The subject of feelings: the lineage novel and the discourse of emotions in Korea, 17th—20th centuries

Abstract: Patriarchal patrilineal society took root in Chosŏn Korea (1392-1910) in the 17th century. A picture of rigid kinship structures has become a token representation of this era in historiography.  However, Chosŏn society appears in a new light  from the vantage point of the lineage novel (kamun sosŏl家門小說), which circulated among elite women from the late 17th until the early 20th century.  Who is the subject of feelings? And how is the matter of feelings expressed in the lineage novel? Focusing on the discourse of feelings that unfolds in this massive literary tradition, unique to premodern Korea, this presentation will trace the aesthetic and historical contours of the lineage novel.

About the Speaker: Dr Ksenia Chizhova has recently joined the ANU Korea Institute as a Postdoctoral Fellow, having completed her PhD at Columbia University. Her area of interest is the history of emotions, the history of the body, and women’s culture in premodern Korea.