Here’s my contribution to International Women’s Day. From the Women’s Studies Association
First Announcement:
Conference of the Women’s Studies Association (NZ)/Pae Akoranga Wahine
University of Auckland, Friday 2/Saturday 3 September 2016
Conference theme:
New Landscapes in Feminism and Women’s Studies
Programme themes include:• new feminisms
• all our futures: women and ageing.
• feminist theory meets intersectionality
• women in diverse communities
• climate, place, environment
• new technologies
• violence against women: new thinking on enduring challenges
• solving conundrums around inequalities
• memorialising women
Expect an exciting line-up of guest speakers
A call for papers will be circulated shortly
Submission deadlines:
• peer-reviewed stream : April 15th 2016
• non peer-reviewed papers : June 10th 2016
I have posted several times on the inclusion, or rather exclusion of disabled women in relation to feminist discourse. The questions I have raised are still important. This conference looks as if there may be some opportunities for disabled women to contribute. But the old questions still remain. Are we academic enough? Will we feel welcome?
We are, of course, part of the ageing population, but will other ageing women be able to accept disability feminist analysis. Will we still be at the bottom of the intersectional list as usual? Is our brand of diversity an OK part of feminism yet? Will the new-tech theme recognise us and our contributions? We know about inequality but will the conference address it in practice, and we watch our herstory vanish or be rewritten by others each day? Will there be a disabled woman speaking in that “exciting lineup”?
Can we contribute? Do we want to? Are our voices important and strong enough or are we, along with everyone else, content for the status quo to continue? Of course our part of the landscape isn’t really new at all. We’ve been there all the time, in plain sight.
Probably enough questions for one post I think.
