Call for Papers

Edging Forward, Acting Up: Gender and Women’s History at the Cutting Edge of Scholarship and Social Action

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The Canadian Committee on Women’s History/Comité canadien d'histoire des femmes invites you to our first national Gender and Women’s History conference, to be held August 12-15, 2010, in Vancouver—a city that is, itself, situated at the edge of ocean and continent.

This conference will bring together historians from a wide range of interests to explore the state of the art in women’s and gender history. In particular, we seek papers that position gender at the intersection of race, ethnicity, sexuality, age, class, disability, region, religion, community, citizenship and/or nationality. We also welcome discussions that situate the field at the leading edge of social activism.

Questions to consider include: To what extent have intersectional approaches had an impact on feminist historical scholarship? Where have women’s and gender historians engaged most fruitfully with theoretical tensions and innovations in the field? What is the link between activism, scholarship, and community-based feminist projects? How have scholars in gender and women’s history situated themselves within a transnational and/or international context? What is the role of feminist pedagogy in women’s and gender studies classrooms? What is the role and influence of feminist theory in public history environments? How can women’s and gender historians better disseminate their findings to wider audiences? How has women’s and gender history contributed to methodological innovation in the discipline of history?

Seeking to be as inclusive as possible, we encourage paper or panel proposals to be submitted in either English or French, and we welcome proposals from a diversity of individuals concerned with women’s and gender history, including graduate students, junior and senior scholars, independent scholars, public historians, authors, artists, archivists, and local and community historians. We also invite feminist activists to present critical reflections on the past or future directions of their organizations and activities.

Full panel proposals are preferred, although individual papers will also be considered. To apply as a panel, please submit a title and abstract of the panel session (2 pages maximum), including the names of the chair and each of the panel members as well as a 250-word biography or one-page CV for each participant. To submit individual proposals, please provide a paper title and an abstract of no more than 250 words, along with a 250-word biography or one-page CV.

Proposals must be received by August 24, 2009. Please send all proposals via email to the Chair of our Program Committee, Professor Lisa Chilton, University of Prince Edward Island, at lchilton@upei.ca.