Prof. Grace Ting draws from crip, mad, & neurodiversity studies to provide readings of literary works by Japanese author Murata Sayaka (村田沙耶香), who is well-known as a feminist writer. She will provide an overview explaining basic aspects of crip/disability, mad, and neurodiversity studies before mentioning examples of “eccentric” female characters in recent Japanese literature.
Next, she will discuss Murata’s novels Convenience Store Woman (《便利店人間》) and Earthlings (《地球星人》). How do we avoid simply “diagnosing” fictional characters while reflecting more deeply on mental illness, neurodiversity, and related themes through literature? In particular, Earthlings leads to more nuanced discussions of sexual violence, trauma, and #MeToo narratives.
Besides Murata’s novels, there are other East Asian feminist novels depicting mental illness, psychiatric institutions, and sexual violence, such as Cho Nam-Joo’s Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 (《82年生的金智英》), Han Kang’s The Vegetarian (《素食者》), and Lin Yi-han’s Fang Si-Qi’s First Love Paradise (《房思琪的初戀樂園》). These novels also provide opportunities for reflection on crip/mad experiences and #MeToo.
For general interest, the talk will conclude with a brief introduction to Japanese writers known for queer, feminist, and crip portrayals (available in English and Chinese). During and after the talk, Grace will invite participants to share their thoughts and experiences in Hong Kong or from other places.
🐣 Who might want to attend?
- Anyone interested in an introduction to reading literature through crip, mad, and neurodiversity studies (perfectly suited for a non-academic audience).
- Anyone interested in Japanese literature, especially queer/feminist writers.
🌷 About the Speaker
Grace En-Yi Ting (丁恩宜): A Taiwanese American queer/feminist studies scholar who teaches Gender Studies at The University of Hong Kong (HKU). Her research focuses on Japanese literature and popular culture, as well as transnational Asian contexts.
This event is part of c.95d8's “Crip Community Space Building” project. c.95d8 Crip Space provides a free venue for crip artists to host events. The Crip Community Space Building project is funded by the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund (SIE Fund) and supported by Impact Incubator.