Reproductive justice was developed as an international human-rights framework by activists and scholars in the 1990s and has become a cornerstone of intersectional feminist theory and practice within social sciences. Yet, it is only recently that researchers in arts and humanities have begun to tap the rich interdisciplinary potential this framework offers for bringing together reproductive rights, social justice, and cultural representation. In a contemporary moment shaken by ecological and economic crises, rises in far-right nationalisms across the globe, and the rolling back of hard-fought sexual rights in the USA, attention to questions of reproductive justice across the disciplinary spectrum is more urgent than ever.

We are seeking proposals for 20 minutes papers to be delivered at a one-day hybrid symposium at the University of York. The symposium will bring together scholars of all levels working on questions of reproductive justice in literature, film, media, and other forms of cultural representation. Our hope is that it will allow established and emerging scholars to share their current work and identify future directions for interdisciplinary research and collaboration focused on reproductive justice. The symposium will also mark the launch of a new international network in Reproductive Justice and the Humanities.

Proposals for 20 minute papers looking at any aspect of reproductive justice and the humanities are welcomed. Topics might include:

• Representation of abortion and abortion access in any medium or period
• Cultural responses to Roe v. Wade and other landmark legislation
• Literary, media and visual narratives of pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood
• Reproduction, parenting and ecological crisis
• LGBTQ+ family and kinship narratives
• Race, nationality and parenthood
• Activist writing, filmmaking and visual/ performance art on reproductive and family politics
• Transnational parenting and migration
• Parenting, care and disability
• Family welfare, poverty and the media
• (In)fertility, surrogacy and donor insemination
• Assisted Reproductive Technologies and ethics
• Youth pregnancy in literature, film and television
• Contraception, health and sex education
• Class, family and cultural representation

The symposium will be run in a hybrid format and contributions are welcomed in person and in online hybrid formats. Please let us know your preferred format when you submit your abstract.

Contact Information

Organisers: Dr Alice Hall and Dr Melissa Oliver-Powell, University of York, UK

Please send 250 word abstracts along with a 150 word bio to alice.hall@york.ac.uk and melissa.oliver-powell@york.ac.uk by 15 January 2024.

The symposium will be run in a hybrid format and contributions are welcomed in person and in hybrid formats. Please let us know your preferred format when you submit your abstract. This event is funded by the Centre for Modern Studies at the University of York. We are unable to offer travel expenses but lunch will be provided and registration is free.