• March 23 -24, 2007 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

The GCWS is pleased to announce the launch of our 2nd annual Women's and Gender Studies conference. This conference is organized by graduate students as a way to showcase contemporary and cutting-edge work, spark dynamic conversation, promote new thinking, share knowledge, and build community. This year's theme emerges out of a desire to reflect on feminism and activism within and outside of the academy from activist, scholarly, theoretical and grassroots perspectives. Graduate Students and community organizing practitioners are particularly encouraged to submit proposals.  Click HERE for submission information.

Conference Abstract

This cutting edge conference grows out of our interest as academics and activists to understand the relationship between practice, experience, and theory. Theories of race, multiculturalism, Marxism, postcolonialism, and feminism ground work in Women’s and Gender Studies – we will consider what realities these theories address (or ignore), what praxis they strengthen (or fail to), what communities they reach, and which they may leave behind. Is the grassroots and activist sentiment inspiring these concepts trumped by the theoretical vocabulary used to describe them? Do the pressures of academies and institutions limit the execution of diverse expressions of feminism in the classroom and on the ground?  

In dynamic conversations and strategy sessions we will confront the multiple ways our identities as community members, academics, activists, and/or researchers inform the ways in which we conduct our work and share our knowledge.  From here, we will address and question the real and imagined boundaries between activism and academia, reflecting positive collaboration and empowering relationships across multiple fields.

This conference will showcase investigations into and models of cross-disciplinary and cross-community collaboration.  Bringing together alternative activist scholarly and community work, we will represent a new vision of radical pedagogy and integrative practice.

Panels and presentation submissions are encouraged! We are now accepting proposals -- click here for information on the submission guidelines and selection process.

If you are interested in proposing a panel or paper presentation, read our Call for Proposals.

Conference is *Free* and registration is required

To find out more about conference registration, contact gcws@mit.edu

Proposed Structure of the Conference

In an effort to model the alternative methodology addressed in the conference abstract, this conference will follow a non-traditional structural and organizational format.  Presentations will take the form of open dialogues; panels will be followed by topic-based, hands-on workshops; other opportunities for attendees to share their knowledge, experience, and opinions equally with topic presenters.  

To this end, we encourage submissions that represent cross-disciplinary exploration in content, concept, and structure.  This could include (but is not limited to):

• Panels that include the combined voices of academics, community activists, and grassroots organizers
• Presentations of works-in-progress that pose relevant questions about the investigative process across institutions, disciplines, and identities
• Workshops that propose new models of interdisciplinary work and collaboration with hands-on activities relevant to the proposed topic
• Panels, workshops, or roundtables that not only represent but could also take the form of performances, artwork, poetry, etc.

Our goal is to create a space where voices and perspectives of community organizers and activists are dynamically joined together with those of students and faculty.  We welcome youth organizers, faculty activists, radical researchers, theorizing artists, revolutionary educators, and more!

Submission Topics

Possible submission topics can include but are not limited to the list of possible themes below. Historic and Contemporary, Domestic and International interpretations are welcome.  The focus is Women’s and Gender Studies and Activism and is inclusive of related fields: how about changing the order and adding the following:  Critical Race Theory, Queer Studies, Food Justice, Art, Media Studies, Labor Organizing, Comparative Studies, Inequality Studies, Environmentlaism, etc.

• Mainstream Perceptions of the "F" word: Uses, Abuses, Alternatives and Reclamations

• The Past, Present, and Future of the Post-Gender, Post-Race, Techno-Feminist Third Wave

• Deconstructing Deconstruction: The Role of Theory and Activism in Everyday Life

• Culture-hacking: Social and Political Intervention in the 'Tower' and on the Ground

• Systematizing Knowledge: Interrogating Access and Privilege in Education

• Radical Pedagogy: Thinking and Doing Feminism in Research, Education, and Community Organizing

• Building Alliances Between Academic and Activist Communities

• Conducting Research Outside of the Academy

• Research as Activism/Activism as Research

To read more about proposal guidelines and to submit your proposal online click•Submit•

For more information, contact Andi Sutton, GCWS Program Coordinator at:

Graduate Consortium in Women’s Studies
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Building 16-287
77 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge , MA 02139
T el:(617) 324-2085
Email: gcws@mit.edu