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Effaced from History? Facial Difference and its Representation from Antiquity to the Present Day (CfP, Winchester, 31 March – 2 April 2016)

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Research Summary: Facial Difference and Historical Representation

Event Type: Academic Conference Call for Papers
Primary Disciplines: Medical humanities, history, visual culture, literary studies, gender studies
Key Thematic Areas: Medical approaches; gender and difference; war and punishment; visual representation; shame and stigma; print media sensationalism; congenital and acquired differences; queering normalcy
Dates & Location: 31 March – 2 April 2016, Winchester
Scholarly Focus: Interdisciplinary examination of how facial difference has been documented, displayed, and interpreted across historical periods from antiquity to present
Scope Note: Encompasses medical, social, cultural, and performative dimensions of facial difference including self-inflicted or faked presentations and normative frameworks
  • Medical approaches to facial difference
  • Gender and difference
  • War, violence and punishment
  • Visual culture — sculpture, painting, photos…
  • Literary responses (inc. drama)
  • Shame and stigma
  • Print media — news items, sensationalism, exhibiting the face
  • Congenital and acquired differences
  • Self-inflicted or faked differences
  • Queering the face — what is ‘normal’?