Australian Women’s and Gender Studies Biannual Conference 2021

This will be an on-line and/or face-to-face conference

This conference asks: what does it mean to undertake feminist, queer and related critical work within and in relation to institutions that privilege certain ways of ‘knowing’.

Indigenous scholars, queer and feminist scholars, and those using intersectional theories, have long critiqued the politics and practices of knowledge production, along with the related inequalities which emerge across race, disability, class, gender, sexuality and age. In an era of neo-liberal instrumentalism, western epistemologies continue to sit at the heart of institutions which structure our work and/or form its point of reference – these highly particular ‘ways of knowing’ continue to determine what counts as legitimate knowledge, how knowledge is ‘built’, processed and obtained, and what counts as valuable knowledge ‘outputs’. They also contribute to material inequalities in a labour market which is increasingly casualised, precarious, inaccessible, and focused on narrow definitions of worth.

These practices of ‘knowing’ emerge from and reinforce the colonising project that structures dominant institutions. They also continue to centre the normative Australian citizen, and knowledge producer, as non-Indigenous, white, able-bodied, middle class, cis-male and heterosexual. Significantly, despite the assumed ‘neutrality’ of the neo-liberal individual, institutions continue to rest on patriarchal, colonising, abelist logics – and recently, corporate logics which seek to maximise ‘productivity’ have had very real effects on identities and forms of knowledge that are marginalised.

Through this conference, we emphasise two frames to think about what it might mean to ‘unknow’ the institutions that shape our work, or through which we are positioned as subjects, or from which we seek employment. Theories of decolonisation present a challenge to feminist, queer and related critical practice to reflect on what counts as legitimate knowledge, and by extension, how identities and subjectivities can be held accountable. They also present a challenge to take the radical goals of decolonisation seriously. While intersectionality has been critiqued as an approach that is at risk of ‘tick-boxing’ categories (with the power to determine those categories in the hands of the researcher) it remains a vital frame for thinking through privilege and marginality across race, class, disability, gender, sexuality and age.

Call for Papers and Key Dates

Abstracts due 22nd February 2021

Individual papers: Abstract 300 word maximum
Roundtable discussion, panel, workshop, creative intervention-performance: 400 words maximum.

Acceptance announced 15th March 2021

Please send abstracts to:

AWGSAconference2021

Conference Organising Committee: Dr Monique Mulholland, Assoc. Prof. Barbara Baird, Assoc. Prof. Catherine Kevin, Assoc. Prof. Kristin Natalier, Dr Simone Tur, Dr Ali Baker, Faye Rosas Blanch, Dr Tova Rozengarten, Dr Laura Roberts.

♿︎ The conference is wheelchair accessible

The 2021 AWGSA conference will bring together activists, academics, students, community leaders, artists, researchers, and policymakers to think through the idea of ‘unknowing’ in a multitude of ways, drawing on one or all of the key frames outlined below:

Positionality and Place

How we are positioned as subjects in the various institutions in which our work sits? Which identities are privileged and marginalised? What might it mean to decolonise and ‘unknow’ the privileged knowledges and subjectivities that inform the institutions in which our work is situated or from which it is excluded? What does it mean to unknow what we have come to know, and to know in different ways?

Working with and about institutions

How do institutions open up or close down the work we can undertake – what we can say, how we can we express it, how we are privileged or exploited? What are the different practices of knowledge production, in different kinds of institutions? And who is the ‘we’ of institutions?

Resistance and transformation

How, and can, we decolonise the spaces in which we work? How, and can, we decolonise our own work? How can we undertake critical intersectional work in ways that avoid ‘tick-boxing’? What is possible? What might this look like in different institutions and institutional settings? Is it possible, and if so, what would a decolonising ethics of practice look like across diverse institutional contexts?

Knowledge ‘outputs’ and ‘products’

What presently or currently constitutes legitimate knowledge products and outcomes in the spaces in which we work? How can we strategise to make room for a broad range of knowledge outputs – from ‘traditional’ academic publications, to art, theatre, spoken work, fiction and community and political activism?

This conference will be held on the traditional country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains. We recognise and respect their cultural heritage, beliefs and relationship with the land. We acknowledge that they are of continuing importance to the Kaurna people living today.

Face to Face Attendance Registration Fees

Book now

Online Attendance Registration Fess

Please note: For online participants, catering costs have been removed from the registration fees

Book now

Keynote Speakers

Associate Professor Chelsea Watego

Associate Professor Chelsea Watego is a Munanjahli and South Sea Islander woman and a Principal Research Fellow within the School of Social Science at The University of Queensland. She has worked as an Aboriginal Health Worker and researcher in communities across south-east Queensland for the past 20 years with her work focused on interpreting and privileging Indigenous experiences of the health system and her current research supported by the Australian Research Council seeks to examine how race and racism operate within the health system in producing the persisting health disparities experienced by Indigenous peoples. A/Professor Watego is a board member of Inala Wangarra (an Indigenous community development association within her own community), and one half of the Wild Black Women on Brisbane’s 98.9FM and NITV’s The Point.

Jax Jacki Brown

Jax Jacki Brown is a disability and queer+ rights activist, writer, and educator. Through their tireless work as a writer, speaker, workshop and forum presenter, lecturer, spoken-word performer and theatre producer, Jax aims to challenge disability stereotypes and spotlight serious issues for change. Jax is a member of the Victorian Ministerial Council on Women's Equality, and the Victorian governments' LGBTI taskforce Health and Human Services Working Group and formerly the Victorian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission’s Disability Reference Group. Jax is interested in how we can build resilience, pride and community for queer people with disabilities.

The Unbound Collective:
Dr Ali Gumilya Baker, Dr Simone Ulalka Tur, Faye Rosas Blanch and Dr Natalie Harkin

The Unbound Collective brings together years of research in a performance that moves through spaces that have historically seen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians excluded and reduced to tell untold chapters of Australia’s true history.

The Unbound Collective

Dr Juliet Watson

Dr Juliet Watson is Deputy Director of the Unison Housing Research Lab within the Social and Global Studies Centre at RMIT University and President of the Australian Women’s and Gender Studies Association. A sociologist and social worker, Juliet has extensive research, teaching, and practice experience in homelessness and gender-based violence. Her work focuses on marginalised experiences of gender, and her research projects have included investigations of pregnancy and homelessness, crisis responses for women escaping domestic violence, and gender-based violence on mental health inpatient units. Her book, ‘Youth Homelessness and Survival Sex: Intimate Relationships and Gendered Subjectivities’ was published in 2018.

Accommodation

Accommodation suggestions: All of these have discounts available for conference participants, so if you want the link to access this, email conference organisers.

Franklin apartments – 10% discount, Very close, less than 5 minutes walk, good budget option – approx. $100 per night

Ibis Hotel – 10% discount: Very close, between 5-10 mins walk – approx. $120 per night

Hilton Hotel – 15% discount: just across the square from the conference – approx. $194 (you can edit the dates on the link)

Quest – 20% discount: less than 5 mins walk – approx. $159 per night.

Location

Adelaide is situated on Kaurna Country, and we recognise the Traditional Custodians of the land on which the conference is being held. We pay our respects to Elders, past, present, and emerging. We acknowledge that this land was never ceded. We extend that respect to all Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islanders, and Indigenous People from other nations joining us.

The conference location is easily accessible via tram, train, and bus. The tram circles the city (and goes from the main train station to right outside the conference venue), so it easy to get around. The city is also relatedly small and easy to walk to most venues etc. Should you require more information to plan your transport, please visit: https://adelaidemetro.com.au/

In addition, Flinders at Victoria Square/Tarntanyangga is close to a variety of amenities for your convenience. The Adelaide Central Market is 2 mins away across the square, and Rundle Mall is within walking distance, whether you're looking for fresh, gourmet goods or an outdoor shopping experience. Within the CBD, you will also find many wonderful restaurants and cafes which serve a variety of cuisines to suit all tastes!

If you have a little more time during your stay, you might consider a visit to the beautiful Adelaide Hills, Barossa Valley wine region, or a tram ride to the bustling Glenelg foreshore.

Call for papers and key dates

Conference topics

Keynote speakers

‘Unknowing’
Institutions:
Decolonisation
and Critical
Intersectional
Practice

Australian Women’s and Gender Studies Association Biannual conference

This will be an on-line and/or face-to-face conference

Call for Papers and Key Dates

Positionality and Place

Working with and about institutions

Resistance and transformation

Knowledge ‘outputs’ and ‘products’

Early Bird

Standard Full Registration

Please note: For online participants, catering costs have been removed from the registration fees

Early Bird

Standard Full Registration

Keynote Speakers

Associate Professor Chelsea Watego

Jax Jacki Brown

The Unbound Collective:
Dr Ali Gumilya Baker, Dr Simone Ulalka Tur, Faye Rosas Blanch and Dr Natalie Harkin

Dr Juliet Watson

Accommodation

Location

Information for

Directories

Follow Flinders

FOREVER FEARLESS

Early Bird (Closes 14^th June)		Standard Full Registration (Open 15^th June)
Full Conference Rate	Price	Full conference Rate	Price
Waged (membership not included in fee)	$285	Waged (membership not included in fee)	$320
Waged (fee will include AWGSA membership)	$265	Waged (fee will include AWGSA membership)	$300
Waged (for those who have pre-purchased existing membership)	$245	Waged (for those who have pre-purchased existing membership)	$280
Unwaged/Student/Low Income (membership not included in fee)	$120	Unwaged/Student/Low Income (membership not included in fee)	$140
Unwaged/Student/Low Income (fee will include AWGSA membership)	$100	Unwaged/Student/Low Income (fee will include membership)	$120
Unwaged/Student/Low Income (for those who have pre-purchased existing membership)	$80	Unwaged/Student/Low Income (for those who have pre-purchased existing membership)	$100
Day Rate	Price	Day Rate	Price
Waged (membership not included in fee)	$200	Waged (membership not included in fee)	$235
Waged (fee will include AWGSA membership)	$180	Waged (fee will include AWGSA membership)	$215
Waged (for those who have pre-purchased existing membership)	$160	Waged (for those who have pre-purchased existing membership)	$195
Unwaged/Student/Low Income (membership not included in fee)	$80	Unwaged/Student/Low Income (membership not included in fee)	$100
Unwaged/Student/Low Income (fee will include AWGSA membership)	$60	Unwaged/Student/Low Income (fee will include AWGSA membership)	$80
Unwaged/Student/Low Income (for those who have pre-purchased existing membership)	$40	Unwaged/Student/Low Income (for those who have pre-purchased existing membership)	$60

‘Unknowing’ Institutions: Decolonisation and Critical Intersectional Practice

Australian Women’s and Gender Studies Association Biannual conference

This will be an on-line and/or face-to-face conference

Call for Papers and Key Dates

Positionality and Place

Working with and about institutions

Resistance and transformation

Knowledge ‘outputs’ and ‘products’

Early Bird

Standard Full Registration

Please note: For online participants, catering costs have been removed from the registration fees

Early Bird

Standard Full Registration

Keynote Speakers

Associate Professor Chelsea Watego

Jax Jacki Brown

The Unbound Collective: Dr Ali Gumilya Baker, Dr Simone Ulalka Tur, Faye Rosas Blanch and Dr Natalie Harkin

Dr Juliet Watson

Accommodation

Location

Information for

Directories

Follow Flinders

FOREVER FEARLESS

This website uses cookies

‘Unknowing’
Institutions:
Decolonisation
and Critical
Intersectional
Practice

The Unbound Collective:
Dr Ali Gumilya Baker, Dr Simone Ulalka Tur, Faye Rosas Blanch and Dr Natalie Harkin