Track 3: Literature, Society, and Identity: Exploring Modern Discourse

Track Introduction

This track focuses on modern and contemporary academic discourses in which literature is investigated in close connection to social issues and identity politics. It aims to bring together researchers and educators with a wide range of interests to engage in interdisciplinary dialogues, articulate new ideas, and uncover different insights for a vigorous exploration of these discourses, which have been critically informed by discussions of the intersectionality of ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, and many other factors.

The Topics Included but Not Limited To the Following

• The Role of Literature in Shaping Cultural Identity
• Gender, Sexuality, and Power in Contemporary Literary Works
• The Literature of Migration: Transnational Narratives
• Representations of Race and Ethnicity in Global Literature
• The Intersection of Literature and Political Activism
• Exploring the Role of the Author in Modern Society

Track Chair

Prof. Lisa Li

Oberlin University, Japan

 

Bio

Lisa Li is a Professor of the College of Global Communication at J. F. Oberlin University, Tokyo, Japan. She received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the Department of East Asian Languages and Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States. Her research interests include issues related to the effect of modernization on East Asia as represented in literary and visual texts, as well as teaching these texts to students of diverse backgrounds.