2018 Intermountain Gender & Sexuality Conference at Idaho State University

Friday, April 6, 2018

Click Here To View The Detailed Schedule!

Monday, January 29, 2018

Friday, December 15, 2017

Intermountain Gender & Sexuality Conference: Telling Our Stories

Deadline Extended February 8, 2018

Biannual Multidisciplinary Conference
Call For Papers
Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID
April 12-13, 2018

Keynote Speaker: Rae Lynn Schwartz-DuPre (Ph.D University of Iowa 2006) is a Professor of Communication Studies at Western Washington University with a specialization in feminist postcolonial theory, rhetorical studies, and visual communication. Dr. Schwartz-DuPre will discuss her current book Curious about George: Curious George, Cultural Icons, Colonialism, & American Exceptionalism takes up Curious George as an example of contemporary colonialism. By modeling the importance of linking race, gender, colonialism, icons, and citizenship she figures him as cultural icon of American exceptionalism.

Featuring an Exhibition Debate

The conference is co-sponsored by the ISU College of Arts and Letters, (Departments of Communication, Media, & Persuasion; Political Science; English and Philosophy, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, and Global Studies), and the ISU Rupp Debate Society

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION DEADLINE: ~~January 30, 2018~~
FEBRUARY 9, 2018
This year’s theme is Telling Our Stories. Focusing on shared gender performances from an interdisciplinary perspective we seek a multiplicity of voices telling stories about all aspects of gendered experience. The conference aims to feature presenters from a variety of methodological perspectives who will share, understand, and tell stories about sexuality and gender, which are integral to human identity.

Conference Fee for Presenters: $20 students, $35 faculty. Scholarships available for students.
Sessions will be open to the public.

All submissions related to gender and/or sexuality will be considered.

The committee invites advanced undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty and adjunct faculty, to submit proposals. Panel submissions from groups, student organizations, etc. are also welcome.

PRESENTATION FORMATS: Presentations may take several different formats, including: papers (resulting from group work or individuals); slide presentations; films; readings; and performances. Presentations should be no longer than 15 minutes in duration. Standard A/V equipment such as computer and projector will be provided. If you require additional equipment you need to provide it yourself.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Click here to submit an abstract that is no longer than 300 words in length. Panels are also invited and should be indicated on the google form.
The committee will review all submissions and submitters will be notified by February 20, 2018
Presenters are invited to submit their completed work for consideration in a special issue published in Relevant Rhetoric: A New Journal of Rhetorical Studies by April 15, 2018. Paper submissions should be 10-20 pages and prepared in accordance with the Chicago Manual of Style (15th edition or online). Please note that your submission is in concert with the Gender conference in your submission materials. For more information on the journal and how to submit your completed work, Relevant Rhetoric visit http://relevantrhetoric.com/Submissions.html.

Lodging information will be posted in January on the conference website.

For more information about the conference, questions or concerns please visit http://idahostategenderconference.info/ or contact the conference committee at isugenderconference@gmail.com

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Rae Lynn Schwartz-DuPre

Rae Lynn Schwartz-DuPre (Ph.D University of Iowa 2006) is a Professor of Communication Studies at Western Washington University with a specialization in feminist postcolonial theory, rhetorical studies, and visual communication. Her scholarship is committed to understanding the ways in which (re)presentations rhetorically constitute knowledge within various modes of occupation, citizenship, and resistance. Her collection Communicating Colonialism: Readings on Postcolonial Theory(s) and Communication, (Peter Lang, 2013) makes a compelling case for the continued relevance of postcolonial studies in an age of transnationalism and globalization. Her current book Curious about George: Curious George, Cultural Icons, Colonialism,& American Exceptionalism takes up Curious George as an example of contemporary colonialism. By modeling the importance of linking race, gender, colonialism, icons, and citizenship she figures him as cultural icon of American exceptionalism. Additional scholarship has appeared in journals such as Textual Practice, Critical Studies in Media Communication, Feminist Media Studies, Communication, and Communication, Culture & Critique. Click to see Dr. Schwartz-DuPre's full CV.

Curious about George: This project critically considers the global circulation of Curious George as a cultural icon of American exceptionalism to model the importance of linking postcolonialism, identity, cultural icons, and American citizenship. Specially, this talk reflects on the relationships between the dominant discourses in which Curious George most predominantly circulates: 1) colonial children’s literature that figures the pathetic white father figure as hero (1941-present); 2) science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education that privileges curiosity over the history of scientific determinism (2006-present); and 3) Holocaust nostalgia in which the American savory is honored (2005-present). While seemingly unrelated, what George’s discourses share is a rich training ground for children to learn U.S. citizenship—one that dismisses its slavery-based colonial roots, promotes STEM education as the backbone of the U.S. economy and global competitiveness, and privileges its remembrance of the Holocaust as a motivator of American global power.