CFP Women & Power: Redressing the Balance

Paper proposals are invited for the conference Women & Power: Redressing the Balance, to be held at the University of Oxford, 6-7 March, 2019

Throughout 2018 the National Trust is running a programme of public events, exhibitions and new interpretation to mark the centenary of the Representation of the People Act which granted some women the right to vote in British parliamentary elections for the first time. We are one of many heritage, cultural and academic institutions marking this anniversary.

Many of the programmes, exhibitions and events responding to the centenary this year are not only exploring the stories of 100 years ago but openly questioning the representation of women’s lives in the histories inherited by curators and researchers, and experienced in public life, today. This two day conference will bring together researchers and heritage professionals to reflect on previous practice, explore the delivery of and response to events of 2018, and look forward to the future of representing women’s histories.

Papers are invited on, but by no means limited to, the following topics:

  • Innovative responses to celebrating the 2018 centenary in the cultural, heritage and academic spheres
  • Examples of knowledge exchange and public engagement between academia and the cultural and heritage sectors, centred on women’s histories
  • Case studies of socially engaged and participatory practice exploring women’s histories
  • The practical challenges of researching, teaching and interpreting women’s histories
  • Examples of addressing intersectional barriers to accessing women’s histories, in particular working class women, women of colour, and LGBTQ+ women
  • Public, press and audience responses to spotlighting women’s histories

The conference programme will include 20-minute papers and a number of shorter spotlight talks.  We also welcome innovative ideas for panel discussions (maximum three speakers plus chair). Please specify which you are applying for in your abstract. We hope to publish a selection of revised conference papers in a peer-reviewed journal or as an edited collection after the conference.

Please send abstracts of between 200 and 300 words to ntpartnership@humanities.ox.ac.uk along with a short biography by 29 October, 2018.

This conference is jointly organised by the National Trust and the University of Oxford. For further information, see http://www.torch.ox.ac.uk/call-papers-women-power-redressing-balance