International Girl Studies Association are seeking submissions for our inaugural conference in 2016. The inaugural conference seeks to bring together researchers and students working on girls and girlhood in any part of the world and in any discipline or interdisciplinary field. 

Girl Studies has become one of the most dynamic academic fields, encompassing a vast array of disciplines and interdisciplinary approaches. This conference aims to bring together scholars from across the world to explore experiences of girlhood, recent developments within the field, investigating new questions and revisiting historical issues.

We seek proposals that address some of the key issues in girls studies and we welcome both individual and panel presentations. Moreover, we are also keen to move beyond the traditional conference format and would encourage collaborative work, creative, visual, screenings and performance based work.  We are also keen to invite proposals from individuals working in collaboration with girls, the community and partner organisations.

Confirmed Keynotes:

Professor Catherine Driscoll (University of Sydney, AUS) Professor Christine Griffin (University of Bath, UK) Professor Mary Celeste Kearney (University of Notre Dame, USA) Professor Rozena Maart (University of KwaZulu-Natal, SA)

Topics may include (but are not limited to) • Histories of girlhood • Global girlhood(s) • Intersectional girlhood • Queer girls • Representation of girlhood • Intergenerational girlhoods • Girlhood and consumption • Mediated girlhoods • Methodological approaches to girls’ studies • Girls and feminism • Girls and sport • Girls and politics • Girls and education • Young femininities • Body image • Subcultures and girlhood • Girls and digital media • Girls and activism • Girls and literature • Girls and popular culture • Girlhood during austerity • Girls and sexuality • Girls and health • Neoliberal girlhoods • Ethnographies of girlhood

Submissions:

Abstracts of 250 words, proposals for pre-constituted panels (250 words per panellist) and proposals for creative and alternative presentations (250 words) should be sent to igsa.2016@uea.ac.uk by 1st September 2015. All submissions should be accompanied by brief bio.

Any questions or queries can be sent to igsa.2016@uea.ac.uk.