The intersections of language, gender and sexuality have become central topics of interest for researchers from many fields, but gender and sexuality categories are often handled in a simplistic manner, for example as fixed binary variables. However, these are both complex categories which require new theoretical understanding and methodological orientations.
With the aim of bringing together both national and international scholars interested in language and gender and/or sexuality, we are organizing a two-day conference on October 12 and 13 (2023) at the University of Helsinki. All presentations will be given in person.
The call for papers for the conference is open to all scholars focusing on language. In particular, we hope to receive abstracts on studies utilizing queer theories or feminist approaches (e.g., intersectional feminism), but we welcome abstracts on any topics related to language and gender and/or sexuality. Possible topics include but are not limited to:
Abstracts should be 250 words in length (excluding references), and they can be written in English or Finnish. Likewise, accepted papers can be presented either in English or Finnish.
All abstracts should be submitted via email to langgesex@helsinki.fi by May 11th. Please use the abstract template we have provided below.
Abstract Template (pdf)
Abstract Template (docx)
Notification of acceptance will be sent in early June.
The conference is funded by the Helsinki Institute for Social Sciences and Humanities. There is no registration fee for presenters.