Puebla, Mexico and Cuernavaca, 2008 - 2009

Prologue: Roundtable discussion and presentation of the documentation project and the conference cycle "Building Bridges" in the Queer Studies Easter Symposium 2008, Sunday, 23 March, 2008

Act 1: Puebla, 3 - 4, June, 2008
Deadline for paper proposals: 15 March, 2008

Act 2: Mexico City, 3 - 7 July, 2008
Deadline for paper proposals: 15 March 2008

Act 3: Cuernavaca, 9 - 10. August, 2008
Deadline for paper proposals: 15 April 2008

Prelude: Roundtable discussion and presentations of conclusions and final conference report at the Queer Studies Easter Symposium 2009, Sunday, 12. April 2009

* Conference homepage in English:
http://enkidumagazine.com/eventos/buildingbridges/intro_en.htm
* Conference homepage in Castillian:
http://enkidumagazine.com/eventos/buildingbridges/intro_es.htm

At occasion of the 30th anniversary of Mexico City Gay Pride Parade, Los Martes de Enkidu: The Diversities Think Tank in Mexico City in partnership with the International Society for Cultural History and Cultural Studies (CHiCS): Center for Queer Studies, Gender Studies and Human Rights invites the global community of activists and academics to propose papers for a multi-disciplinary, multi-lingual and multi-cultural conference cycle in three acts, which will explore and contextualise the history of the Global Gay Pride movements and discuss the past, present and future of sexual minorities activism from a wide range of perspectives.

Standing on the shoulders of those who came before us, younger generations of activists continue the Movement toward equity and a more including society. This international conference cycle will discuss activism and its practice, its purpose, and its intersections with policy, community and culture as well as global and local community building.

The History of the Gay Pride Movement in Mexico and other countries has been a reoccurring theme in the Diversities' Think Tank in Mexico City during the last year. The organizing committee for the annual International Queer Studies Easter Symposium in Mexico City, has since July 2006, organized a bimonthly session on the History of LGBT activism in Mexico in our Community Think Tank, which has resulted in an exiting chronicle of the history of the local community.

Several pioneers from the early days of the Pride Movement have presented their vision of the History of the Movement in the Think Tank. Many different views have been presented, but, not surprisingly, a general conclusion after these different sessions, has been, that Mexico has changed profoundly in the last 30 years and with it, also the very meaning of Gay Pride and community activism. We now invite the global community to join our continuous circle of reflextion and dialogue.

Reviews of the different sessions in the session "History of LGBT Activism in Mexico City" are available here (in Castilian): http://www.enkidumagazine.com/LosMartes/S07.htm

The homepage of the annual Queer Studies Symposium in Mexico City: http://enkidumagazine.com/eventos/qses/intro_en.htm

Los Martes de Enkidu: The Think Tank of the Diversities in Mexico City: A permanent Forum for Dialogue and Reflextion: http://www.enkidumagazine.com/losmartes.htm

This conference cycle will bring together scholars, activists, students, and government agencies to bridge the gap between theory and the impact interest groups have on their communities. The conference will also provide an opportunity for global networking and innovative multidisciplinary and multicultural exchange and dialogue. Through this conference we hope to provide a space where activists and academics can sit down together and address issues of common interest.

The program for this conference will be organised in a large number of special thematic sessions, roundtable discussions and sub-conferences covering a highly diverse series of topics. In addition, around the conference, several art exhibitions, book presentations, film screenings and theater performances will be organized in each of the three cities where conference sessions will take place.

The conference cycle will be organized in three separate "acts" in three different Mexican cities: Puebla, Mexico City, and Cuernavaca. In every city, the local act will take place in the week following the local pride parade.

Papers are welcomed on virtually all topics and themes related to the past, present and future of sexual minorities activism, independently of time, period and geographical focus. Also papers of comparative phenomena will be considered. Interdisciplinary perspectives are especially appreciated since all the topics in themselves stretch across several disciplines: history, cultural studies, literary studies, linguistics, psychology, political sciences, pedagogy, ethnology, anthropology, sociology...

Wide and diverse interpretations of the conference themes ranging from the predictable to the surprising are encouraged.

Graduate and postgraduate students are encouraged to attend and present papers.

CHICS' academic conferences are characterized by traditional paper presentations in panel sessions with three speakers each, followed by lively exchange, dialogue and interaction between speakers and audience in many small groups, workshops and seminars rather than by formal plenary sessions. Our conferences provide a forum for diverse voices from all over the world, to come together and make connections across linguistic, cultural and academic barriers.

The conference sessions will be conducted in Spanish and English. Some sessions will be bilingual and conducted in both languages with interpreters. Other sessions will have simultaneous translations. Many sessions will be conducted with interpreters for sign language (on request).

* Paper and panel proposals

500 word abstracts should be submitted to the organising committee in English, Castilian, Nahuatl, German or French by 15. March 2008. The conference languages will be English and Castilian.

Papers should be of approximately 20 - 30 minutes duration (circa 8 - 10 pages). Other forms of presentation, for instance workshops, panel debates and poster sessions will be considered on request. Typically, a panel of academic papers includes 3 (maximum 4) speakers and 1 moderator (session chair). Each session will last for 2 hours allowing for 30 minutes for each speaker and a further 30 minutes for questions and discussion.

* Proposals for panel sessions

Proposers should submit:

(1) Session title and a session intro (ca 100 words),
(2) Paper titles,
(3) Abstracts for each paper (300 - 500 words),
(4) Short biography for each participant and the panel chair (ca 100-150 words),
(5) Institutional affiliation and address for each participant,
(6) Audio-visual and other technical requirements.
(7) Please indicate, if you would like to present in Puebla, Mexico City or Cuernaaca.

If you would like to propose a panel session, and want assistance in finding speakers and/or a session chair, we can publish a call for papers for your panel session on the conference web site and distribute it in our newsletter. If you have an idea for a thematic panel session and would like us to publish a call for papers on the conference website, please send us a proposal by e-mail to info@enkidumagazine.com

You can also suggest a thematic sub-conferences (a stream of two or more two hour thematic panel sessions each with two or three individual papers with a common theme).

* Proposals for individual papers

Abstracts are to be submitted by 15. January 2008, along with the presenter’s name, address, telephone, email, and institutional affiliation.

It is recommended to use the form here: http://www.enkidumagazine.com/eventos/buildingbridges/registration_en.htm, when submitting an abstract. However, abstracts will also be accepted as e-mail attachments to info@enkidumagazine.com.

All correspondence for this conference will be conducted via email. You will be notified by April 2008 whether your proposal has been accepted or rejected.

* Academic credit for students

Graduate students who participate as delegates with a paper are granted academic credit for their participation and will be given a "Constancia de CONFERENCISTA" issued by the participating institutions. Students that do not present a paper can get academic credit and a "Constancia de Assistencia", if they participate as registered hearers (observer participants) in minimum 8 of the academic sessions that will take place during the conference. During the conference there will be a "Lista de Registro" (registration list) in each auditorium where you can confirm your participation in the different sessions.

* Publication of conference papers: Drafts for pre-selection.

Selected papers from "Bulding Bridges" will be published as part of an edited volume with Castilian and English articles. If you would like your paper to be considered for publication, please submit your full conference paper (a draft for pre-selection) by 1. May, 2008.

In addition to this edited volume with a selection of 15 papers, we are planing a second volume, which will contain all papers that were presented at the conference, as they were presented (MEMORIA). A final decision about this will be made in August 2008.

Texts for the final book can be between 10,000 and 15,000 words inclusive of notes and bibliography. In the printed book each contribution can have an extension of approximately 15 - 20 pages and you will therefore have the opportunity to discuss at more depth issues from the paper for presentation in the version for the book.

Please note, that the manuscripts we are soliciting at this point are drafts for pre-selection. If selected for the book, you will be asked to provide a final version in the end of September 2008. Manuscripts of articles may be submitted as e-mail attachments. Articles should have standard margins and font and include a cover page, with the title, the author's name, institutional affiliation, email address, and postal address. The text of the essay should have the title only, without the author's name. The final submission guidelines will be distributed with your final letter of acceptance.

* Accommodation during the conference

For a number of conference delegates, we can provide private accommodation in host families. Several students and faculty at the University have offered to host conference delegates through our "Adopt a conference delegate" program. We are also negotiating with a number local hotels about special rates for conference delegates. More information on accommodation during the conference will be provided in our newsletter for the conference delegates that we will distribute via e-mail to all participants.

* Exhibitors, publishers and artists

The following information is required by artists, publishers and other exhibitors during the conference:

1) Technical Description of the artwork with indications of technical requirements for their presentation, the size and extension of the individual artworks to be presented.
2) Estimated Insurance value of the artworks
3) One image of a representative sample of artistic work from the exhibitions can be sent by e-mail to the conference organizers in the format tiff or jpg.
4) Curriculum Vitae of artist (or organisation).
5) Description of Exhibition (300 - 500 words).
6) Short bio of artist (or organisation).

* Conference Languages

We have received several inquiries about the conference languages and we would like to underline that our intention is to ensure that this conference will be a multilingual event. Some sessions will be conducted only in one language, English or Castilian. In that case, the session moderator (chair) will give an introduction to each paper presented in Castilian in English and vice versa. Some sessions will be bilingual and be conducted in both languages with interpreters. Other sessions will have simultaneous translations. Many sessions will also be conducted with interpreters for sign language (upon request).

* Cultural and Social pre-conference activities

In the days before the different acts of the conference cycle, we will organise a number of cultural and social activities for conference delegates in the different cities where sessions will take place (including participation in the local Gay Pride Parade), and we hope that many of our international delegates will consider arriving in Mexico some days before the conference and participate in these activities

In addition conference delegates with name badges will be given discounts and sometimes free access to various theatre plays, concerts, film screenings and other events before and during the conference. The final program for the cultural and social pre-conference activities will be published on the conference web site in April and will be announced also in this newsletter.

More information on the social and cultural pre-conference program will be available soon.

* Disabled Participants

We are pleased to announce that printed conference materials that will be distributed during the conference, also will be available in large print or Braille on request. If you require sign language interpretation during your session, or you would like to distribute handouts or other materials in Braille during your presentation, please indicate this in the registration form.

Registration Form for Participants with disabilities: http://www.enkidumagazine.com/eventos/qses/reg_disca.htm

Participants with disabilities are recommended to fill in this form if they require any special support or assistance during the event or during social and cultural activities before or during the conference.