Center for Women’s & Gender Studies

*Critiquing Culture*

The Cultural Studies Graduate Conference at George Mason University 2012

Ideas are to objects as constellations are to stars. -Walter Benjamin

The Cultural Studies Student Organizing Committee (SOC) at George Mason
University invites paper proposals for our 6th annual Cultural Studies
Graduate Student Conference. The conference will take place on Saturday,
September 22, 2012 at George Mason University (Research 1 Building, Room
163) in Fairfax, Virginia.

CALL FOR PAPERS

At George Mason University, we acknowledge the need to specify Cultural Studies as an academic field with definable features and particular modes of methodological inquiry. In our view, Cultural Studies examines cultural objects as products of the wider social, historical, economic and political conditions that structure their formation, and acknowledges the interrelationship between these factors. In particular, Cultural Studies focuses on power relations and inequalities, which shape the horizon of possibilities for any cultural object at hand, be it a political discourse, an economic model, or a mass cultural product. As a field, Cultural Studies has expanded both geographically and theoretically, building upon its origins in the Birmingham Center for Contemporary Cultural Studies through the inclusion of a range of critical approaches including Marxist political economy, post-structuralism, feminism, critical theory and post-colonial studies. While the objects of Cultural Studies vary widely, the field aims at political relevance and efficacy.

In an attempt to establish a vibrant community for scholars working in precisely this interdisciplinary vein, the Cultural Studies Student Organizing Committee at George Mason University invites graduate students to submit research papers for a conference specifically oriented toward the examination of cultural objects, whether through Marxist, structuralist/poststructuralist, feminist, or other critical lenses. We encourage the submission of papers related, but not limited, to the following broad themes:

- Political Economy
- Mass & Popular Culture
- Gender & Sexuality
- Race & Ethnicity
- Representation & Aesthetics

And, given that 2012 is an election year, the conference strongly encourages papers that address, critique, or otherwise analyze:

- American Electoral Politics

*Abstracts of no more than 300 words and a current CV should be sent to critiquing DOT culture AT gmail DOT com (critiquing.culture@gmail.com) by 1
June 2012. Please include presentation title, presenter’s name, institutional affiliation, contact information, A/V requests, and any special needs required in the email. Abstracts should be sent as .doc or .rtf file attachments.*

MSA-14: October 18-21, 2012. Las Vegas, Nevada; Flamingo Hotel

For at least two decades, scholars have addressed the striking convergence between modernist writers and reactionary, right-wing, or fascist regimes. From Andrew Hewitt’s Fascist Modernism and Fredric Jameson’s Wyndham Lewis: the Modernist as Fascist to Leon Surette’s just-published Dreams of a Totalitarian Utopia: Literary Modernism and Politics, critics have sought to determine why so many modernist innovators were drawn to right-wing or reactionary politics. Yet the discussion has still largely been confined to the political leanings of male modernists, adverting to a fairly standard set of usual suspects: Eliot, Yeats, Pound, Lewis, Marinetti. This panel seeks to bring gender more squarely into this discussion, asking whether (or if) female modernists shared tendencies similar to their right-wing or reactionary male counterparts. Were female modernists equally drawn to reactionary or right-wing political regimes? If so, how did gender inflect the nature of their attraction? We encourage papers that tease out the complexities of this historical moment and the specific possibilities of right-wing or reactionary thought available to early twentieth-century female modernists (authoritarianism, National Socialism, Fascism, Maurrasianism, Royalism, Communism,etc.). Prospective panelists should send a 500-word abstract and a short (2-3 sentence) scholarly biography to Annalisa Zox-Weaver (annalisazoxweaver@gmail.com) and Barbara Will (barbara.will@dartmouth.edu) by March 30, 2012.

Call for Submissions Men Speak Out: Views on Gender, Sex and Power
(Routledge), Revised Second Edition•

Deadline: March 30, 2012

How can we better understand and imagine new possibilities for men and feminism? Are you a guy who hates sexism? Do you call yourself a feminist? Have you spent hours over coffee (or beer or on blogs) debating issues of gender, power, race, class, and sexuality? Are you involved with social
justice activism? Have you grappled with accountability, imperfection, and social change? If so, then you have stories to tell and I’d like to hear what you have to say. For complete information see http://bit.ly/zzwLmE.

Please send submissions or queries to Shira Tarrant at Shira_Tarrant@yahoo.com. Include Men Speak Out 2e Submission in the subject line. Submission queries should be directed to the above.

Deadline: March 30, 2012.

******
Shira Tarrant, PhD
http://shiratarrant.com
<shira_tarrant@yahoo.com>

Are you looking for enjoyable feminist courses for your summer sessions? Consider these first and second session options and share them with others who might be interested! If you would like more information about the courses, send any questions to the instructor, Kristen Hogan, at hogank@mail.utexas.edu

#89482, MTWTHF 230 to 400p
What does feminist, antiracist, queer research look like? How does such meaningful research practice affect our relationships and alliances with each other? Come participate in a discussion of these questions in WGS356: Introduction to Feminist Research Methods. In this course you will imagine and create your identity as a feminist researcher, whether you currently work or plan to work as an academic, activist, artist, citizen critic, or independent scholar. We will hold conversations with guest feminist researchers, visit an art exhibition, explore UT archives, and learn the basics of feminist multiple methods research including archival, oral history, textual analysis, participatory action, and ethnographic research. At the end of this course, you will have developed an in-depth research proposal that will prepare you for graduate-level work, an advanced undergraduate project, or other creative and narrative undertakings.

Are you looking for enjoyable feminist courses for your summer sessions? Consider these first and second session options and share them with others who might be interested! If you would like more information about the courses, send any questions to the instructor, Kristen Hogan, at hogank@mail.utexas.edu

WGS f322: Feminist Theory
#89343, MTWTHF 230 to 400p
Feminist theory grows out of and in connection with feminist activism and visions for a just world. In this class we will build a life practice of reading feminist theories to inform our alliances and actions. You will read key authors and become familiar with groundbreaking concepts from Gloria Anzaldúa’s nepantla to Katherine McKittrick’s demonic grounds, from Audre Lorde’s erotic as power to Jasbir Puar’s queer assemblages. You will also learn to follow developments in feminist theory by understanding how to research trends in feminist theory and by mapping the connections between feminist theory and other critical theories including disability studies and queer theory. This course will focus on U.S. feminisms with particular attention to women of color feminisms.

Save the dates: Dr. Julie Mertus, American University, will speak on feminism and human rights on April 18; the week before her visit, the CWGS/Rapoport Center Research Cluster on Women, Gender, & Human Rights will hold an informal reading group to talk about her work.

1.
“Leap Frog Feminism: Learning about Human Rights Institution Building from Local Actors”
Dr. Julie Mertus, American University
Professor at the School of International Service
Co-Director of the MA Program in Ethics, Peace, and Global Affairs

Monday, April 18, 3:30-5:30p
CCJ 2.310 (Eidman Jury Room: http://www.utexas.edu/law/about/maps/index.php?level=2)
Rapoport Center Human Rights Happy Hour
Sponsored by the CWGS/Rapoport Center Research Cluster on Women, Gender, and Human Rights

Drawing on 25 years of experience working with a host of governmental and nongovernmental human rights organizations, Professor Julie Mertus explains the many mistakes and the few successes in two decades of human rights advocacy. The future, she predicts, rests with today’s students who must navigate the many speed bumps and pot holes frustrating social justice and participatory democracy today.

2.
Optional Reading Group before the talk by Dr. Julie Mertus
Monday, April 11, 11:00-12:30p
SZB 422

In preparation for Dr. Julie Mertus’ talk on April 18, “Leap Frog Feminism: Learning about Human Rights Institution Building from Local Actors,” please join us for an informal discussion of selections from Dr. Mertus’ recent publications. (Dr. Mertus will not be in Austin for the 4/11 discussion.)

For this discussion, please read any or all of these selections:
1. Human Rights Matters: Local Politics and National Human Rights Institutions. Stanford, CA: Stanford UP, 2009.
“Chapter 1: Operationalizing Human Rights at the Local Level,” 1-13
“Chapter 7: Conclusion,” 129-140
2. Mertus with Nancy Flowers. Local Action Global Change: A Handbook on Women’s Human Rights. Boulder, CO: Paradigm, 2008.
“Prologue: From the Kitchen Table to the Burmese Border,” xv-xviii
“Introduction to Women’s Human Rights,” 1-28

If you would like PDFs for these readings for the 4/11 discussion, please email Kristen Hogan at hogank@mail.utexas.edu.

What: A place to constructively discuss a feminist approach to weddings

Where: FeministWedding.com

Why: The feminist movement has not offered the upcoming generations
enough advice or support on how to get married without folding to the
overwhelming consumerist pressure to have a white wedding based on
patriarchal customs and sexist traditions.

Who: All women and men interested in learning the history behind the
Western wedding traditions and perhaps challenging the status quo at
their weddings.

RSVP: Please check out the site, tell your students/friends, and feel
free to contact me with comments or questions – thank you!

-Casey

REGISTRATION IS OPEN for Feminist Action Project 2011: Feminism is for
Every(body)

April 1 & 2 at the UT School of Social Work

Organized by students, aimed at building community, this conference is
open to everyone interested in social justice. Come join us to talk
about body politics and increasing accessibility to feminist thought.
We will explore reproductive justice, size acceptance, images of
women in the media, activism in academia, and more!

Presenting keynote speakers:
Loretta Ross, the national coordinator of SisterSong Women of Color
Reproductive Health Collective, co-author of Undivided Rights: Women
of Color Organize for Reproductive Justice, and longtime human rights,
anti-racism,and anti-sexual violence activist

Marianne Kirby, a blogger, artist, and the co-author of Lessons from
the Fat-o-sphere. Quit Dieting and Declare a Truce With Your Body

We have many exciting panels, workshops, and presentations lined up.
Sample titles include:
- Women of Color in the Media: Deconstructing a Lens of Inequality
- Airport security, our bodies, and rape survivors
- Beyond Waves of Controversy: Feminist Art Making and Queer Political Forms

Register and join the conversation at:

http://www.feministactionproject.blogspot.com

V-Day The University of Texas at Austin 2011Presents a Benefit Production of THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES

Marh 30, 31, April 1, 2011 at 7:00 PM, Student Activity Center Auditorium

On March 30, 31, April 1, 2011, at 7:00 PM, V Day The University of Texas at Austin will present three night only benefit reading of Eve Ensler’s award wining play The Vagina Monologues at the Student Activity Center Auditorium.
Last year, over 5400 V-Day benefits were held around the world raising funds and awareness towards ending violence against women. These highly successful events raised over $4 million through performance of Eve Ensler’s award-winning play, The Vagina Monologues, readings from V-Day’s A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer and Any One Of Us: Words From Prison and screenings of V-Day’s documentary Until The Violence Stops. The University of Texas at Austin has joined this global movement as part of the V Day 2011The University of Texas at Austin Campaign.

What is a V-Day Campaign?
A V-Day Campaign is a catalyst for mobilizing women and men to heighten awareness about violence against women and girls. By creating this global community, V-Day strives to empower women to find their collective voices and demand an end to the violence that affects one in three women in the U.S and around the world.
You can catch UT’s a benefit production of The Vagina Monologues at the Student Activity Center Auditorium on Marh 30, 31, April 1, 2011 at 7:00 PM. This benefit production is sponsored by the Women’s Resources Agency of the Student Government. See you there!
For more information on V-Day you can click here.

The College Women’s Political Caucus at UT is a new student organization and the first student chapter of the National Women’s Political Caucus, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to increasing political awareness and the number of pro-choice women in office. They are planning on hosting an event on March 8th for International Women’s Day. This event will take place in the West Mall, during the most trafficked times. Each organization that participates would set up an exhibit, table, or interactive display that would highlight an issue faced by women in the United States or abroad. Every organization can tailor their topic to the mission of their group. Not only is this a great way for us to bring awareness to women’s rights issues, it is also an excellent opportunity to let more people know about our organizations and how they can participate.

Volunteers to help facilitate the event. Please contact Kate Ergenbright at kcergenbright@aol.com for more information.

Please join the CWGS/Rapoport Center Research Cluster on Women, Gender, and Human Rights for its first meeting of the Spring semester. We are pleased to welcome Dr. Jennifer Suchland of Ohio State University to begin our semester series. Please share this announcement.

“Sex Trafficking and the Making of a Feminist Category of Analysis”
Dr. Jennifer Suchland, Ohio State University
Tuesday, February 8, 4:30 -6pm, GEB 4th Floor Conference Room

What is at stake in how we define and combat sex trafficking? Since the end of the Cold War, the issue of sex trafficking has been dominated by debates regarding agency and violence against women. My talk will discuss why this is the case looking specifically at how a “violence against women” approach to anti-trafficking can privilege particular understandings of trafficking that obscure the role of the state and transnational flows of capital in sustaining the informal and formal economies that make up sex trafficking. I ask how we can advance a human rights approach to anti-trafficking that links economic and sexual rights.

Dr. Jennifer Suchland is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Slavic and East European Languages and Literatures and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Ohio State University. Her research is on comparative gender studies and issues of culture, law and political discourse. Her most recent essay, “Is Postsocialism Transnational?”, is forthcoming Summer 2011 in “Signs: Journal of Women in Culture & Society.” She will be discussing research from her current book project which includes work on the evolution of global anti-sex trafficking discourse and its impact on postsocialist Russia.

For more details on the event, please contact Lydia Crafts Putnam at crafts.lydia@gmail.com.

The College Women’s Caucus is a new national feminist organization designed to increasing political engagement among college-aged women, both on campuses and within their local communities. It is a part of the National Women’s Political Caucus, a multipartisan, multicultural grassroots organization dedicated to increasing women’s participation in the political field and creating a political power base designed to achieve equality for all women.

The CWC at UT is the first chapter in the entire nation, which means YOU have a chance to shape the direction of this new national organization! Just a few of the things we will be doing this next year include:
Working on Student Government campaigns as well as local political campaigns
Hosting training sessions and forums open to all students on various political topics and on issues of concern to college women
Inviting successful women politicians to come share about their experiences in the political realm
Working with middle school and high school girls to give them the leadership skills and belief in themselves to be leaders later in life
Traveling to the National Women’s Political Caucus convention next summer

If you would like more information about CWC, please contact Alyssa Davis at alyssalynn7@gmail.com and check out our facebook group: College Women’s Caucus at UT.

The Gender and Sexuality Center: Serving Women and LGBTQA Communities, is the proud sponsor of the Feminist Action Project, a student-centered conference held at UT Austin in Spring 2011.

The vision for this conference is to create a space where this generation of feminists can meet, network, and workshop ideas for feminist activism. The Feminist Action Project includes lectures and panels about different kinds of activism, workshops to help attendees plan sustainable activist projects and networking sessions. The project is open to all levels of students (high school, undergraduate, graduate), feminists, and feminist allies.

Organizers of last year’s conference had this to say about the project, “We are passionate about Feminism at the Feminist Action Project and we believe this conference will make a lasting impact on those who participate.

Together we can create a legacy for the next generation of Feminists.”

The center is looking for students interested in helping to organize this year’s conference. If you have any questions or are interested in joining the planning committee please contact Ixchel Rosal, Director, Gender and Sexuality Center at rosal@austin.utexas.edu.

The Women’s Studies Program proudly announces a public conference, which will take place on the campus of Texas Tech University, Friday, February 4, 2011. This year’s theme is “Innovative Voices: Initiatives, Projects and Practices for Empowerment and Gender Equality”. Itinerant feminist organizer Shelby Knox will serve on our keynote panel at 5:30 p.m. with a performance, “Voices of Feminism”, starting at 5:00 p.m. located in the Matador Room of the Student Union Building, Second Floor. Events are FREE and open to all faculty, staff, students and community members to attend.

We invite paper and panel presentations that explore the manifold meanings of movement and change as connected to, created by, and/or caught up in the presence of women’s, gender, and identity issues, in both contemporary and historical frameworks. Interdisciplinary proposals, as well as those from the disciplines and specialty subject areas across the Texas Tech University campus, are welcome. We will be happy to consider proposals from the professional schools and the administrative offices, as well as those from scholarly areas where women have been historically under-represented, including mathematics, the agricultural and natural sciences, and technology and applied sciences. We also invite students, staff and faculty members in the social and behavioral sciences, the visual and performing arts, the communications fields, and the humanities to present their research.

Interested parties from other colleges and universities, including Lubbock-area institutions, Angelo State University, and other institutions in the Southwest are encouraged to present, participate, and/or to attend this conference. Faculty, staff, graduate and undergraduate students are all invited to share their work, in the form of research findings, group or single-author projects, and works-in-progress in multiple media.

Undergraduate and Graduate students from an accredited College or University submitting a paper are eligible for a best paper award. These papers must be received in full form on or before January 21, 2011 with an abstract for review.

* We invite submissions for individual papers or panels highlighting feminist research, in progress or completed. Undergraduates, graduate students, staff and faculty from all disciplines are invited to participate and to attend. This year, we especially welcome research on:

• gender and media
• regional feminist issues and concerns on the South Plains
• the environment (e.g., ecofeminism, indigenista, urban planning, architecture)
• political activism (e.g., government, war/peace)
• embodiment (e.g., ability, genetics, inscribing)
• cultural constructions of gender
• psychology of sex roles
• social constructs of gender relations
• science and technology
• feminist visual culture (art and art criticism)

Deadline for submissions on or before Friday, January 21, 2011

Please send submissions to: patricia.a.earl@ttu.edu
Note: include “2011-Women’s Studies Conference Submission” in the subject line for easy identification

Conference Submission Guidelines:

* For individual papers, please submit a 250-word abstract including the proposal title, name, affiliation and contact information for all author(s). (Note: A final version of the paper submission should be included in addition to the abstract to be considered for Undergraduate and Graduate best paper review.)
* For panels, please submit a 250-word description of the panel topic in addition to the materials required of the individual paper submissions.

Please reference the submission guidelines at http://www.depts.ttu.edu/wstudies/call_for_papers_and_panels_2011.php and note that only complete applications adhering to the stated guidelines will be accepted.

Please watch the Women’s Studies website, http://www.depts.ttu.edu/wstudies, for updates. This conference is FREE and open to the public. For questions contact us here in the Women’s Studies Office located in Holden Hall RM 8 or by phone at (806) 742.4335.

Feminist Acton Project is looking for panel, workshop, and presentation proposals for their second annual activist conference, to be held on April 1st and 2nd, 2011 on the UT-Austin campus. The theme is “Feminism is for Every(body),” focusing on body politics and increasing accessibility to feminist thought. Loretta Ross, women of color reproductive rights activist, will give the keynote address, and they also present fat activism blogger Marianne Kirby. The submission deadline is February 1, 2011. See CFP or www.feministactionproject.blogspot.com for details, or e-mail kcbriggs@gmail.com