Post-graduate Symposium on Occupation, Transitional Justice and Gender
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Christine Chinkin, Professor of International Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science
Date: Friday, May 8, 2015, 09:00 – 18:30
Venue: University of Ulster, York St campus (Belfast, Northern Ireland)
The Transitional Justice Institute (University of Ulster) and the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences (University of Ulster) invite proposals for a one-day postgraduate symposium on Occupation, Transitional Justice and Gender to be held on Friday, May 8, 2015.
This symposium seeks to explore the interface between occupation, transitional justice and gender. The starting point for exploration is based in feminist concerns that are broadly focused on issues of power, control and hierarchies. More specifically, feminist theorizing acknowledges that women’s needs during times of occupation, conflict, and/or transition are often ignored, sidelined or essentialised; recent research is also looking into masculinities during these periods. While much research has explored transitional justice and gender, there has been limited research on the relationship and complexities of occupation and gender. Furthermore, there is a dearth of research on how these three concepts intersect, inform and/or impact each other. Some questions to be explored during the symposium may include:
- What might be the approach in exploring the interface between occupation and transitional justice while utilizing a gendered lens?
- How does law capture modern instances of occupation that do not fit neatly into the existing legal coding?
- Can transitional justice mechanisms be employed while there is an occupation and can such mechanisms take the gendered needs of the population into account?
- Can the exceptionality of occupation reveal gender differences unapparent in normal settings and, if so, what are their implications for transitional justice theory and praxis?
The conference invites papers from postgraduate students (PhD and Masters) who are exploring the above-mentioned questions in any context and any time period; case studies and theoretical papers are also welcomed. It also invites poster proposals to be featured during a special poster session. For paper or poster proposals, please send a title, a 200-word abstract, and a short one-paragraph biography by December 31, 2014 to Rimona Afana (afana-r@email.ulster.ac.uk) and Stephanie Chaban (chaban-s@email.ulster.ac.uk). Acceptance of abstracts will be notified by January 15, 2015.
All submissions will be eligible for Best Paper and Best Poster awards. Papers will get substantive and thorough feedback from faculty with expertise in gender/transition and/or law of armed conflict. The organizers are exploring the possibility of publication for the best papers. The symposium will feature Dr. Christine Chinkin, Professor of International Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science, as the keynote speaker. Gender experts from the Transitional Justice Institute and IRiSS will also participate. Furthermore, there will also be a praxis session involving domestic and international work related to women’s grassroots involvement in transitional justice mechanisms.
The symposium is sponsored by the Feminist & Women’s Studies Association (FWSA): http://fwsablog.org.uk/.
Further sponsorship is provided by the Transitional Justice Institute, University of Ulster, the Research Graduate School, University of Ulster, and the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences, University of Ulster.