Call for workshop participants
Lavender Languages 30 (Brighton UK August 21-23 2024)
Kris Aric Knisely (U Arizona)
Eric Louis Russell (U California, Davis)
Description: On the heels of Redoing Linguistic Worlds: Unmaking gender binarities, remaking gender pluralities (RLW, Multilingual Matters, Knisely & Russell, eds.), we propose a collaborative workshop that will set the foundations for the next volume in this series. This workshop will bring together scholars –especially those up-and-coming– who are working on questions of language, gender, and identity in non-English linguacultural contexts, with primary emphasis on those not covered in the first volume and those under-represented in contemporary scholarship. Rather than present polished papers or even more tentative works-in-progress, we wish to foster open discussion and brainstorming. This panel will hold space for the scholars who are unsure as to how such research might be imagined, begun, or conducted, those who might need assistance bringing contemporary theories (e.g. of gender, language) to bear on contexts outside the Global North, and those who might simply be interested in these inquiries. We see this as an opportunity to expand the type of work begun in RLW and to provide hands-on mentoring to scholars in a supportive and collaborative way.
Call: The workshop organizers call for commitments to participate from conference attendees who wish to explore the doing, undoing, and redoing of gender in non-Anglophone linguacultural contexts, with a preference for those not represented in RLW (i.e. French, German, Italian, Spanish).
Each scholar will be asked to prepare an approximately 5-minute contribution, including:
A basic outline of the linguacultural doing of gender beyond binaries in a specific linguacultural context (i.e. what are the language and community upon which you focus?);
A theoretical underpinning or scaffold that informs how they understand this (i.e. how will you describe and interpret linguacultural data pertaining to the doing of gender beyond traditional binaries?);
The central argument or interpretation that they foresee (i.e. what do you believe you will argue based on (1) and (2)?)
A series of questions and any obstacles to pursuing this research (pretty much anything else, including impediments, concerns, confusions…)
In the spirit of Lavender Languages and drawing from the optimism of queer theory, preference will be given to underrepresented communities and to scholars whose host institutions do not afford mentoring in these areas. We are committed to maintaining a “no attitude” policy with regard to work, inquiry, and mutuality.
To participate, please fill out the following interest form by 18 March 2024: https://forms.gle/oGUMie2vZJdxkkPo6
Participants will be notified of acceptance after the close and review of all submissions.
Should you have any questions, please contact Kris and Eric at knisely@arizona.edu and erussell@ucdavis.edu with the subject line “RLW Workshop.”
