The Finnish Gender Studies Association organizes the annual Gender Studies Conference this year in Turku, in collaboration with Gender Studies at the University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University 22-24 November 2018.

 

This year’s theme, Trans in Transit, refers to the multiplicity of ways in which gender can be understood, experienced, and expressed, as well as to questions of crossing transnational, racialized, and disciplinary boundaries. Trans in Transit focuses not only on trans rights and gendered knowledge production, but also on various kinds of category and border crossings, following a broad understanding of ‘trans’.

This year, the Gender Studies Conference asks what the multiplication of categories, identities, and concepts around gender, sexuality, race, and class means in feminist research. What happens when the categories “woman” and “man” are not enough, or when non-binary and transgender identities and other identifications and forms of self-expression are centered in research? How have boundaries around sexuality, race, ethnicity, and class been considered and crossed in history, society, and culture? How can feminist thought and action further the rights of various marginalized groups as they intersect, or even conflict, with each other?

The conference features three keynote speakers: Associate Professor in Women’s and Gender Studies at U.C. Berkeley (USA), Mel Y. Chen; Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Alberta (Canada), Kim TallBear; and Lecturer in Gender Studies at SOAS University of London (UK), Alyosxa Tudor. Mel Y. Chen’s scholarly work combines trans and queer studies, critical race studies, disability studies, and animal studies. Kim TallBear’s expertise spans indigenous feminist studies, science and technology studies, environmental questions, and queer theory. Alyosxa Tudor intertwines trans and queer studies with questions of transnationality and postcolonial feminisms.

 

Please note that participants are expected to cover their own travel and accommodation expenses.