Gender, Race, Community, & Conflict: Pursuing Peace and Justice
Friday and Saturday, April 24th and 25th, 2020
Conference Postponed: Due to concerns about the threat of the COVID-19 virus, the WGS Steering Committee has postponed the conference.
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Vandana Shiva: Author, Scientist, Warrior, Mother
Dr. Vandana Shiva trained as a physicist at the University of Punjab, and completed her Ph.D. on the "Hidden Variables and Non-locality in Quantum Theory" from the University of Western Ontario, Canada. She later shifted to interdisciplinary research in science, technology and environmental policy, which she carried out at the Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, India.
The world is right now witnessing the unprecedented destruction of communities—mostly Indigenous—and their habitats, including the ongoing fires raging across the Amazon rainforest, the Dakota Pipeline construction, and the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea. Major conflicts have been exacerbated among genders, races and cultural groups, resulting in unspeakable suffering and violence in communities, from the desecration of Indigenous lands and sacred spaces to climate strikes and the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit people, and trans women of color.
How do feminists and their communities, Indigenous and settler colonial, address these problems and heal the breaches that have divided and torn communities apart? How have feminists and activists creatively used the existing power structures to reverse the fragmentation of peoples and break down hierarchies? In the pursuit of peace and justice, what are feminist activists doing within their families and communities to stop the divisions and violence and counter the hatred and demonization against “the other”? How are peace and justice achieved through the intersectional and transnational coalitions across gender, race, class, sexuality, religion, nationality?
The 2020 Women’s & Gender Studies (WGS) Conference at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) aims to provide a critical space and place for a two-day collective and transdisciplinary inquiry into the intersections of gender, race, community and conflict. Since 1991, the feminist collective at SCSU has been hosting continuously conferences that reach across communities and bring together activists, academics, artists, and feminist practioners from diverse backgrounds for a feminist feast. The 2020 conference will our 23rd conference.
Topics
Conference discussions include the following topics:
- #MeToo
- Survivor Justice
- #IdleNoMore
- Indigenous Sovereignty
- #MMIWG2S
- Transnational Indigenous Feminisms
- #IndigenousLivesMatter
- #TransLivesMatter
- #TransWomenOfColorLivesMatter
- #BlackLivesMatter
- Stonewall 50: Legacies and Visions
- Bisexual Erasure
- Body Positivity
- Food Justice
- Motherhood/Parenthood
- Health Promotion & Access
- Veterans of Conflict (veterans of all wars)
- Restorative Justice
- Mass Incarceration
- Gentrification
- Economic Justice
- Identity & Community
- Privilege & Accountability
- Global Migrations & Peace/Justice Movements
- UN Sustainable Development Goals & Justice Movements
- Environmental Justice & Ecofeminism
- #ClimateStrikes
- Digital Storytelling
- LGBTQIA+ Rights Activism
- Participatory Action Research
- Grassroots Organizing for Peace & Justice
- Intersectionality & Justice
- Art for Peace and Justice
- Socially Engaged Art
- Contested/Contesting Public Art
- Writing Workshop for Peace & Justice
- Teaching for Peace & Justice
- Indigenous Activisms & Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
- Queering & Indigenizing Peace & Justice
- #YouthActivism
- Solidarity & Resistance
- Allyship & Resistance
- Voice to Power, Power to Voice
- 19t h Amendment: A Century
- Women’s Suffrage Movements
- Movements against Racism, Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia
- Just Media Representations
- Social Media & Movements
- Transnational Activism & Organizing
The Women’s & Gender Studies Conference at SCSU is self-supporting; all presenters can pre-register at the discounted presenters’ rate. The registration includes all costs for supporting materials and all meals and beverage breaks. For more information, please visit the SCSU Women’s & Gender Studies page, or contact Women’s & Gender Studies Program: womensstudies@southernct.edu or (203) 392-6133.
Keynote Address
Dr. Vandana Shiva will deliver the conference keynote on Friday, April 24, 2020, at 7 p.m., in the Adanti Student Center Ballroom.
Women's & Gender Exhibit Fair
Download the Conference Vendors Registration Form (PDF).
Past Conferences
Since 1991, the feminist collective at SCSU has been hosting continuously conferences that reach across communities and bring together activists, academics, artists, and feminist practitioners from diverse backgrounds for a feminist feast.
View information about past conferences.