Call for Papers – “Gender, Disability and Violence” International Conference
Deadline for submissions Monday 15 August 2022
It is our pleasure to announce a call for papers for the upcoming MILIEU conference on “GENDER, DISABILITY AND VIOLENCE” to be hosted on 6-7 October 2022 in Sofia, Bulgaria by the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences within the framework of the MILIEU project.
Challenges: The nature of human violence is complex and there are still many questions that we have yet to address regarding its biological or social origins, but disability theory and feminist studies have already shown that certain groups of people are twice as likely to be subjected to acts of physical, psychological and social aggression. Women and persons with disabilities are at severe risk of becoming victims to systemic and continuous violence, due to their relatively lower socioeconomic status or relatively higher financial or physical dependence on their partners or caretakers. An even more vulnerable subset of both these groups are disabled women, whose experiences of violence are shaped by their disability and exacerbated by negative social perceptions or attitudes such as dehumanization, objectification, stigma and pathologization, especially in cases of lawful medical violence. In addition, gender-based violence already bears considerable correlations to issues like lack of legal and social protection, mental illness, medical conditions, and substance abuse, thereby further decreasing the victim’s ability to lead an independent, healthy life. Last, but not least, women and persons with disability are very likely to experience instances of disrespect at home, at the workplace or during social situations, which may harm their dignity and leave them feeling violated in a profound way. It is important to foster rigorous, culturally sensitive academic research which explores the links between these phenomena, explains the social mechanisms operating behind them, and proposes effective strategies for intervention and prevention.
Objectives: Recognising the above-mentioned challenges, MILIEU would like to contribute to the current academic discourse on gender, disability and violence by organizing a conference where these topics shall be approached from multiple different academic and/or professional perspectives in a semi-formal hybrid environment. The goal of this two-day interdisciplinary event is to bring together researchers from different levels and various academic backgrounds in the social sciences and humanities in order to discuss gender, disability and violence, as well as the areas and ways in which these factors overlap, intersect, or interact. As part of our effort to encourage participation from Ph.D. students and early-stage researchers (ESR) working on these topics, on the second day of the event we will host a special workshop for young academics.
Requirements: Candidates are asked to send an abstract (max 300 words) with 3 to 5 keywords, indicating the title, the main research question(s), the methodology and the results (if the study has been completed). The conference welcomes different types and formats of research approaches therefore your proposal may be a standard presentation of research results, a presentation of a research concept, a work in progress or a theoretical reflection.
Proceedings: The abstracts of the presentations will be published in an abstract book, that will be uploaded on the project webpage (optional). In case there are enough participants willing to submit their papers for publication (so that a volume is collected), the proceedings from the conference will be published in a special issue in an indexed journal.
Practical info: The language of the conference is English. The conference will be carried out in person in Sofia with a possibility for online participation and you will be asked to indicate your preference upon registration. The organizers will provide lunches and coffee breaks for both days of the conference. There is no participation fee for the conference. The participants will have to cover travel and accommodation expenses themselves.
Conditional accommodation grants: Ph.D. students and early-stage researchers (up to 4 years from the beginning of their scientific or academic career) may be provided with 10 partial grants for accommodation (single rooms) for the nights of the 5-th and the 6-th of October. These grants will be made available only to those whose papers for the conference have been accepted and who have additionally opted in on participating in the workshop during the second day of the conference where they will discuss their research projects with other early career researchers from Bulgaria, Italy and Spain. Applications meant only for the workshop will not be accepted; neither will grants be provided only for a presentation at the conference. Needless to say, the grants are for people participating in the conference in person. Unfortunately, the organizers cannot cover any travel expenses.
IMPORTANT DAYS:
Deadline for applications: 15 August 2022
Notifications of results will be sent out before: August 20, 2022.
Registration deadline: September 10, 2022
Conference dates: October 6-7, 2022
Find more information and submit your proposal here: https://milieu-h2020.eu/event/4943/