Animate Objects, Inanimate Bodies

What separates the human body from the objects around it? Are objects merely inanimate, inorganic things that are designed and used by human bodies? Is it solely the human body that is the physical site or limit of the self? Is there a divide between the human body and the object in the first place? We are looking for papers which examine the interactions (or lack thereof) between bodies and objects in literature. These interactions could suggest an impenetrable divide between the human body and the object, could question where the body ends and the object begins, or could reveal how bodies and objects inform one another.

Possible topics could include but are not limited to: Objects and the disabled body Objects and sexuality Objects and gender Animated objects such as robots or cyborgs The posthuman Texts/books as types of bodies The bodys lack, loss or rejection of objects Isolated objects does the object lose meaning or acquire a new significance due to its lack of interaction with the human body? Thing Theory Objects as extensions of the self Objects as destroying the bodys connection with the self

Please send abstracts (250 300 words) to: kathryn.maude@kcl.ac.uk with your name, university affiliation and whether you are an MA or a PhD student. The deadline for abstracts is Wednesday 21st March 2012 The conference will take place on Monday 21st May 2012