International Development Ethics Association
See the conference website for more information
Call for papers for the ninth international conference of the international development ethics association
on
Gender, Justice and Development: Local and Global
Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania, U.S., June 9-11, 2011
Organized by
The International Development Ethics Association (IDEA)
with
Centre on Values and Ethics (COVE) at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, and Center for International Studies (CIS) at Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA
Plenary speaker
Naila Kabeer, Professorial Fellow, Institute of Development Studies, Sussex and Senior Research Fellow, Department of International Development, UK
The past several decades have brought world-wide agendas about rights and justice to the forefront of international policy debates. Throughout the 1990s, international United Nations conferences opened space for debate on the environment, human rights, population, and women. While it can be said that the economic and political crises of the new millennium have slowed the pace of commitments to the pursuit of equality for all, debates about how best to promote equality and justice in and through the development process continue. Many organizations at the local, national, and global levels now understand gender to be a central factor in policies for alleviating poverty or promoting economic growth. The changes wrought by measures such as improving health care for women and children and increasing women’s access to education, property, and work show the key role that women can play in development processes. Moreover, these processes help to remove discrimination on the basis of gender and to alleviate the inequalities and injustices that discriminatory practices and traditions produce.
Scholars and activists in development are increasingly using the concept “gender justice” to replace the terms “gender equality” and “gender mainstreaming”. Many now hold that describing situations using the latter terms fails to address adequately the ongoing gender-based injustices from which women suffer. However, there is no single definition of gender justice and much disagreement among local, national, and international power-holders about what constitutes gender injustice and how to alleviate or eliminate it. Disagreements begin with the use of “gender” rather than “women” and range over the role of the state in advancing women’s rights or promoting gender interests; the applicability or adequacy of traditional accounts of justice for addressing gender injustices; the relation between individual rights and the needs of families, communities, and nations; the responsibilities of non-governmental organizations and international institutions when it comes to promoting social welfare and human equality; to the the nature of the intersection of local and global policies and initiatives.
While submissions on any topic in development ethics are welcome, this IDEA conference has as its main purpose to understand and deepen the analysis of the role of gender justice in development theory and policy. Thus, IDEA invites submissions that could include discussions of gender as it relates to any of the following list of topics.
Gender and
concepts of equality, justice, rights, capabilities
concepts of agency, empowerment, freedom, autonomy
concepts of the law, judicial reform, access to justice
intersections of local/national and global
intersections of race, class, ethnicity, other factors of discrimination
economic globalization, global economy, markets, labor
concepts of democracy, citizenship, constitutionalism
the family, community, nation, global
reproductive health, health care, population
education, religion, culture
concepts of poverty, measuring inequalities
the environment, climate change, public health
feminisms, movements, activism
post-colonialism, imperialism, transnationalism
power, knowledge, institutional structures
care ethics, values and ethics in general
migration, global in the local
violence, conflict, war, terrorism
Human Development Reports, Millennium Development Goals, measurements, standards
local, national, and global institutions and NGOs
Papers could examine these issues from diverse theoretical and conceptual perspectives including philosophical argument, empirical analysis, examinations of policy, and action strategies. Papers could consider how and to what degree the concrete experiences of women in specific contexts can and should inform theory, practice, and activism at local and global levels.
The conference will engage scholars and practitioners from around the world and from a wide variety of disciplines and activities (including philosophy and other humanities, social sciences, policy studies, development, social work, NGOs, local and global agencies and organizations, government officials and policy makers).
IDEA particularly welcomes submissions from scholars and practitioners in South countries.
Submission of Abstracts.
Proposals should be submitted by email to Christine Koggel at
ckoggel@brynmawr.edu
and should include:
(1) An abstract of 500 words; (2) name, affiliation, and contact information on a separate page; and (3) a biography of under 100 words (for the conference program).
The conference will be conducted primarily in English. There may be some presentations in Spanish, depending on the availability of volunteers to give informal translations. Proposals for presentations in Spanish should be sent to Daniela Gallegos at
danielagallegos@yahoo.com .
Important dates:
Registration details, fees, and accommodation
(TBA – Please check this page later.)
Organizing committee:
Jay Drydyk, President of IDEA and Director of COVE (Co-Chair) ;Christine Koggel, Co-Director, CIS and Board Member of IDEA (Co-Chair) Cynthia Bisman, Co-Director, CIS; Viviane Boussou, Representative from Côte d'Ivoire; David Crocker, Past President and Executive Member of IDEA; Daniela Gallegos, Executive Member of IDEA and representative from Latin America; Lori Keleher, Board Member of IDEA; Mary Osirim, Steering Committee, CIS; Sahondra Razakatiana, Representative from Madagascar; Asunción St. Clair, Vice President of IDEA.