The Tripartite Curatorial Discourse: An Anatomy of Silence - Strategic Research Framework for DPhil in Philosophical Theology

This document presents the strategic research framework and curatorial blueprint for a proposed DPhil in Philosophical Theology at the University of Oxford / University of Cambridge, curated by Mingwai Chan. It outlines the Theory of Redemptive Masochistic Testimony and its physicalization through a dual-structured archive: 1. Black Box (Corporeal Remains / 屍骨): An existential mortuary of 13 serialized artifacts (Specimens 2-4, 11-13, 16,18-20), documenting the collapse of symbolic contracts across three generations - including the execution of a lawyer-grandfather during the Cultural Revolution, maternal denial of childhood abuse, and a damaged silver crucifix in a bank deposit box (Specimen 19). 2. White Box (Poetic Skeleton / 詩骨): 7 ascetic texts culminating in Specimen 10: The Mirror. This final component inverts the trajectory of light, ceasing to be a tool for visibility and becoming a reflective mechanism of judgment that forces academic committees into transparent complicity. The framework demonstrates methodological application through two literary-theological specimens:- Specimen 18 [The Freezing Point]: Miura Ayako's Hyoten vs. living sibling archive - the pathology of original sin and defensive silence.- Specimen 20 [The Inside of Man]: Sanmao vs. forensic reality of aquatic trauma - the demolition of textual empires and death as absolute debridement. Theoretical alignment: Direct dialogue with Professor George Pattison's The Philosophy of Prayer (2025) on nothingness and language, and Dr. James Orr's critiques of modern institutional frameworks. Proposes that true testimony transpires only when speech ceases and the somatic self stares into the void. This is the curatorial prospectus for the Mingwaiology archive. Community: mingwaiologyAuthor: Chan, MingwaiLicense: CC-BY 4.0