NeMLA CFP: 'Hieroglyphics of the flesh:' Embodied Archives in French and Francophone Contexts (Panel)
This panel explores archives beyond the traditional frame and instead as embodied spaces of cultural memory and histories inscribed on skin. Building upon Hortense Spillers’ important essay Mama’s Baby, Papa’s Maybe (1987), we seek papers from humanities scholars in the French and Francophone worlds that reframe the body not as a passive victim but as a living text, a site of memory, and an alternative space that rescripts official records. By retracing histories through the reading of the body, we can activate affect, unleash unexpected memories, and create generative spaces for art that centres on cultural knowledge to empower communities.
