Center for Gender and Intercultural Studies (CGIS)

GIRLS’ STUDIES CONFERENCE   CALL FOR PAPERS

Reimagining Girlhood:  Communities, Identities, Self-Portrayals

Hosted by: Center for Gender and Intercultural Studies and Women’s Studies Program

State University of New York College at Cortland

Submission Deadline 03/01/2010

CONFERENCE DATES:  OCTOBER 22-24, 2010

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:  

DR. SHARON MAZZERELLA

Director School of Communication at James Madison University.

AUTHOR OF:

Growing Up Girls, and Girl Wide Web:  Girls and the Negotiation of Identity

Catherine Driscoll (2008) notes, “The history of modern girlhood is entwined with anxieties about cultural norms and cultural change that are foundational to ‘girlhood’ and ‘girl culture’.”  Over the last fifteen years Girls’ Studies scholarship has gained momentum, asserting itself inside/outside the domain of traditional Women’s Studies literature and the academy. The proliferation in scholarly articles, performance art, academic conferences, and community workshops devoted to Girls’ Studies underscores the significance and legitimacy of the discipline. No longer a marginalized sub-category of Women’s Studies or Gender Studies, Girls’ Studies emerges as a site of intellectual inquiry and activist pursuit whereby transgenerational and transnational girls locate, describe, and problematize girls’ voices and agency.

In an attempt to interact with and to advance the continuum of girls’ culture, the Women’s Studies Program and the Center for Gender and Intercultural Studies at the State University of New York College at Cortland will host a two-day conference in Fall 2010 titled “Reimagining Girlhood:  Communities, Identities, Self-Portrayals.” Regional, national, and international scholars, activists, and experts will discuss the (r)evolution of Girls’ Studies and Girls’ Culture. The conference committee invites individuals, groups, scholars, teachers, feminists, activists, and girls of all ages to submit proposals on interdisciplinary scholarly and creative work that address all aspects of girlhood.

Papers, artistic presentations, and workshops may address, but are not limited to the following questions:

What does it mean to be a girl?

How is girlhood defined?

How do girls assert their identity in an increasingly mediated and consumerist culture?

How do girls negotiate/navigate identities between genders?

How do trans(girls) navigate girlhood?

What is the relationship between girlhood and boyhood? How are girls like boys and vice versa?

To what extent do girls remain resolute in the pursuit of body image?  What strategies do they use to resist such image ideals?

How do girls conceptualize socio-economic class?

What challenges do girls face across race, class, religion, nation, and culture in a globalized world?

What challenges do girls of color face in regional, national, and international contexts?

How are girls and ability portrayed in contemporary society?

How do girls view feminism?

In what ways do girls engage in Do-It-Yourself actions?

How do girls perform at various levels of education? 

What is the culture of girls and crime?  

How do girls survive criminal detention centers?

To what extent does relational aggression affect girl culture?

How are girls engaged in animal rights actions and campaigns?

How do girl zine producers document the everyday life experience of girls today?

Girls and sports—negotiating ideological frameworks

Girls’ health

Girl-centered schooling

Girl organizations—e.g Girl Scouts

The conference call includes a call for zines—including but not limited to zines that address the following topics: ?The personal is political?- Let's smash patriarchy! Riot Grrrl, feminism, and activism?- DIY revolution! Music, art, pop culture, and comics?- Ethnicity, race, colonialism?- Gender identities?- Women’s bodies: Health, disabilities?- Zinemamas: Motherhood and alternative views of parenting?- The beauty myth: Body image and self-esteem?- Sex and sexualities?- Survivor culture: Abuse, violence against women, self-defense?- Class, work, and education?- Travel and leisure?- Religion and beliefs?- Environment and animal rights?- Protest, Dreams, and Utopias

Proposal formats:

Individual papers                       Digital Media and Films

Panel Proposals                         Roundtables

Poster Sessions                         Performance Art

Audio Recordings                      Zine Exhibitions

Photographic Submissions                   Radical Crafting

For individual papers, please submit an abstract limited to 250 words. For complete panels, please submit an abstract for each presentation and include the affiliation of each panel member. For poster sessions and art, please submit an overview of 250 words. All proposals must include speakers’ name(s), affiliation(s) and contact information (address, e-mail and telephone number).  Please also indicate preference for Friday afternoon, Saturday morning or Saturday afternoon. Sunday will be available to visit the Women’s Rights National Park in Seneca Falls, New York.

Send your 250 word proposals, abstracts, or poster sessions to: girlhood.conference@cortland.edu; or caroline.kaltefleiter@cortland.edu by March 1, 2010. 

Or mail it to:

Dr. Caroline K. Kaltefleiter

Coordinator, Women’s Studies Program

Associate Professor, Department of Communication Studies

224 Dowd Fine Arts

State University of New York College at Cortland

P.O. Box 2000

Cortland, NY 13045–0900