Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Virtual)
12 December 2020
It has been only recently that trans rights began to
be widely discussed and researched across the academic world. The prevailing
majority of existing research dealt mainly with issues and case studies
emergent post-1900 – that is, rather recently in academic terms, and therefore,
trans rights and related issues as a sphere of academic inquiry have sometimes
been depicted as a “modern” concept. We hope we initiate a productive
conversation on the notion of transgender identity as connected with the
political world, pre-1900s so we find the roots and identify the history of
this rich and long topic.
Yet, looking back at history, we encounter fascinating
figures such as John Randolph of Roanoke (1773-1833), Chevalier D’Eon
(1728-1810), Nadezhda Durova (1783-1866), and countless others. The figure of
the cross-dressing shaman or spiritual healer, occupying a place of crucial
importance in the community, is a common presence across many cultures.
Transgender identity was marginalized – or seen as a
phenomenon allowing one to cross established boundaries (making it particularly
useful for espionage). Sometimes, adopting the dress and cultural
characteristics of another gender was a one-time forced move as part of a
military or espionage operation; sometimes, it was a passionate political
statement. Either way, this conference seeks to explore and discuss the concept
of transgender identities and issues pre-20th century, as seen through the political
prism, encompassing broad fields such as military, literature, science or
diplomacy.
We invite abstracts from scholars at diverse stages of
their career but as always in GIRES, we particularly welcome applications from
postgrads and early career researchers.
Proposed Topics
- Historical Trans figures
- Researching the Trans history: difficulties and limitations
- Traditional perceptions of trans figures- stereotypes and perspectives
- Trans rights and their impact on modern-day gender politics (e.g.similar to the Two-Spirit people in Native American cultures)
- Modern literary representations of historical trans figures
- Trans representation on (social) media
- Trickster figures in trans culture
- Political rights across the globe
- Religion and transgender people
- Film Representations of trans life-figures
Proposed Formats (Lingua franca: English)
Submissions may propose various formats, including:
- Individually submitted papers (organized into panels by the GIRES committee)
- Panels (3-4 individual papers)
- Roundtable discussions (led by one of the presenters)
- Posters
Key dates:
Deadline for proposals: 14 November 2020
Acceptance notification: 16 November 2020
Our proposed topics & formats are not restrictive
and we invite additional germane ideas
Due to the restrictions of Corona Crisis our event
(for the time being) will take place virtually
Contact: info@gires.org
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