Conference Gender/Greece

Mia simantiki simeiosi gia to parakato sinedrio einai oti i pithanotita na plirosei aeroporika eisitiria einai mikri kathos ta paidia psachnoun akoma chrimatodotisi (tous echoun iposchethei diafora alla ochi simantika pragmata). An kapoios endiaferetai as steilei akoma kai enan titlo sintoma gia na kseroun oti iparchei endiaferon.
A...ego mallon skeftomai na pao... ;-)...Ti lete?
Chairetismous se olous.


Title: Reflecting on Gender and Identity in Modern/Contemporary Greece (One-day Graduate Conference)

Conveners: Eirini Kotsovili (DPhil student, University of Oxford), Nikolaos Papadogiannis (PhD student, University of Cambridge).

Date and venue: September or early October, 2008, either in Cambridge or in Oxford.

In the recent decades, the domain of gender has been attracting attention in the academic world, especially within the field of humanities. Whereas the study of gender is beginning to weigh in the analysis of topics related to the Greek identity in modern/contemporary times (broadly understood from the early 19th century until present), to this day the amount of academic production remains somewhat modest.

This conference aims to contribute to the research conducted on gender. Graduate students (MA, MPhil, DPhil/PhD), who work on the broad field of humanities and social sciences (history, literature, linguistics, social/cultural anthropology, political science, sociology, psychology, history of art, media studies) and who are affiliated to a British university are encouraged to submit papers, which engage, but are not limited to, the following key aspects from the perspective of gender:
Subject positions/representations in Modern/Contemporary Greek Literature.
State: Gender divisions in state institutions. Discussion of gendered identities and bio-politics (especially the regulation of the population and the forging of the concept of “motherhood” and “fatherhood”).
Protest movements: Gendered subject positions in movements of protest. The impact of feminist, as well as of gay/lesbian liberation movements.
Production/circulation of goods/consumption: Gender relations and construction of gender identities in the workforce (i.e. production, commerce and civil services). Emergence of mass consumption and its impact on gender.
Movements of population: The impact of urbanization, migration and relocation on gender identities.
Sexuality: shifts on values and norms (i.e. perception of masculinity, femininity. The conceptualization of ‘honor’ as an emotional regime regulating the prevailing/dominant model of gender relations).

In this conference, gender is perceived as a concept constituted by social and cultural practices, entailing a variety of different forms of masculinity and femininity. Drawing from recent works, such as the domain of colonial/ post-colonial studies, gender is conceived as a field of identification, which intersects with class, race, but also with age identities. Gender representations in different contexts need to be sought. As such, applications from researchers working on different ethnic and national communities living in Greece (i.e. Muslim and Jewish) are highly encouraged; moreover, presentations on gender relations in rural settings- particularly missing in the academic research of modern and contemporary Greece- are welcomed. Finally, it is expected that this conference is not going to reproduce a purely national historiography. Thus, papers examining gender relations in movements of population, from and to Greece, as well as the impact of transnational cultural flows-such as advertisements, music and cinema genres- on gender identities in the settings of Greece, are strongly encouraged. Concomitantly, it is important to emphasize that any comparative study that covers the aforementioned fields is more than welcomed, should it entail research into modern and contemporary Greece as well as other case-studies.

This conference, aims to attract papers from all fields of the humanities and social sciences. In order to make the exchange of ideas even more beneficial, the participants are strongly encouraged to devote part of their presentation in the analysis of the theoretical and methodological tools they use.

The organization of such a conference is anticipated to help deepen and broaden the research on modern and contemporary Greece for the aforementioned reasons. Besides that, the multidisciplinary character of the conference, as well as the reflection over concepts whose importance is not limited in the analysis of modern and contemporary Greece, may render it attractive for researchers interested in gender, but who work on case-studies other than that of Greece. The latter are warmly invited to participate in the discussions, which will follow the presentations of the papers.

Deadlines: Interested graduate students are encouraged to inform the conveners as soon as possible, in order to allow the determination of the exact venue and time, which shall be convenient for the majority of the applicants. Short abstracts should be sent by early June, 2008. Participants should expect to be reimbursed for their travel costs, namely either train or bus tickets for travels within the UK. Please contact either Eirini Kotsovili (eirini.kotsovili@stx.ox.ac.uk) or Nikos Papadogiannis (np308@cam.ac.uk).