FAU Presents ‘Bodies of Belief: Somaesthetics of Faith and Liberation

Florida Atlantic University’s Center for Body, Mind, and Culture in the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters will present an in-person international conference “Bodies of Belief: Somaesthetics of Faith and Liberation” on Wednesday, Nov. 8 and Thursday, Nov. 9 on FAU’s Boca Raton campus, 777 Glades Road.

This conference will examine the complex phenomenon of pain as an inevitable dimension of embodied life.  Although often identified with a mere physical sensation, pain clearly has its mental or spiritual forms and features. Indeed, even physical pain is experienced as a mental event and seems to bridge the alleged divide between body and mind that somaesthetics contests.

“Our conference ‘Bodies of Belief: Somaesthetics of Faith and Liberation Bodies of Pain: Somaesthetic Explorations’ explores how human bodies are shaped not only by their genetic endowments but also by the belief frameworks of the cultures in which they live,” said Richard Shusterman, FAU Dorothy F. Schmidt Eminent Scholar in the Humanities and Director of the Center of Body, Mind and Culture. “Our shared embodied beliefs generate collaborative action that holds our societies together. However, the beliefs we embody also transcend and defy established social norms; they include items of faith and commitment that are nonconformist or even antagonistic to the societal mainstream.”

The conference will include presentations from an international group of scholars from Europe and America. Program and access details can be found at  fau.edu/artsandletters/bodymindculture/uconfern

This is the 19th international conference of the Center for Body, Mind, and Culture since its founding in 2007. For further information about the center, visit fau.edu/artsandletters/bodymindculture