Zoom link A: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/95127605829

Zoom link B: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/99903932863

Zoom link C: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/99845608827

Zoom link D: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/97781575366 

Parameters of Literacy and Literariness in Modern Korea: Hermeneutics as Textual Technics

This panel investigates literacy and literariness as broadly constituted by reading, writing, criticism, and machine-mediated analysis while moving between national borders, linguistic/generic modes, and the human and the non-human. Hwang shows how a renowned South Korean critic’s unorthodox interpretation of D.H. Lawrence’s survey of American literature in the 1980s allowed him to advocate for anti-American resistance while critiquing the literature of minjung. Chung explores the aesthetics of recursivity in fabulist postmillennial novels that interpret writing as a form of sociogenetic elaboration overturning the economic reduction of life by neoliberalism. Berthelier compares North and South Korean literary language by leveraging the Large Language Models’ tendency to prefer low perplexity to measure deviations from the generic. Shin develops the idea of elasticity to show how the operations of ChatGPT uncannily mirror the ways humans have already been interpreting and performing in a culture of hyperconnectivity. Taken together, we understand these hermeneutics as relational forms of thinking and embodying language through interpretation and misinterpretation — a textual technics of becoming — while navigating between creation and criticism, fabulism and verisimilitude, the generic and the uncommon, and canon and popular culture.

Zoom link E: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/91525860214

Zoom link A: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/95127605829

Zoom link B: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/99903932863

Zoom link C: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/99845608827

Zoom link D: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/97781575366

Zoom link E: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/91525860214

Zoom link A: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/95127605829

The Pitfalls of Universalism: Japanese Cultural Texts Interpreted and Misinterpreted Under the Western Eye

Any cultural text is destined to be brought out of the milieu of its origin to be received by the alien recipients. Naturally, it is highly prone to misinterpretation as the receiver may very well lack the knowledge of linguistic/cultural paradigm that the text has sprung from. The Japanese cultural texts which have been quite favorably received by foreign readers have also been interpreted and badly misinterpreted. While this is a common reality of any socio-cultural encounter, the problem arises when the interpretation is done on the basis of (false) universalism which domesticates the alien cultural phenomena as expressions of the universal, thus common, human sentiments and cultural practice. Such universalism is a gesture to contain the other to one's own familiar paradigm. This panel attempts to explore the function of universalist conceptions that has standardized misinterpretation as (true) interpretation in a few cases of the kind in the history of the dissemination of Japanese cultural texts in the West.

Zoom link B: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/99903932863

Zoom link C: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/99845608827

Zoom link D: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/97781575366 

Digital Humanities in Asia: A Phenomenological Approach

This panel aims at highlighting the practical dimensions of digitalization in Asia by observing three socio-cultural phenomena: the employment of artificial intelligence in assessing readers’ preferences and changing relationships to literature (Raluca Nicolae), the users’ rejection of artificial intelligence on creative platforms (Zhao Xinyi) and the tension between what artificial intelligence and the enhancement of the human organism as body and mind was imagined to be in works of visual arts and the development towards current events (Maria Grajdian). The three presenters confront theoretical ideas with real-life phenomena and construct their discourses as architectures grounded in quotidian experiences, compassionately avoiding the traps of academic absolutism: the habit of vicariously extracting facts originating in the everyday texture and emptying them of their existential vitality so that they fit the abstract purpose of yet another ingenious but sadly useless theory. 

Zoom link E: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/91525860214

Zoom link A: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/95127605829

Zoom link B: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/99903932863

Zoom link C: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/99845608827

Networking in Vietnamese Diaspora and Migration

The panel is looking at the Vietnamese internal and external migration and, through the proposed presentations, it will show that the migrants face various forms of migrants precarity, how they resist precarity, and what are the consequences of the resistance/facing precarity. The panel will show that by transplanting the socio-economic model from Vietnam to the host society, the first generation of Vietnamese extends various migrant precarity to the second-generation Vietnamese living in the Czech Republic. Here, the migrant precarity produces a higher degree of psychological burden leading to more frequent development of mental illnesses within the diaspora, compared to the society-at-large. Then, the panel will show that also in internal Vietnamese economic migration, the migrants face similar problems and precarity. To resist those problems, they create various social and religious networks. Finally, the panel will show how the migrant precarity faced by the first-generation migrants leads to inter-generational conflicts that are depicted by a comparative study of how the heterosexual and homosexual members of the 1.5 and second-generation Vietnamese negotiate over their romantic/marital partners from the non-co-ethnic cultural environment.

Zoom link D: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/97781575366

Zoom link E: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/91525860214

Translative Affinities. Misinterpretation in Poetry: Theories, Texts and Translation Practise

When it comes to poetry, misinterpretation is a fairly common hazard. The multiplicity of meanings semantically and phonologically conveyed by words, verses and poems through silent readings or oral performances allows several interpretations, which may lead to the distortion of the original texts or, on the contrary, to new understandings able to disclose the full potential of poetry and reveal other perspectives. Through case studies of misinterpretation, re-creation, and mediation in the field of poetic theories, text interpretation and translation, the panel intends to explore the creative potential of misinterpretation and its repercussions in poetry.

Zoom link A: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/95127605829

Zoom link B: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/99903932863

Zoom link C: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/99845608827 

Zoom link D: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/97781575366

Old Siam: Carrefour of Civilizations

Situated at the crossroads between the Indian Ocean, the Malay archipelago, and the South China Sea, the Kingdom of Siam (present-day Thailand) served, for most of its history, as an important entrepôt for the exchange of goods and ideas. Despite centuries of uninterrupted statehood, only a limited number of indigenous sources is available for the reconstruction of the Siamese kingdom’s premodern history. Changes in mentality and identity as well as shifts in etiquette, thought and worldview, remain particularly elusive. Subliminal, seemingly self-evident or otherwise not noteworthy views, attitudes and (mis)conceptions often rise to the level of consciousness and enter the historical record, only in contexts of – occasionally confrontational – encounters with foreign practices and ideas. Therefore, this panel seeks to harness the potential for enhancing scholarly insight into the historical experience of the Siamese people by examining the written artifacts left behind by interactions between merchants, missionaries, diplomats, and local political and cultural elites.

Zoom link E: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/91525860214

Zoom link A: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/95127605829

Zoom link B: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/99903932863

Limits of Interpretation: Clothing on Chinese Paintings and Historical Photographs

This panel deals with the way of depiction of historical clothing in Chinese traditional paintings and historical photographs which date from the 19th century and from the turn of the 19th and the 20th centuries, respectively. Given the fact that clothing usually defines an individual's position in a structured society, the panelists eventually entreat whether clothing in traditional painting can be perceived as real, or exagerated; whether portraits depict the clothing of the period faithfully. Drawing on the vast collection at Náprstek museum, Prague, the panelists studied a number of paintings of both living and deceased persons (so-called ancestral portraits), juxtaposing them with extant Chinese clothing from the same collection, e.g., the dragon robes with rank insignia, also depicted in many portraits of the Qing dynasty scholar-officials. Historical photographs of high-ranking Manchu families, taken by Enrique Stanko Vráz in Beijing in Spring 1901, were examined, too. Although the photographs would appear to capture realistically the period clothing, its array and the historical context (the Boxer Uprising) must be considered. An interesting, albeit in many ways complicated and ambiguous visual source for the study of Chinese historical clothing, and clothing accessories, is the figurative genre of “paintings of gentlewomen” or “paintings of beautiful women”. In general, these works depict a figure of an anonymous palace beauty, but more broadly they also include scenes with the characters of famous and talented women from Chinese history and literature. This characterization also underlies the tradition of depicting women's clothing within this painting genre, which is often subject to considerable idealization and iconographic conventions. The depicted clothing mostly does not correspond to the contemporary fashion or the national composition of the society, but it does reflect some fundamental cultural and socio-political themes of the time. 

Zoom link C: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/99845608827

Zoom link D: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/97781575366

Zoom link E: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/91525860214

Europe-Asia relations and regional stakeholders’ policies amid Sino-US “extreme competition” in the Indo-Pacific (1/2)  

The economic and geostrategic competition between China and the United States has strong implications for the strategies and policies of the Indo-Pacific nations, but also the European Union’s (EU) relations with the region. Moreover, since Xi Jinping became President, China’s relations with most Western, but also many Indo-Pacific nations deteriorated. Dialogue and cooperation in many policy areas are stalled, increasing the risk of costly misinterpretation, which could ultimately lead to military conflict. This panel will explore the policies of great, middle, and small powers in the Indo-Pacific from the perspectives of Area Studies, International Relations, and Comparative Politics. Europe’s tilt to the Indo-Pacific, exemplified by the EU’s support for buttressing the rules-based order in the South China Sea and its closer cooperation with ASEAN states, as well as China’s perception of European strategic intentions will be examined. A specific case study illustrating the complexity of Europe-China ties deals with China’s relations with Beijing-friendly Hungary. In order to strengthen their strategic autonomy, most small ASEAN members, including Singapore, follow a hedging strategy. Their aim is to avoid becoming too dependent on either China or the US. Middle powers such as Australia, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea have bigger strategic leeway. By cooperating with each other, they can establish communities of practice and contribute to maintaining the rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific. All in all, this panel, consisting of two sessions, will provide new insights into the emerging policies in the Indo-Pacific. In part, it will build on the preliminary results of the EU-funded Twinning project “The EU in the volatile Indo-Pacific region” (EUVIP).  

Zoom link A: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/95127605829

Zoom link B: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/99903932863

Zoom link C: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/99845608827

Zoom link D: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/97781575366

Zoom link E: https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/91525860214

Europe-Asia relations and regional stakeholders’ policies amid Sino-US “extreme competition” in the Indo-Pacific (2/2)  

The economic and geostrategic competition between China and the United States has strong implications for the strategies and policies of the Indo-Pacific nations, but also the European Union’s (EU) relations with the region. Moreover, since Xi Jinping became President, China’s relations with most Western, but also many Indo-Pacific nations deteriorated. Dialogue and cooperation in many policy areas are stalled, increasing the risk of costly misinterpretation, which could ultimately lead to military conflict. This panel will explore the policies of great, middle, and small powers in the Indo-Pacific from the perspectives of Area Studies, International Relations, and Comparative Politics. Europe’s tilt to the Indo-Pacific, exemplified by the EU’s support for buttressing the rules-based order in the South China Sea and its closer cooperation with ASEAN states, as well as China’s perception of European strategic intentions will be examined. A specific case study illustrating the complexity of Europe-China ties deals with China’s relations with Beijing-friendly Hungary. In order to strengthen their strategic autonomy, most small ASEAN members, including Singapore, follow a hedging strategy. Their aim is to avoid becoming too dependent on either China or the US. Middle powers such as Australia, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea have bigger strategic leeway. By cooperating with each other, they can establish communities of practice and contribute to maintaining the rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific. All in all, this panel, consisting of two sessions, will provide new insights into the emerging policies in the Indo-Pacific. In part, it will build on the preliminary results of the EU-funded Twinning project “The EU in the volatile Indo-Pacific region” (EUVIP).