CALL FOR PAPERS: INTERDISCIPLINARY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY CONFERENCE,
DURHAM UNIVERSITY, 8 MARCH 2016


*Re-Sounding Voices: Women, Silence and the Production of Knowledge*
The celebrated history of the sciences and arts is dominated by the voices
of great men, whereas the voices of women have often been marginalised.
While much has been done to redress this imbalance, the sound of women’s
voices is still not as prevalent as that of their male colleagues and
counterparts. Not only does a male-dominated canon risk the erasure of the
contributions made by women, it perpetuates gender injustice—a teaching
syllabus populated by men deprives young women aspirants of role models and
sends them a clear message: this is not for you. A history of silenced
women contributes to the silencing of women now and in the future.

How can we break out of this oppressive cycle? This conference explores
this question under four broad themes: silencing; women in parenthesis;
covert contributions; and identity and disavowal. We invite abstracts from
any discipline or perspective that address themes related to any of the
following topics and questions:

*Silencing:* what are the mechanisms through which women’s voices are
silenced and their contributions and ideas erased or distorted? Do these
mechanisms differ across subject area and period? How do the (putatively)
self-reflexive norms and practices of academic disciplines perpetuate
failures to see and appreciate the exclusion of women? Once we understand
silencing and its effects, how should we respond, as historians, theorists,
and women?

*Women in parenthesis: *why are there so few women accepted into ‘the
canon’? Who are the women relegated to the footnotes and parentheses of
their field? How can we recognise their contribution? Should women be put
into the canon, or is the very idea of a ‘canon’ itself problematic?

*Covert Contributions: *Correspondents, editors, wives, sisters and
mistresses: silenced women find other ways to speak, and their ideas may
find their way into a discourse other than through ‘official’ channels. Who
were the women correspondents of the men in the canon? Are there women
editors whose work changed or shaped ideas we now associated solely with
their male ‘authors’? Who were the wives, sisters, and mistresses of ‘great
men’, and which of them made contributions which went beyond that of
domestic and emotional support?

*Identity and Disavowal:* Sometimes women have forced their voice into a
literature by adopting a male identity or by disavowing their female
identity. Cases include adopting male pen names, performing masculine
identity, distancing from female peers, erasing identity through anonymity,
addressing topics within a male-defined discourses and interests, and
avoiding solidarity with other women. Does work on stereotype threat
suggest that these mechanisms might in fact be legitimate? Who are the
women who have adopted these strategies to find a place in the canon? What
harm have these practices perpetuated, in terms of silencing and
marginalizing women? Or, on the other hand, are there cases where this
fluidity of gender and identity has had a positive impact on women’s
contributions?

Proposals for 20 minute papers should be sent to:*
[log in to unmask]
<javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml',[log in to unmask]);>*
in the form of 300 word abstracts by 15th January 2016. Please indicate
which of the four themes your paper addresses.

See:
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__womeninparenthesis.wordpress.com_2015_11_24_call-2Dfor-2Dpapers-2Dinterdisciplinary-2Dinternational-2Dwomens-2Dday-2Dconference-2Ddurham-2Duniversity-2D8-2Dmarch-2D2016_&d=BQIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=Oo4TCJF8pXcsWPDC7Sy8bdP2IJ6ZbST0v2xdYtuNH80&m=X1LbbXV02YKskBvlwguTb42cm_um9DEAsj80DxXN3ic&s=10dL7aXXRB5yCb2cYZURSjIXpi8LckLWG8R7Ojibkxo&e= 

-- 
Dr. Luna Dolezal
Irish Research Council / Marie Curie Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Department of Philosophy
Durham University
50 Old Elvet, Durham City
DH1 3HN
UK

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__tcd.academia.edu_LunaDolezal&d=BQIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=Oo4TCJF8pXcsWPDC7Sy8bdP2IJ6ZbST0v2xdYtuNH80&m=X1LbbXV02YKskBvlwguTb42cm_um9DEAsj80DxXN3ic&s=MtqenQWRR6SGO21sdPLqailoXFI0L2HVG5c7IxJ9v6E&e=  <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__tcd.academia.edu_LunaDolezal&d=BQIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=Oo4TCJF8pXcsWPDC7Sy8bdP2IJ6ZbST0v2xdYtuNH80&m=X1LbbXV02YKskBvlwguTb42cm_um9DEAsj80DxXN3ic&s=w2MlptY8NzSutnSTHoYyj_RBg6_dLHkx-vmdOMKUym8&e= >




-- 
Dr. Clara Fischer
Newton International Fellow of the British Academy
Gender Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science
Research Associate, University College Dublin Women's Studies

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