From the students at the Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender & Society, this call for participation/papers:
When Gender Norms Become Law:Recognizing and Correcting for Gender Bias
February 10, 2012
University of Wisconsin Law School
Madison, Wisconsin
We are seeking original scholarship, from both scholars and practitioners, addressing ways in which gender norms are reflected in legislation, judicial precedent, and administrative findings. Ideally, proposals would highlight:
- An analysis of the inherent and functional gender biases in these policies and practices and
- Recommendations as to how the same policies could be pursued without the resulting gender disparity.
Topics could include: findings of fact that shape evolving areas of law, the role of social sciences in evidence, and differing approaches to gender considerations across legal systems. Interested parties should send an abstract to WJLGS.Symposium@gmail.com by October 1, 2011. Those selected for the Symposium will be notified by November 2011. The Journal’s Symposium issue will be published in Fall 2012.
Questions may be addressed to Symposium Editor Meredith Davis at mdavis7@wisc.edu.
I give the students at the Wisconsin JLGS lots of credit for organizing their symposium through an “open call.” Different symposia have different vibes, but some great ideas and conversations can come out of the open organizational approach, i.e., inviting proposals for participation. That’s something that Leigh Goodmark and other folks who organize the Baltimore Feminist Legal Theory conference have done — very well — now for the fifth year running (see, e.g., here). That approach has allowed many new voices to join in a national dialogue, all to the better of the field, IMHO.
-Bridget Crawford
