CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS

The Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the Office of Global Education, and the College of Arts and Sciences at Kent State University are proud to collaborate on the 2023 Comparing Diversities Conference. This year’s conference will be held at the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná, Curitiba Campus, Brazil, a Kent State University partner.

International Diversity Conference on

“Identity and Diversity: Interdisciplinary Perspectives”

Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná, Curitiba Campus, Brazil

November 20 - 21, 2023

Diversity is one of the most used concepts. Yet, its complexities, plural meaning, and other aspects have rarely been understood since popular views of race, culture, and identity in North America and Europe have generally dominated discussions in international academic and non-academic settings. Moreover, while the scholarship on diversity is massive, it has not sufficiently explored the concept from interdisciplinary perspectives. Furthermore, this scholarship has often ignored the complex and unique experiences, customs, and perspectives that shape people’s understanding of identity. Recognizing the central role that identity (be it national, religious, social, political, cultural, or of a different type) has in how individuals and communities understand and represent diversity, this conference will offer different and unique perspectives on the concept. Giving voice to individuals and communities from many parts of the world, academic and community leaders, activists, and students participating in this conference will share their own views on diversity and its relationships with identity. They will have the opportunity to define diversity according to their own or various people’s conceptions of identity and special relationships to place, culture, and history. Having such global perspectives on diversity will foster cultural exchange and possibly alter or enhance how the concept can be understood in multiple contexts.

Topics and themes of papers/artistic work may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Relationships between diversity and identity.
• The different interdisciplinary perspectives on diversity and identity.
• How people of similar and (or) different backgrounds define and experience diversity.
• Diversity as an idea and a practice.
• The role of diversity in the development of identity.
• Diversity in Africa, the Americas, Europe, and other parts of the world.
• Diversity and nation-states.
• Influence of identity and particular historical experiences on diversity.
• The impact of colonial legacies and decolonization on perceptions of diversity.
• Relations between diversity and immigration.
• Diversity and National Identity.
• Relationships between diversity and gender identity.
• Other forces and identity markers that shape people’s understanding of diversity.

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION:

In addition to your full name, institutional affiliation, phone number, and e-mail address, please submit a working title and a brief abstract of 250 words, a one-page abbreviated resume or CV (only if it is available), and a 50-word biography. These must be submitted by June 15, 2023. We aim to notify everyone if their abstract has been accepted or not by July 15, 2023. Participants should send their completed papers by the end of September 30, 2023, so that discussants can read them in advance. Selected papers will be published in the conference proceedings.

FUNDING:

The conference will cover the cost of a three-night stay in the conference hotel (Nov. 20-21) and meals for presenters.

Please send all materials electronically to comparingdiversities@kent.edu or by mail to Attention: Comparing Diversities Conference Committee, Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, 1125 Risman Drive, Library Suite 251, Kent State University, P.O. Box 5190, Kent, Ohio, USA, 44240.