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Call for Papers Theme: Nature, Spirituality and Place Subtitle: Comparative Studies between American transcendentalism and Chinese philosophy Type: Online Workshop Institution: Department of Philosophy, Soochow University Religions Journal Location: Online Date: 24.10.2022 Deadline: 7.10.2022 __________________________________________________ We are pleased to invite you to participate in the online workshop titled "Nature, Spirituality and Place: Comparative Studies between American transcendentalism and Chinese philosophy”. Deeply influenced by five thousand years of agricultural civilization, Chinese culture, which is greatly shaped by Confucianism, Daoism and Zen Buddhism, has formed a unique feature that spirituality is formed through living in harmony with nature. However, with the fast process of urbanization, and creation of national park system, more and more people have to move into cities or towns. The change of physical living place causes serious spiritual crises, since spirituality in Chinese culture is deeply related to the land. Given this situation, it is very important to examine why American transcendentalism and Chinese religions both find spirituality in nature and how this pursuit has influenced people’s aesthetic appreciation of different types of physical nature and self-identity. This examination will have a tremendous influence on various ecological practices, which include urban design, environmental restoration, agricultural heritage and wilderness conservation. This workshop aims at examining why American transcendentalism and Chinese religions such as Confucianism, Daoism and Zen Buddhism all find spirituality in nature, and how their interpretation of nature generates great difference on people’s aesthetic perception of agricultural land, gardens and wilderness. Original research articles are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following: 1. Comparison between Emerson and Zhuang Zi in their different interpretation of nature and its influence on aesthetic appreciation of different types of physical nature (wilderness, farmland, and gardens) and place attachment; 2. Comparative study between Chinese religions and transcendentalism in metaphysics and its influence on nature interpretation; 3. Spirituality in Confucianism and aesthetic appreciation of nature; 4. Daoism’s revolution and reinterpretation of the concept of nature; 5. Wilderness and its relationship with Daoism’s spiritual cultivation; 6. Emerson’s religious revolution and pursuit of spirituality in returning to nature; 7. Spirituality in Zen Buddhism and its influence on Suzhou Garden design and aesthetic perception of Suzhou Gardens; 8. Spirituality in Zen Buddhism and its influence on agricultural practices; 9. Nature Aesthetics in Emerson and Zhuang Zi. If you are interested in the workshop, please send your 500 words of abstract to Shan Gao before October 7th: s...@suda.edu.cn Notification of the acceptance of the abstract will be sent by October 15th. Accepted abstracts and papers will be recommended to the special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444). The website for this special issue is: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special_issues/XOCHHPL3HM Contact: Shan Gao, Associate Professor Department of Philosophy Soochow University Email: s...@suda.edu __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: https://interphil.polylog.org InterPhil List Archive: https://www.mail-archive.com/interphil@list.polylog.org/ __________________________________________________
