CFP: Women's Experiences of Justice (9/30/06; collection)

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The co-editors of (Re)Interpretations: The Shapes of Justice in Women's =
Experience, to be published by Cambridge Scholars Press, Ltd. in late =
2007, seek scholars interested in contributing a chapter. The book, =
which will show how women create justice or resist injustice through =
(re)interpretations of traditional structures, is divided into five =
sections that represent patriarchal authority and power: Language, =
Religion, Medicine, War, and Sex Trafficking.=20

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Papers should be relatively jargon-free, accessible to a general =
audience interested in issues of justice for women, but they should also =
be well-grounded in scholarly research. A multicultural approach is =
encouraged to cover issues in both the first and the third worlds.

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Descriptions of the five sections follow, with suggestions for possible =
topics:

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Language

We construct our world through language, but language is also considered =
a "man-made" symbolic order of reality that shapes our perceptions. If =
it reflects men's reality, does it exclude women's reality? What are the =
limiting and liberating powers of language? What paradigms are created =
through language? How do women translate and interpret these paradigms? =
How do women resist being silenced or insist on being heard when others =
are doing the translating?=20

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Religion

The three monotheistic religions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, form =
the bedrock of Western culture and patriarchy, and religious =
institutions are often blamed for continued oppression and =
disempowerment of women. Trenchant feminist critiques of these religions =
generally advocate an either/or view: accept the teachings or abandon =
the religion altogether. This binary view neglects to account for =
alternative views that suggest organized religion might be a site for =
liberation struggles. In other words, feminism and religion are not =
necessarily irreconcilable. The chapters in this section will raise =
questions about how women can reclaim authority and advocate for a more =
just world through religion and religious institutions.=20

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Medicine

The medical field, dominated by male professionals, is fraught with =
political and class struggles with significant consequences. Who claims =
authority in medical issues? How is that authority established? Given =
that medical practitioners today are often the ones who determine =
sterility or fertility, life or death, sanity and insanity, how do women =
negotiate the power struggles? In what ways are medical and related =
institutions (pharmacology, insurance) responsible for the unfair =
treatment of women, either through lack of intervention or through =
intervention that labels women in specific and unjust ways? How are =
women building on feminists' work in the 1970s to reclaim their power =
and offer alternative, women-centered medical knowledge?=20

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War

The interrelationships of war and social injustice are blatantly =
obvious, but what is perhaps less obvious, particularly in the current =
state of world affairs, is how military might still relies on =
patriarchal ideologies in order to function. The glorification of =
heroism and sacrifice and the eroticization of violence both devalue =
women's roles in the military and diminish their sufferings and =
exploitation. However, women's traditional relegation to service and =
domestic roles does not necessarily make them innocent. In other words, =
are women victims of war? Historical bystanders? Or are they, too, =
implicated in the injustice of war? This section explores questions =
about who is affected in war and how one's gender both contributes to =
and compromises the "justness" of war.

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Sex Trafficking

This section will explore definitions of trafficking: Who gets =
trafficked and why? How and why are women and children cast as illegal =
aliens that must be returned to their home countries rather than as =
victims of crime that need safe houses, legal and physical protection =
from their abusers? What are the issues involved in prosecuting =
traffickers? What are the economic and social considerations, including =
the effects of war and poverty?

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__________________________________________________________________

500 word proposals are due by September 30, 2006 with a commitment to =
have full papers completed by February 28, 2007.

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Please send your proposals, with a short biography, to Lisa Dresdner at =
Ldresdner_at_ncc.commnet.edu <mailto:Ldresdner_at_ncc.commnet.edu> or to =
Laurel Peterson at LPeterson_at_ncc.commnet.edu =
<mailto:LPeterson_at_ncc.commnet.edu> .

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Received on Mon Jul 31 2006 - 23:17:50 EDT