LINGUIST List 4.650

Wed 01 Sep 1993

Confs: Women and Language

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Directory

1. , 1994 Berkeley Women and Language Conference

*CALL FOR PAPERS*
1994 Berkeley Women and Language Conference
Communication In, Through, and Across Cultures
April 8-10, 1994, Berkeley Conference Center, Berkeley, CA

The notion of culture has always been a central site of research and
discussion in the study of women's language. For over a decade, scholars
within linguistics have debated the merits of the claim that speech
differences between women and men are a consequence of different cultural
backgrounds. Anthropologists, meanwhile, have reminded us that most
research has focused upon women in late-capitalist societies, and that the
linguistic experiences of women in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the
Caribbean, and indigenous cultures should not be subsumed within a
monolithic account of language and gender. Finally, identity politics as it
has emerged from the multiculturalism of the present-day United States
introduces into our theoretical constructs the issues of race, ethnicity,
class, sexual orientation, and gender identity, as well as other more
situationally-based factors. We encourage papers that engage with these
perspectives in innovative ways, whether through contrastive analysis,
exploration of understudied cultural factors, or treatment of how various
levels or factors interact. We particularly seek to provide a forum for those
that have been marginalized in the academy. Our goal is not to reconcile the
often conflicting accounts of culture and women's language that have been
produced, but to open up discussion in challenging new directions.

Invited speakers include:
 Jennifer Coates, Dept. of English, Roehampton Institute
 Leanne Hinton, Dept. of Linguistics, Univ. of California, Berkeley
 Sachiko Ide, Department of English, Japan WomenUs University
 William Leap, Department of Anthropology, American University
 Faye McNair-Knox, Div. of Teacher Education, Virginia
Commonwealth Univ.
 Marcyliena Morgan, Dept. of Anthropology, Univ. of California,
Los Angeles
 Susan Philips, Department of Anthropology, University of Arizona
 Deborah Tannen, Dept. of Linguistics, Georgetown University
 Keith Walters, Dept. of Linguistics, University of Texas at Austin
 *and special guest*
 Susie Bright, author, critic, and sex educator

And presenting a special panel:
Gender and Genre: A discussion between women science fiction writers and
women mystery writers on questions of literary convention and gender.
Science fiction abounds in invented languages and new terms for invented
cultures. What problems do they draw attention to? What resolutions do
they offer? Do women mystery writers have the same freedom of innovation
as male authors? With Dorothy Bryant, Mary Wings, and Anna Livia.

Papers delivered at the conference will be published in the Proceedings of
the 1994 Berkeley Women and Language Conference. (We may also
publish selected papers with a major publisher.) Speakers will be allowed
20 minutes for presentation and 5 minutes for questions. To submit an
abstract, send six copies of an anonymous 500-word proposal (one page,
unreduced) to the address below, along with one copy of a 150-word
abbreviation of this proposal for publication in the conference journal. The
deadline for abstracts is December 15th, 1993. We ask that you make your
abstract as specific as possible, including a statement of your topic or
problem, your approach, and your conclusions. Abstracts should be
accompanied by a single 3 x 5 card with: (1) the title of the paper, (2) the
author's name, (3) the author's affiliation (department and university), and
(4) the phone, e-mail, and street address at which the author wishes to
receive notification in late January, 1994, of acceptance or rejection. Please
address all correspondence to: Berkeley Women and Language Group,
2337 Dwinelle Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720
(telephone: 510-642-2757; e-mail: bwlggarnet.berkeley.edu; fax: 510-
643-5688).
Registration Fees: Before March 18, 1994: $20 for students, $30 for non-
studentsfter March 18, 1994: $30 for students, $40 for non-students
Childcare available - Wheelchair accessible