Interdisciplinary Conference in Women's and Gender Studies Call for Proposals

Theme:	Global Discourses in Women's and Gender Studies
Location:	Student Union Building, Middle Tennessee State University Campus (30 miles from Nashville)
Host:	MTSU Women's and Gender Studies Program
Keynote Speaker:	Lilly Ledbetter, gender pay equity activist. Ledbetter was the plaintiff in the historic gender pay discrimination case against Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company that was instrumental in the passing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act. Ledbetter is the co-author of Grace and Grit: My Fight for Equal Pay and Fairness at Goodyear and Beyond published in February 2012. For more information, please go to http://www.mtsu.edu/womenstu/conference/speaker.php

Proposal Description: We invite individual or panel proposals for presentations on any topic on women's and/or gender issues and debates from scholars, activists, non-profit professionals, and graduate students in all scholarly fields and disciplines, including the humanities, social sciences, sciences, education, arts, design, business, law, and sports.

Given our conference theme, Global Discourses in Women's and Gender Studies, we are very interested in presentations that provide feminist perspectives of the influence of global forces on women's and/or gendered experience and that examine connections between local/national and global issues related to gendered existence. Since our keynote speaker, Lilly Ledbetter, will focus on gender pay equity and our workshop will focus on hunger, we are particularly interested in papers that further engage the myriad dimensions of these issues. We envision broad definitions of labor, work, and workers in local, national, and global contexts. Topics might include, but are certainly not limited to, the following: global labor/economic forces of production and consumption; labor, work, and workers of all kinds (i.e., reproductive, domestic, agricultural, blue and white collar, paid and unpaid, documented and undocumented); work and race, class, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, ability, etc.; technology; gender pay equity, discrimination, and occupational segregation; working bodies; hunger, health, and wellness; activism and social justice.

We welcome a variety of presentation formats, such as individual paper presentations, panel sessions, round table discussions, performances, short films, and posters. Due to program constraints, presentations will be limited to 15 minutes, to be followed by questions and discussion. All proposals should meet the following criteria:

• 250- to 500-word description of presentation in a Word document (for panel submissions, provide a description of the panel and of each individual presentation)
• Brief bio/CV
• Equipment requests. Please be specific.

Proposals must be submitted by November 18, 2012
Email proposals to: womenstu@mtsu.edu

To continue to create a safe and comfortable space for sharing perspectives and ideas, and to provide a very satisfying conference experience for participants, we offer the following:

• Very reasonable conference costs. Please see registration information at http://www.mtsu.edu/womenstu/conference/registration.php
• Single panel per session conference format. This format worked extremely well at our 2009 and 2011 conferences as it provided the opportunity for larger audiences at sessions, substantive audience engagement with material presented, and sustained exchange of ideas among presenters and conference participants. This format also promotes interaction among conference participants that can contribute to a positive conference experience.
• Professional development workshop. This workshop is free and open to all registered participants.
• Film screening and discussion.

For conference information, please go to http://www.mtsu.edu/womenstu/conference or contact us at 615- 898-5910.