CALL FOR PROPOSALS: MISSING PERSONS
FEBRUARY 24-25, 2018
DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS: NOVEMBER 8, 2017
Who’s missing from advocacy, research, and responses to sexual and domestic violence? Who goes missing in the process of trying to survive violence, of seeking resources, of engaging advocates? How can we work to eradicate these forms of violence without inflicting further violence on survivors and on their communities? Missing Persons is a two-day conversation space for pursuing answers to these questions and figuring out how to enact them, intentionally loosely structured so that participants can create the structure, space, and focus they want to work within. The first day of the conference will focus on issues surrounding religion and spirituality (religion and spirituality supporting violence, supporting victims and survivors, as complicit, as resource, as barrier to service, etc.); the second day will focus on dismantling systems of response, research, activism, and advocacy that create “missing persons,” revictimize survivors and their communities, and otherwise create injustice in the name of justice. Confirmed keynote speakers include Sahar Pirzada, of HEART Women and Girls, and Emi Koyama.
Proposals are invited for papers, panels, workshops, performances, films, exhibits, and any other form of community engagement and conversation. Activists, artists, poets and other creative writers, and those working outside of academia are especially encouraged to submit proposals. Proposals should be no longer than 500 words and should explain the proposed contribution in as much detail as possible. Please also include a clear, detailed, and complete list of support needs (projector, internet access, speakers, lighting, etc.), a bio of no more than 250 words for each presenter, and contact information. Send all proposals as email attachments to Melissa Wilcox, melissa.wilcox@ucr.edu, by November 8, 2017. Questions and concerns can also be directed to this email address.
Missing Persons is the inaugural event in the biennial Holstein Conversations in Community series. These loosely-structured, community-driven events seek to provide a space in which people who are making and thinking about social justice and social change can gather, envision new worlds, and strategize ways to bring those worlds into being. Each conversation will touch on issues of religion but will also engage broader concerns with regard to that year’s focus. Funding for the Holstein Conversations in Community is generously provided by the Holstein Family and Community Chair in Religious Studies at University of California, Riverside (UCR).
