified of the decision made by the editorial team by 31 January 2022. Only papers that have not been submitted to any other publishers before will be considered for acceptance.

For details and enquiries, please write to kkychan@hkmu.edu.hk and cslau@hkmu.edu.hk.

Full Paper Submission Guideline The submission should be between 6,000 and 8,000 words (excluding references) and it should follow the attached full paper style guide.
Submission Channels: Please send your full paper prepared in APA style to kkychan@hkmu.edu.hk and
cslau@hkmu.edu.hk by 25 April 2022. All received abstracts and papers will go through the process of internal review and language editing before they are included in the proposal to potential publishers.

Important Dates:
20 December 2021 (Mon) Deadline of abstract submission
31 January 2022 (Mon) Notification of acceptance
25 April 2022 (Mon) Deadline of full paper submission