Call for Papers
WOMEN AND GLOBALIZATION Conference July 27-August 3, 2005
at the Center for Global Justice, San Miguel De Allende, Mexico
Co-Sponsored by the Radical Philosophy Association, the Global Studies
Association, and the Argentina Autonomista Project
Of all the social groups impacted by neo-liberal globalization, perhaps
none has felt it more severely than women, especially those in countries in
the global South. Young women have been the main workforce in maquiladora
sweatshops. Women must do more work to support families as incomes decline.
Women have felt the brunt of violence as frustrated husbands despair about not
being able to provide for their families. Families have been pushed off the
land, women have been left behind to care for families, and men have gone
north to find work. Some women have also gone north, often as victims of
coerced sex trafficking. Many returning men have brought AIDS with them to
infect their wives. World Bank and IMF-mandated cutbacks in state services
have drastically cut medical care, and public education now has user fees.
These cutbacks particularly affect women and children, as more women die in
childbirth and children have to leave school at an early age to work.
Similarly, women are also severely affected in the global North. In the US,
welfare restrictions, increased costs for health care and housing, and
declining state aid for education and other services have disproportionately
hurt women and children, particularly poor women, and have increased the
feminization of poverty. Thus, in both North and South, the social pathologies
engendered by globalization have affected women most intensely.
But women are not just victims of globalization. They are also subjects,
acting individually and collectively against these conditions. Women are
fighting back: creating economic cooperatives, alternative health care, and
support groups for victims of violence. They are fighting along with men
against privatization of water, land and other natural resources, as well as
against development projects and imports, like genetically-modified food, that
harm the environment. In Argentina, women were the first to struggle for
social justice in the road blockades, when IMF policies rendered 26% of the
population jobless. In Chiapas, Mexico, Zapatista women have taken lead roles
in the defense and construction of autonomous municipalities, self-governing
committees, health and education promotion, and the organization of economic
cooperatives.
These and related issues will be the focus of a Conference on Women and
Globalization to be held in San Miguel de Allende in central Mexico. Here,
where North meets South, globalization's effects are intensified. Conference
participants will explore this reality not only through discussion of
presented papers, activist workshops and artistic performances, but also by
meeting with local women's groups struggling to create alternatives and by
making site visits to observe concrete social conditions. Every effort will
be made to have all activities be translated into both Spanish and English.
Proposals for papers should be e-mailed to Ann Ferguson by March 15 at
[log in to unmask] A program committee will read them and papers will
be selected by May 1. Completed papers will be due by June 1 (firm deadline),
at least in one language, with the translation due by June 15 for those who
can translate themselves. The preferred length of papers is no more than 10
pages (not counting references), since they will have to be translated .
Papers will be translated and posted on the Center website
(www.globaljusticecenter.org ) in both English and Spanish well before the
conference. This will enable all participants to read them ahead of time,
thus requiring only a brief oral summary at the conference, and maximizing the
time available for discussion.
The program of the conference will offer paper presentations, activist
workshops, plenaries and artistic presentations Weds. July 27-Friday July 29,
activist workshops and weekend excursions on July 30 and 31 to nearby women's
organizations and other sites, and another round of paper discussions,
workshops and plenaries Monday Aug 1-Weds. Aug 3. Participants can come for
all or part of the conference. San Miguel de Allende is a beautiful small
colonial town a few hours north of Mexico City. Due to its altitude, it has
very moderate temperatures in the summer. There are many interesting sites to
visit both in the city and outside in neighboring communities. The conference
will offer ample opportunities for participants to enjoy San Miguel culture
and to visit a number of interesting places in the vicinity. Transportation
and lodging information is available upon request. Check the Center website or
email [log in to unmask]
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