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Please see below for details of a forthcoming interdisciplinary ESRC seminar. ESRC Seminar Series: Fat Studies and Health At Every Size: Bigness Beyond Obesity Seminar 1: Abject embodiment: Uneven targets of fat discrimination 14th-15th January 2010, Durham University. This is the first in a series of four seminars taking place over the course of 2010-2012, funded by the ESRC. In recent years there has been significant concern about the impact of fatness on the UK's health. Numerous policy interventions have attempted to tackle the so-called 'obesity epidemic' in ways which treat or prevent the incidence of such fat bodies. However, within the inter-disciplinary field of Fat Studies and the Health at Every Size (HAES) movement, researchers, practitioners and activists are challenging the limited and problematic ways in which dominant obesity knowledges produce and problematise the fat body. Within Geography, research concerned with fatness/obesity has made important contributions to this interdisciplinary research/activism through questioning the ways in which bodies and spaces have been simultaneously produced as fat and therefore abject (e.g. see Symposium on Critical Geographies of Fat/Bigness/Corpulence in Antipode, 41:5). This work has drawn on a range of critical theoretical approaches including feminist, Marxist, poststructural and queer theory in order to illustrate that geographies of ‘obesity’ and associated understandings of the fat body cannot be divorced from the gendered, aged, raced and classed contexts from which they emerge. This seminar series is grounded in the ethos and politics of size acceptance. Each of the seminars will critically question the ways in which fatness is constructed and experienced as a ‘problem’ whilst also exploring alternative understandings, theorisations and experiences of fatness. The series aims to provide a supportive space for interdisciplinary researchers, activists, practitioners and interested others to question the politics surrounding fatness and health, away from the limitations of the medical model. Further details on the seminar series aims and background to the series is available here: http://www.dur.ac.uk/geography/research/researchprojects/fat_studies_and_health_at_every_size/ The seminar will combine formal presentations with informal discussion groups. Keynote: Charlotte Cooper, University of Limerick: ‘Rad Fatties and 'The Obese': Activism, Fat Studies and Paradigm Shifts in the UK’ Confirmed speakers: - Emma Rich and John Evans, Loughborough University: Young people, class, schooling cultures and anti-obesity education - Corinna Tomrley, University of York: 'Feelings of envy mixed with disgust'; 'I respect her confidence but I wouldn't be the same' - Abject bodies, ambivalence and aspiration - Lee Monaghan, University of Limerick: Targeting White Coats in the War on Obesity: A Qualitative Analysis of an Online Debate About Clinicians' Weight - Jo Pike, University of Hull: ‘Junk Food Mums: Class, Gender and the Battle of Rawmarsh’ - Emma Rawlins, Medical Research Council: Family ties: understanding the intergenerational nature of eating and physical activity practices - Peter Hopkins, Newcastle University: Socio-spatial inequalities and emotional landscapes of body size - Kirsty Fife, University of Leeds: The Invisibility of the Fat Subject in Contemporary Visual Culture The seminar will run from 1pm on Thursday 14th January until 2.30pm on Friday 15th January 2010 in the Earth Sciences Building at Durham University,* number 43 on this map: http://www.dur.ac.uk/map/durham The seminar is free to attend (including refreshments and lunch on the 15th January) but participants must meet their own travel/accommodation costs.** There will be an optional seminar dinner (cost not covered) on the evening of Thursday 14th January If you are interested in attending, please send an email to both Rachel Colls ([log in to unmask]) and Bethan Evans ([log in to unmask]) to register. If you have any dietary requirements please let us know and we will do our best to cater for you. Please also indicate whether you are interested in attending the seminar dinner. *Information on getting to Durham University is available here: http://www.dur.ac.uk/travel/todurham **There are a limited number of bursaries available to contribute to travel/accommodation costs for students/unwaged participants. To request a bursary, please contact Rachel Colls ([log in to unmask]) and Bethan Evans ([log in to unmask]) and briefly explain why you need a bursary (i.e. unwaged/student etc). Some college accommodation may be available – this is searchable via the University accommodation site: http://bookings.travelstay.com/DurhamUniversityBooking.htm Alternatively there are numerous hotels and B&Bs available in Durham (the Durham tourism website has a search facility here: http://www.visitcountydurham.com/site/accommodation).