Ci3 Co-Sponsors Sexual and Reproductive Justice Graduate Student Working Conference

Call for Proposals: 3rd Annual Sexual and Reproductive Justice Graduate Student Working Conference,

May 15, 2015

Abstract Deadline: February 23rd, 2015

We invite submissions to a graduate student working conference on questions concerning sexuality, reproduction and justice. This conference is co-sponsored by the the Center for Interdisciplinary Inquiry and Innovation in Sexual and Reproductive Health (Ci3), Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality (CSGS), and the Urban Network. The purpose of this working conference is to provide a forum for graduate students (including law students, medical students and residents) to receive critical feedback on their ongoing projects from other graduate students from across disciplines working on similar questions of sexuality, reproduction, and justice. The conference will be held May 15, 2015 at the University of Chicago’s Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality.

The reproductive rights framework has historically focused on protecting legal rights to abortion and contraception. A reproductive justice framework views reproductive choice through both human rights and social justice lenses. While the definition has evolved over time as the movement behind it has grown, reproductive justice seeks for all people to have the social, political and economic power and resources to make decisions about their health, bodies, sexuality and families for themselves and their community. The term “sexual justice” does not have the same resonance or history as the concept of reproductive justice and this conference seeks to link the earlier reproductive agenda with larger concerns of sexuality, including sexual health and sexual rights, as primary for the construction of a just society.

This working conference will allow graduate students to present to one another work and ongoing research exploring the relationship between sexuality, reproduction, and the public sphere. Below are some suggestions for possible topics. This list is by no means exhaustive; we are interested in any submission that is related to the broader questions of sexual and/or reproductive justice, with particular interest in papers that address issues of positive, healthy sexual and reproductive lives in an urban setting or that explore how urban landscapes and sociopolitical structures intersect with the sexual, gendered, and reproductive lives of urban youth—particularly youth of color.

• Public regulation of sexuality and reproduction
• Construction of reproductive capacities
• Sexual and reproductive health
• Sex education
• Sexuality in reproduction
• Sexual Agency and Consent
• Sexuality and Morality
• Queer Sexualities
• Sex in the Marketplace
• Sexuality, Reproduction, and Identity
• Social Justice and Sexuality
• Embodiment of sexualities or reproduction
• Coerced Reproduction
• Violent Publics and Privates (i.e., Prison Violence, Domestic Violence)
• Activism surrounding Sexuality and Reproduction
• Intersections of sexuality and reproduction with economic security

Papers will be pre-circulated amongst participants, and each will be expected to have read all papers. Participants will have an opportunity to present in front of their peers and to comment in turn. We hope to put into conversation students from different fields to enrich the feedback on an issue that spans disciplinary concerns. This event will also be open to the public, who will have an opportunity to address presenters at the end of the session.

We invite proposals for papers and current ongoing research from all disciplines. Please submit as an attachment a title, an abstract from 300-500 words, your name, discipline, degree level, and email to sexualjusticeconference@gmail.comby February 23, 2015. You will be notified of paper acceptance by March 9, 2015. We expect all accepted papers to be submitted by May 1, 2015. Please email sexualjusticeconference@gmail.com with any questions.