The symposium has two overall goals:
o To publicize the existence of the Mosuo and other matrilineal societies and cultures; and
o To provide an opportunity for networking among matrilineal communities and scholars.

The immediate objective of the symposium is to evaluate the state of research and disseminate factual knowledge on matrilineal societies.

We are looking for general ethnographic descriptive studies of matrilineal societies, in past and contemporary contexts, as well as in-depth exploration of their intellectual cultures, including worldviews, myths and origin stories, symbolic systems, ritual life, general philosophies, and so forth. We welcome ethno-historical material and new examination of ancient cultures.

Our discussions will focus on whether it is sufficient to talk about matrilineal kinship systems or whether we need to consider matrilineal cultures. Also to be explored are the survival of matrilineal kinship systems in non-matrilineal dominant societies, as well their survival within a globalizing world. Papers and other presentations (such as exhibits, posters, films) are invited on the identified themes.

Important Dates for Authors
Adherence to the following timetable is required for papers to be included in the Proceedings:
o 2012 August 1: Abstracts due
o 2012 August 30: Completed papers to be submitted in ready-to-publish form.

Submission of Abstracts
Abstracts and papers must be submitted electronically in MS Word or Rich Text Format.
They should be approximately 300-500 words in length. The abstracts should include:
• Paper title
• Names and affiliations of authors
• A summary of the paper should be sent to:

Matrilineal Symposium 2012
c/o Dr. M-F. Guédon/InterCulture
University of Ottawa
70 Laurier Ave. E., Room 117
Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA K1N 6N5
E-mail: mguedon@uottawa.ca