Upcoming Events

CALL FOR PAPERS AND PANEL SESSIONS

Cosmetic Cultures: Beauty, globalisation, politics, practices
University of Leeds , 24 - 26 of June 2009

CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS

SYMPOSIUM: Interdisciplinarity in Feminist State Theory, University of Toronto, March 6 and 7, 2009.

What varied disciplinary legacies inform contemporary feminist scholarship on the state? What contributions does feminist state theory, as an interdisciplinary site, offer to more conventionally disciplined theories of the state?

This symposium, hosted by the Women and Gender Studies Institute and the Worldwide Universities Network, will focus on two major concepts in state theory-- sovereignty and security-- and examine how they have undergone innovative reconceptualization in recent times, and reflect on the interdisciplinary reach of such reconceptualizations.

Political theorists of violence, law and biopolitics have expanded the concept of sovereignty to address distinctly non-state based contexts, and transnational feminist studies of citizenship critically dismantle the logic of state sovereignty. The field of development studies has long emphasized the need to broaden notions of security to include the fulfillment of basic needs, and feminist scholarship on militarism and violence against women has also creatively recast our understanding of security. Taken together, these reconceptualizations question the scope of states. At the same time, given the contemporary economic climate of neoliberalism, the retrenchment of the distributive functions of states is also of great concern to feminist activists. This symposium is expected to highlight this tension, drawing on the location and interests of scholars in a variety of settings.

To this end, we invite scholars to address, through short (10) minute panel presentations, the meanings of the terms 'sovereignty' or 'security' in their respective disciplinary and national locations. The format of this event is intended to foster discussion between attendees, rather than feature full-length papers. The goal is to build a collaborative network across disciplinary and national locations.

Invited featured speakers include Carol Cohn, Janet Halley and Rajeswari Sunder Rajan.

Panelists will be selected with an eye towards increasing disciplinary and national representation, apart from the quality of their conceptual statement. Support for travel and accommodation will be provided to panelists who are selected, pending funding.

Please submit:

1. A short bio (100 words max) and
2. A 1 page (300 word max) conceptual statement of how you approach either of the terms 'sovereignty' or 'security' in your own discipline and national location.

Submit via email to Ashwini Tambe: a.tambe@utoronto.ca
Or fax to: 416 946 5561 (Attention: Interdisciplinarity Symposium)

If you would like to be informed of future WUN Gender Studies Consortium events please email Louise Heery.