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Calls for Papers
"Race Politics" Theoria: Journal of Social and Political Theory ~ Special Issue 2008
Contributions are invited for a special issue of Theoria aimed at exploring the broad political, social and economic implications of race in the contemporary world.
Contributors are encouraged to reflect directly on the changing nature of race in the modern world, and on the major theories and theorists that influence both how race is understood and explained and how it impacts upon political, social and economic life. Questions which may guide contributions include: In what ways does race remain an organizing principle of social and political control and identity management? How have the interrelationships between race, class and gender altered over the past twenty years, in both global and general terms and in particular cases and contexts? What can be learned from current and continuing debates over the politics of race in such diverse contexts as the Middle East, the United States of America, the European Union and post-apartheid South Africa? What are the implications of various definitions of race and racism in policy and public life? Can constructions of 'race' contribute to democratic change or are they always to the detriment of democracy? What do international, comparative, historical and philosophical studies reveal about the relationships between race and nationalism, religion, ideology, culture and ethnicity in the 21st century? For example, are - and if so, in what way, and to what extent - nationalism (old and new, European and Asian, African and Afrikaner, Christian, Islamic and Zionist) indelibly coloured by race and racism, and thus kindred phenomena? Is affirmative action still an important and useful tool to ameliorate racial inequalities, and what are its actual effects? Is multiculturalism simply a legitimizing language for old racialized essentialisms?
Contributions from across the social sciences and humanities, both discipline-specific and interdisciplinary, will be welcomed.
The deadline for submission of papers is 1 December 2008. An electronic version of the paper (between 6000 and 9000 words in length, and preferably in MSWord), including an abstract and a short biography, should be sent to Roger Deacon, Managing Editor: deacon@ukzn.ac.za
Contact:
Roger Deacon, Managing Editor
Theoria: Journal of Social and Political Theory
Email: deacon@ukzn.ac.za
General information regarding Theoria may be obtained from
its website: http://www.theoria.ukzn.ac.za
DNA, RACE, AND HISTORY
~ Center for Race and Ethnicity,
Rutgers University
Call For Papers deadline: December 15, 2007
Conference: Fri-Sat, April 18-19, 2008, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
Although scholars have long agreed that race is a social rather than genetic or biological reality, recent trends in DNA analysis have blurred this distinction. Across societies, genetic evidence is being called upon to perform a kind of racially-charged cultural work – to repair and recast the past, and to reshape identity in the present. Today, genetic markers are discussed often as a proxy for race and ethnicity, lending renewed authority to biological conceptions of human difference. Employed for diverse purposes including genealogy, anthropology, evolutionary biology, medicine, and public history, genetic evidence promises to reshape understandings of individual and collective ancestry, the histories of particular social groups, and the significance of race in history and in the present.
This conference brings together scholars from a wide range of disciplines – history, cultural studies, genetics, law, medicine, anthropology, ethnic studies, sociology, and other fields – to examine the emerging and often contested connections between race, DNA, and history.
We welcome papers on a variety of topics, including the historical use of DNA in biomedicine and the social sciences, the implications of the use of DNA in law, epidemiology, and other fields, the historical uses and misuses of genetic information, the cultural and scientific crafting of genetic evidence into genetic assertion, the way in which genetic testing is reshaping understandings of group identity, both within and across cultural and national boundaries, and the cultural, ethical, social, and philosophical challenges raised by relying upon DNA to resolve questions of history and identity.
The DNA, RACE, AND HISTORY conference will consist of a series of intensive panel discussions of short pre-circulated papers (15-30 pages).
Paper proposals (DUE by DECEMBER 15, 2007) should be no more than 1-2 pages in length, should engage intersections between race, history, and the mapping, testing, analysis, and cultural meanings of DNA in and beyond the United States, and should provide a platform for broad, cross-disciplinary discussion.
Travel and accommodation expenses relating to conference will be covered by the Center for Race and Ethnicity. Interested participants are asked to submit their paper proposals to Jeffrey Dowd (jdowd@rci.rutgers.edu). We expect that an edited volume will be published from the proceedings.
Organizers:
• Keith Wailoo, Director, Center for Race and Ethnicity/History/Health
Policy,
Rutgers
• Mia Bay, Associate Director, Center for Race and Ethnicity/History,
Rutgers
• Catherine Lee, Sociology, Rutgers
• Alondra Nelson, African-American Studies, American Studies, and
Sociology,
Yale
“geek grrls: the next generation”
http://www.feministpress.org/about/index.cfm?fa=special
Jennifer Ouellette is publicizing an initiative to get girls and young women interested in science:
The Feminist Press, in collaboration with The National Science Foundation, is exploring new ways to get girls and young women interested in science. While there are many library resources featuring biographies of women scientists that are suitable for school reports, these are rarely the books that girls seek out themselves to read for pleasure. What would a book, or series of books, about science that girls really want to read look like? That is the question we want to answer.
You’ll find several requests for specific proposals at our website. One calls for scientific detective stories based on the life, research, and discoveries of real women scientists. Another calls for stories featuring real young women—aspiring gymnasts, ice skaters, actors, dancers–using a knowledge of science to help them become really good at what they do. A third recognizes how popular Manga and graphic novels are with girls, and asks for imaginative new collaborations between Manga writers and artists to create adventures about girls who use real science to accomplish their goals. If any of these three book ideas interest you, please check out our website (www.feministpress.org) for more information about deadlines and how to submit proposals.