BEYOND REVOLUTION OR BEHIND IT?

The Politics and Practice of Contemporary Feminism Across Academic

and Activist Communities



A conference hosted by the Graduate Consortium in Women's Studies at

the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.



March 23 -24, 2007

Stata Center, MIT Campus

Cambridge, MA



Submission Deadline is February 16, 2007.  Spread the word!



Conference is *FREE* and open to the public.  To register, please

email gcwsmit [ punto ] edu (gcws[at]mit[dot]edu) <mailto:gcwsmit [ punto ] edu (gcws[at]mit[dot]edu)>



Please find the conference abstract below. Further information about

the conference or call for proposals is available online at

http://web.mit.edu/gcws



Conference Abstract:



This cutting edge conference grows out of our interest as academics

and activists to understand the relationship between practice,

experience, and theory. Theories of race, multiculturalism, Marxism,

postcolonialism, and feminism ground work in Women's and Gender

Studies - we will consider what realities these theories address (or

ignore), what praxis they strengthen (or fail to), what communities

they reach, and which they may leave behind. Is the grassroots and

activist sentiment inspiring these concepts trumped by the

theoretical vocabulary used to describe them? Do the pressures of

academies and institutions limit the execution of diverse expressions

of feminism in the classroom and on the ground?

In dynamic conversations and strategy sessions we will confront the

multiple ways our identities as community members, academics,

activists, and/or researchers inform the ways in which we conduct our

work and share our knowledge.  From here, we will address and

question the real and imagined boundaries between activism and

academia, reflecting positive collaboration and empowering

relationships across multiple fields.



Possible submission topics can include but are not limited to the

list of possible themes below. Historic and Contemporary, Domestic

and International interpretations are welcome.  The focus is Women\'s

and Gender Studies and Activism and is inclusive of related fields:

how about changing the order and adding the following:  Critical Race

Theory, Queer Studies, Food Justice, Art, Media Studies, Labor

Organizing, Comparative Studies, Inequality Studies,

Environmentlaism, etc.

Mainstream Perceptions of the "F" word: Uses, Abuses, Alternatives

and Reclamations

The Past, Present, and Future of the Post-Gender, Post-Race, Techno-

Feminist Third Wave

Deconstructing Deconstruction: The Role of Theory in Activism and

Everyday Life

Culture-hacking: Social and Political Intervention in the \'Tower\' and

on the Ground

Systematizing Knowledge: Interrogating Access and Privilege in Education

Radical Pedagogy: Thinking and Doing Feminism in Research, Education,

and Community Organizing

Building Alliances Between Academic and Activist Communities

Conducting Research Outside of the Academy

Research as Activism/Activism as Research



We welcome proposals for individual presentations and full panels

that address these broadly drawn questions from activist, scholarly,

theoretical and grassroots perspectives, especially those that

consider more than one. We seek to represent a range of

methodologies, including self-reflective practice, activist inquiry,

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In dynamic conversations and strategy sessions we will confront the

multiple ways our identities as community members, academics,

activists, and/or researchers inform the ways in which we conduct our

work and share our knowledge.  From here, we will address and

question the real and imagined boundaries between activism and

academia, reflecting positive collaboration and empowering

relationships across multiple fields.