4C19 Coalition SIG CFP: Building Out From ‘The Margins’: New Directions in Intersectionality

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Twenty-five years ago, in “Mapping the Margins,” Kimberlé Crenshaw provided feminist academics and activists with the critical vocabulary they needed to define identity politics at various intersections of sexism and racism, in turn equipping us with structural, political, and representational “frameworks” for thinking about the fraught or hybrid spaces we occupy. Emphasizing frameworks over “totalizing theor[ies] of identity” (Crenshaw 1244), the Coalition’s 2019 Wednesday evening session dedicates itself to an interrogation and exploration of how those intersections look today, and of where intersectionality has led us as a Coalition, and as a field.

We invite proposals for brief critical talks to form the basis of a roundtable discussion on any of the following questions:

  • What are the present dynamics of that original intersection (of sexism and racism)? How do those dynamics relate to our current demands, or reveal other intersections that should demand our attention?
  • What are some new/different intersections from those we have identified in the past? What are the spaces from which and within which we find ourselves working?
  • What constitutes a “margin” and/or a “hybrid/fraught” space? How can we witness these marginalizations compound?
  • What are the implications of moving beyond these notions of marginalization? Or of not moving beyond them?
  • What are the various feminisms we find ourselves attending to? What alternative terms or neologisms do we circulate, or should we circulate, within and beyond our field?

Next year’s anticipated format will feature 3-4 brief (7-10 minute) critical talks, with each talk generating a set of specific questions for table-led discussions, culminating in a closing roundtable discussion. Presenters are encouraged to anticipate talks that are simultaneously theoretical and creative or innovative. Co-authored talks are also welcomed. Proposals should be 250-300 words and include an abstract (140 characters), and up to 5 questions to contribute to table-led discussions. Please submit to Tarez Graban (tgraban@fsu.edu) by 3/21/18.

*NOTE: Because the Wednesday night Coalition session is, technically, a Special Interest Group (SIG), participants may submit proposals for this session and also apply for a speaking role on the regular program.