Call for papers
International conference
New perspectives in feminist labour history: work and activism
Bologna, 17-18 January 2019
The two-days conference called by the EHLN working group “Feminist Labour History” and the SISLAV working group “Gender and Labour”, supported by the Department of History and Cultures at Bologna University, explores new perspectives in gendered labour history as arising in Europe and around the world since the beginning of the 21st century. The conference builds on and moves forward the debates on and within feminist labour history which took place during the Turin (2015) and Paris (2017) conferences of the ELHN, with the aim of including selected papers in prospective book projects. The first day of the conference will be devoted to the theme work and gender in context, and addresses two large research contexts: 1) the variety of forms of work, waged and unwaged, emerging in different historical periods and places in formal as well as informal economies, and in occupations traditionally connoted as male or female; 2) the impact of socio-economic transformations at the crossroads of the productive and reproductive spheres. Topics include (but are not limited) to the following:
- precarious, informal, subsistence work
- gender in typically male occupations or branches
- gender and deindustrialization
- the home/household/work nexus
The second day will be devoted to the theme women’s workers organizing, and addresses two large research contexts: 1) forms of labour-related collective action in different circumstances, time and spaces; 2) the role of individual women and the women’s movement in addressing workers’ rights from a gender perspective. Topics include (but are not limited) to the following:
- biographies and digital humanities
- varieties of work-place related activism
- women and trade unions
- women’s movements and women workers’ rights
Deadline for submissions
The deadline is July 10th, 2018. The outcome of the selection will be communicated by August 1, 2018 and the programme will be published by September 15, 2018. Full papers (6000-7000 words) are due by December 15th.
How to apply
Please send a 500-word abstract and a short academic CV (max 500 word) to feministlabourhistory2019@gmail.com The proposal should include name, surname, current affiliation and contact details of the proponent. The subject of the email needs to be: “New perspectives in feminist labour history”. For additional information: eloisabetti@gmail.com
Location
The conference will take place on January 17 – 18, 2019, hosted by the Department of History and Cultures of the University of Bologna (Bologna, Piazza San Giovanni in Monte 2).
Scientific Committee
Rossana Barragan International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam
Eloisa Betti University of Bologna
Eileen Boris University of California (Santa Barbara) – International Federation for Research in Women's History (President)
Diane Kirby University Melbourne
SilkeNeunsinger Labour Movement Archive, Stockholm
Karin Pallaver University of Bologna
Leda Papastefanaki University of Ioannina
Paola Rudan University of Bologna
Marica Tolomelli University of Bologna
Shobhana Warrier University of Delhi
Susan Zimmermann Central European University (Budapest) – International Conference of Labour and Social History (President)