Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison to Keynote UB Feminism Conference

CALL FOR PAPERS — KEYNOTE SPEAKER TONI MORRISON

The University of Baltimore School of Law’s Center on Applied Feminism seeks submissions for its Fourth Annual Feminist Legal Theory Conference. This year’s theme is “Applying Feminism Globally.” We are thrilled to announce that Nobel Laureate and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison is this year’s keynote speaker. The conference date has changed from the prior Call for Papers; please see below. For more information about the conference, please visit law.ubalt.edu/caf.

This conference seeks to explore how feminist legal theory operates in a global and international context. The theme raises a variety of questions: How has feminist legal theory affected the lives of women across the globe? How could feminist legal theory improve women’s lives in a global context? How does feminist legal theory differ across cultures within and outside the United States? What do comparative perspectives teach us about feminist legal theory? How could feminist legal theory from outside of the United States benefit American women and feminist scholarship? How do anti-essentialist perspectives on feminist legal theory apply in an international context? How do post-colonial perspectives on feminist legal theory apply in a domestic context? What can feminist legal theory contribute to the debate over universal vs. cultural specific norms and objectives? Is feminism still ambivalent about many areas of international law? What, if any, role has feminism played in the empowerment of women in international law-making? Can feminist legal theory improve our understanding of challenges facing immigrants within our own borders? What does feminist legal theory offer for indigenous peoples? How are human rights norms compatible with feminist legal theory?
This conference will attempt to address these and other questions from the perspectives of activists, practitioners, and academics. The conference will provide an opportunity for participants and audience members to exchange ideas about the current state of feminist legal theories and how those theories are being and can be actualized on behalf of women in a global context. By expanding the boundaries of our exploration, we hope to deepen our understandings of feminist legal theory and to move new insights into practice. In addition, the conference is designed to provide presenters with the opportunity to gain extensive feedback on their papers.

The conference will begin the afternoon of Wednesday, March 30, 2011, with a workshop for conference participants. This workshop will continue the annual tradition of involving all attendees to be participants in an interactive discussion and reflection. The workshop will be approximately two hours in length. On Wednesday evening at 8:00 p.m., Toni Morrison will be delivering the keynote address for the conference.

On Thursday, March 31, 2011, the conference will continue with a day of presentations by legal academics, practitioners and activists regarding current scholarship and/or legal work that explores the application of feminist legal theory in a global context. The conference will be open to the public.
To submit a paper proposal, please submit an abstract by 5 p.m. on October 29, 2010 to Professor Michele Gilman at mgilman@ubalt.edu. In the subject or “re” line of your submission, you must type: CAF conference submission. It is essential that your submission contain your full contact information, including an email, phone number, and mailing address where you can be reached. Abstracts should be no longer than one page. Practitioners’ and activists’ papers need not follow a strictly academic format, but all paper proposals should address the conference theme. We will notify presenters of selected papers in mid-November. We anticipate being able to have twelve paper presenters during the conference on Thursday, March 31, 2011. All working drafts of papers will be due no later than March 10, 2011. All abstracts and drafts will be posted on the Center on Applied Feminism’s conference website to be shared with other participants and attendees.
In addition, the University of Baltimore Law Review has agreed to offer publication to a few of the selected papers presented at the conference for an issue dedicated to the conference proceedings. If you are interested in submitting your abstract for consideration by the UB Law Review, please indicate as such on your abstract submission. To be eligible for publication in the UB Law Review, submissions must not be published elsewhere. Typically, the UB Law Review publishes pieces ranging from 25 to 45 pages in length, using 12 point times new roman font and one inch margins. One volume of the Law Review is dedicated to papers from this annual symposium.
Finally, please note that a limited amount of money may be available to presenters for travel expenses. We look forward to your submissions. If you have further questions, please contact Prof. Michele Gilman at mgilman@ubalt.edu.