TORONTO, March 12, 2015 – Law and the Curated Body will bring together academics and practitioners working in law, art, the humanities, the social sciences, medicine, religion and the healing arts to shed light on contemporary issues affecting the human body and widen discussion around contested social, ethical and legal norms.
The panel discussions at the March 26-28 conference, which will be structured to generate interdisciplinary insights, will consider such topics as:
- Copyright in dance choreography;
- Judging B-Boying performance;
- Amnesty International activist photography;
- The use of mindfulness techniques in legal negotiation;
- The adoption of yogic techniques and Buddhist principles by lawyers practising in an adversarial system;
- The biopolitical regulation in body rituals from circumcision to the monthly bath or Mikveh;
- Embedded artistic practice within war zones;
- Teaching insight meditation to prisoners so they can “leave prison” before they get out;
- The role of artists’ residencies and applied aesthetics in palliative care;
- The deployment of lie detection technology as an artistic medium;
- The legal and ethical implications in the exhibition of deceased, disabled and spectacular human bodies;
- The curating of the public gaze in the online display of former Manitoba Associate Chief Justice Lori Douglas’ eroticized body.
“We are proud to host this first conference of its kind,” said Osgoode Professor Faisal Bhabha who, along with Professors Jennifer Fisher and Barbara Sellers-Young of the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design, designed and organized the event. “Through innovative and interdisciplinary presentations and workshops, we will explore how the curatorial can contribute to understanding the connections and interplay between law and the body.”
There will be two keynote lectures in Osgoode Hall Law School’s Moot Courtroom that will be open to the general public. On March 26 at 11:15 a.m., Alan Read, Professor of Theatre, King’s College London, UK will present “Performance, Law and Ethics: Staging the Irreparable Body,” and on March 27 at 10:45 a.m., Angela P. Harris, Professor of Law, UC Davis Law School, California will present “Compassion and Critique.”
The conference program will also include a reading of Catherine Frid’s new play, NormaLeeDean, written and produced with the assistance of Osgoode students last semester, and the launch of performance artist and lawyer Julie Lassonde’s Counterbalance. Frid and Lassonde are Osgoode’s Artists in Residence for the 2014-15 academic year. Osgoode’s 2013-14 Artist in Residence, Cindy Blažević, will also give a talk.
The third day of the Law and the Curated Body Conference will be held at the Barristers’ Lounge at Osgoode Hall, 130 Queen Street West, Toronto. The program will feature artist Chrysanne Stathacos’ performance of Rose Mandala as well as presentations and workshops centred on “self-care” for lawyers and activists, and a panel discussion on “The Curious Case of Associate Chief Justice Lori Douglas” featuring Professor Karen Busby (University of Manitoba Faculty of Law), Professor Sonia Lawrence (Osgoode) and Professor Susan Drummond (Osgoode).
York University is helping to shape the global thinkers and thinking that will define tomorrow. York U’s unwavering commitment to excellence reflects a rich diversity of perspectives and a strong sense of social responsibility that sets us apart. A York U degree empowers graduates to thrive in the world and achieve their life goals through a rigorous academic foundation balanced by real-world experiential education. As a globally recognized research centre, York U is fully engaged in the critical discussions that lead to innovative solutions to the most pressing local and global social challenges. York U’s 11 faculties and 27 research centres are thinking bigger, broader and more globally, partnering with 288 leading universities worldwide. York U’s community is strong − 55,000 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, and more than 275,000 alumni.
For further information, please contact:
Virginia Corner, Communications Manager, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, 416-736-5820, vcorner@osgoode.yorku.ca
Brigitte Kleer, Director, Communications & Public Relations, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design, York University, 416-736-2100 ext. 77143, bkleer@yorku.ca
