Transforming Spaces: Girlhood, Agency and Power
.....November 21-23, 2003 in Montreal, Quebec....
Conference description continued from "Girls' History: History of Girls"
We look forward to sharing diverse perspectives on girls and girlhood and hope to create a space where girls, and those working with them, can address key issues in their lives and imagine possibilities for change.
THIS CONFERENCE will be designed to:
* Profile, promote and make accessible research and action strategies related to issues and realities, for and by, girls and young women.
* Facilitate an intergenerational dialogue on issues related to girls and young women.
* Reflect on the accomplishments and challenges of work, related to and by, girls and young women from contemporary and historical perspectives.
* Bring together the voices of young women, girls, academics, policy makers, community practitioners, educators, grassroots, and other individuals and groups doing work with girls. We invite these groups to be active participants in the conference to share experiences, exchange information, network, forge alliances and explore concrete possibilities for collaboration.
* Envision future strategies and actions to advance the status of girls and young women.
Presentation Formats: We encourage your proposals to stretch the frame of what is normally presented at a conference. We are looking for creative, innovative and progressive presentations, papers, critical essays, poster presentations, panels, creative writing, short films, workshops, art representations and performances that relate to our overall theme.
Non-traditional presentation formats are not only welcome, but encouraged! We hope you will be inventive in putting together engaging and accessible proposals that appeal to a wide-range of conference participants and actively involve the audience. We also encourage you to co-present or co-write with someone who has a different perspective on the same theme, thereby encouraging dialogue and debate.
SUB-THEMES AND KEY QUESTIONS
We have suggested some questions and issues that are meant to stimulate discussion and to help you develop your proposal, but they are by no means the only ones to address. Although your proposal should identify a particular sub-theme, we recognize that many of you may have adopted intersectional approaches that incorporate characteristics and findings that link women's and girls' experiences to several of the sub-themes.
-- Young Women, Girls and Resistance --
We are interested in looking at the different ways in which girls and young women express resistance, and in exploring strategies and reasons for resistance.
* How is resistance experienced, lived?
* How do resistance and compliance co-exist in lived realities?
* Girls resisting: what and why?
* First Nations communities and resistance.
* What is the relationship between space and resistance?
* Can resistance be channeled into processes for social transformation? How?
* Do theoretical understandings of girlhood adequately account for the realities of girls' resistance?
* Resistance, gender and the intersections of race and class.
* How does grassroots organizing by and for young women address issues of resistance?
* What is the relationship between resistance and action?
-- Young Women, Girls and Violence --
Violence is still part of the everyday lives of girls and women around the world. This is a key issue for girls and those working with girls and young women both in industrialized nations and in development contexts. Key questions and issues to address include:
* Perceptions and experiences of violence.
* How is violence normalized?
* Violence and intersecting vulnerabilities, i.e. race, gender, class, sexual orientation, ability.
* Gender specific experiences of violence in First Nations communities.
* What is the relationship between victimization and perpetration?
* What are the impacts and effects of violence, i.e. physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual well being?
* What strategies exist and can be developed for addressing violence and creating change?
* How is violence supported, sustained and encouraged within diverse contexts, i.e. families, communities, institutions, media, social settings?
* What are the roles of families, elders, communities, schools and others in addressing gender based violence and its impacts on girls?
* How are grassroots organizations by and for young women addressing violence and how can safe spaces be created by and for girls?
* What are your experiences in self-organizing around issues of violence?
-- Young Women, and Girls’ Identities --
In addressing the theme of identity we hope to explore the construction of identities, especially how race, ethnic identity, religion, ability, sexual identity, gender identity, the media, social norms and language are experienced and incorporated in the identity formation process. Key questions and issues to address include:
* The expression of identities within and against different communities.
* How do immigrant and refugee experiences impact identity formation?
* The appreciation, critique and resistance of media, literature and popular culture in the construction of identities.
* What are young women's experiences in self-organizing around these issues?
* Globalization, colonialism, militarization and fundamentalism in the shaping of identities.
* Identity formation in situations of conflict.
* Identity formation and class.
* How are grassroots organizations by and for young women addressing these issues?
-- Young Women and Girls’ Sexuality --
Girl's sexuality has generally been theorized in relationship to danger (date rape, incest, the slut stigma, STDs, unwanted pregnancy, etc.). How might
issues of sexuality be reconfigured to keep such dangers in mind alongside simultaneous exploring sexual pleasure, power and agency? We are particularly interested in learning more about how girls understand and express their own sexuality.
* Enjoying and appreciating sexualities (lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, heterosexual, queer, etc.)
* When faced with the realities of sexual violence, HIV/AIDS, sexually-transmitted diseases, heterosexism, ableism and planned or unwanted pregnancies, how is sexuality negotiated?
* Experiences: living out and (in) queer, transgendered, and heterosexual spaces.
* What are the roles of schools and curriculum, families, elders and communities in promoting healthy sexuality for girls?
* How are grassroots organizations by and for young women working to promote and provide services and programs related to female sexuality?
* How are you/young women self-organizing around these issues?
GUIDELINES FOR SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL
Submissions should consist of a cover page and an abstract. The following information MUST be included with your proposal. Only proposals submitting all of the following information will be considered.
Cover pages should include:
- Proposed title of session
- Type of session (workshop, skill-building session, debate, creative session, visual representations, paper, etc.)
- Thematic area
- Any specific materials, equipment or presentation tools needed for the session, television, VCR, flipcharts, slide projectors, etc.
- Name, and please indicate clearly one contact person per proposal
- Status/affiliation as activist, grassroots organizer, policy maker, academic, etc.
- Mailing address
- Telephone
- Fax (if applicable)
- E-mail (if applicable)
- Biographical sketch for each member presenting (100 words maximum).
Abstracts should include:
-title and brief outline of proposed presentation (250 words maximum).
- Our conference aims to bring together presenters representing diverse backgrounds and experiences (across generations, race, class, ethnicities, academic fields, practitioners, policymakers, regions, abilities, etc). We invite you to self-identify and tell us a bit about your self.
- Please do not include your name on your abstract, as it will be submitted to a blind selection process.
Proposals should be received no later than July 30th, 2003.
Please direct proposals to:
spaces@alcor.concordia.ca
OR
POWER Camp National/Filles díAction
c/o Tatiana Fraser
282 St Joseph West
Montreal, Quebec, H2V 2N7
Telephone: (514) 948-1112
Fax: (514) 948-5926
REGISTRATION FEES
Fees include the Opening gala, the Saturday night performance, two lunches and coffee breaks.
Registration Date October 15 $200
Early Bird Registration, September 30 $ $150
Late Registration (if space permits) $250
Youth under 20 years: $ 20
Sliding scale, financial assistance may be available.
