call for papers

How do the laws and policies of a nation-state affect women's health?  Is the state invested in these issues because women are seen to be bearers and nurturers of future citizens?  Or are there are other concerns such as economic development, human welfare, or religious ideology that shape this engagement?  What are the current and historical responsibilities of the state in addressing women’s health issues?  How can they be measured and improved upon, and how do we approach the underlying ethical issues in practical and useful ways for women around the globe?

The USC Levan Institute for Humanities and Ethics, USC Center for International Studies, and the USC Institute for Global Health are co-hosting a symposium on Monday, April 5, 2010 to address these and related questions.  This multidisciplinary event will bring together participants from international relations, global public health, philosophy, gender and women’s studies, anthropology, sociology, religious studies, economics, psychology, and political science.  Travel awards are available to all selected participants.

Conference co-chairs:

Alison Dundes Renteln, Ph.D, J.D., Professor of Political Science &
Anthropology, USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Jonathan M. Samet, M.D., M.S., Director, USC Institute for Global Health,
Professor and Flora L. Thornton Chair, Department of Preventive Medicine,
Keck School of Medicine

Call for Papers

“What Pertains To a Man”?

Transcending Gender Boundaries in Jewish and Israeli Law

Conference to be held at the University of Chicago Law School

Monday March 1, 2010

This small one day conference will be structured around two documentary films, Praying in her Own Voice and Paper Dolls (Bubyot Niyar), each centered on ways in which Israeli law and culture deal with individuals and groups who transcend the gender boundaries of Jewish law.  The conference title is taken from Deuteronomy 10:22, which declares it to be an abomination for a woman to put on what pertains to a man and for a man to wear women’s clothing.

Feminism & HCI: A Special Issue of Interacting with Computers

Editors

Shaowen Bardzell (Indiana University School of Informatics and Computing)

Elizabeth F. Churchill (Yahoo! Research)

Portrayals of feminism, in politics, the media, and even in HCI conferences, suggest that this household word is not always well understood.  Academically, feminism is a subdomain of critical theory that examines “the ways in which literature (and other cultural productions) reinforces or undermines the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women.” (Tyson, 2006).  As a subdomain of critical theory, feminism integrates a collection of theories, analytical and interpretative methodologies, ethical values, and political positions, which have evolved over the past two centuries.

As HCI continues to expand beyond the preoccupations with how efficiently a system performs and is increasingly concerned with culture, society, and the experiential qualities of computing, the discipline stands to benefit from feminism.  Feminist theories and concepts have much to offer HCI due to a commitment to: studying arenas of interaction such as the home; reflective considerations of dominant and alternative epistemologies; understanding the constitution of gender and the self in everyday life; investigating the indirect effects of design; considering emotional landscapes including pleasure, desire, attraction, sentiment, anger, fear and resistance; studying the adoption and adaptation of technologies in leisure activities such as crafts; and addressing broader issues such as embodiment, memory, performance, and the effects of surveillance and gaze.

The Capital Conference 2010, IFGE’s 24th Annual conference, will have two segments.  A Providers Day will be held on April 22nd in collaboration with the George Washington University's Department of Speech and Hearing Science with a theme of “Building Competencies for Serving TransPeople and their Families”.

There will also be a poster presentation session that evening.  The Provider Day will allow those who provide speech, medical and mental health services to the transgender community, to share their knowledge to an audience of other providers.  We welcome applications for participation in the Provider Day Poster session. Poster presenters will receive a discount off the full registration fee.

Serena Freewomyn sent out a mail this morning asking for contributions -

Hello Feminists For Choice!

I hope you all had a nice holiday weekend.  Just a short reminder to all of you that Feminists For Choice is seeking pro-choice narratives for our upcoming e-book.  We'd love to hear from you about how and why you became a pro-choice activists.  For full submission details, check out the Call for Papers.

Description:
Feminists For Choice is seeking essays or narratives from feminists about what drives them to activism.  Essay topics may include, but are not limited to, the following themes:
•    When did you first call yourself a feminist?
•    What does feminism mean to you?
•    Did you grow up in a pro-choice household, or was your family anti-choice?
•    If you grew up in an anti-choice household, what influenced your decision to become involved in the pro-choice movement?
•    What does the pro-choice movement mean to you?
•    What does activism look like to you?
•    What do you envision as the future for the pro-choice movement?

Pro-choice activists of all ages, gender identities, races, and experience levels are encouraged to contribute.

The essays will be compiled into an e-book, which will be available for download at www.feministsforchoice.com.  All proceeds will benefit Feminists For Choice, and will enable us to continue expand our online resources for the pro-choice community.

Submission Instructions:
•    Essays should be 5000 words or less
•    Submissions should be sent via e-mail to CFP@feministsforchoice.com
•    File format should be .doc, .docx, or .rtf

Deadlines:
•    All submissions should be received by February 15, 2009.
•    If your essay is chosen for publication, you will be notified by March 1, 2009.

For More Information:
Please contact Serena Freewomyn, founder of Feminists For Choice, via e-mail at serena@feministsforchoice.com.

Beyond Citizenship: Feminism and the transformation of Belonging

An international and interdisciplinary conference
30th June - 2nd July 2010    
Birkbeck, University of London

The language of citizenship has, in recent years, been mobilized by feminists to articulate a wide range of claims and demands.  The notions of economic, political, social, cultural, sexual/ bodily, and intimate citizenship, for example, have all been developed and explored in terms of their normative potential and their actual realization. 

Confirmed Speakers:

Sara Ahmed
Davina Cooper
Krassimira Daskalova
Antke Engel
Katherine Gibson
Julie Graham
(a.k.a J.K. Gibson-Graham)
Rebecca Gomperts
Gail Lewis
Lynne Segal
Margrit Shildrick
Birte Siim
Gloria Wekker
Anna Yeatman