Call for papers: Being a feminist academic (UK)

I got emailed this the other week and thought it would be worth posting, with the vague idea that I might have more than one academic type reading this blog.

I will add that I am not any of the named people listed in this Call out, and am not an academic, or associated with this call out in any way.  I don't think anyone should confuse me with the clever people who do this type of research properly!

But hey, they specifically mention black feminism!

Please feel free to distribute this to your contacts or crosspost wherever you like.

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Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. Special Issue: Being a Feminist Academic.

Editors: Katherine Sang, Susan Sayce, Josie Kinge, Simy Joy.
DECERe, Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ.

A growing body of academic literature argues that there is a resistance to feminism and gender equality within universities, particularly amongst the student body. This is supported by popular media which cites resistance to feminism within a broader societal context. Feminists working within universities report a range of problems. Feminist academics may challenge students’ gender attitudes, causing discomfort which may result in complaints. Additionally feminist academics may be vulnerable to abuse from male students who enrol on women’s studies courses with the intention of causing disruption.  The increasingly commercialised nature of UK higher education (HE) has resulted in a corporate culture which may be incompatible with feminist ideals.

Feminists working within academia have been able to affect change to the benefit of marginalised groups and are often loyal to their institution. However, some feminist academics report a perceived need to keep their feminist identities at home while expressing a desire to unite their identities of ‘feminist’ and ‘academic’.

Much of the extant literature does not explore the intersection between a feminist identity for academics and ethnic minority status. There is some suggestion the diversifying of the student body within Western universities may offer hope for black feminism, although further empirical evidence is needed. Marginalised academics may prefer to undertake work within their own communities, although such applied work is often not recognised by leading journals, potentially resulting in further marginalisation.  It has been argued this has led to a focus on feminist theory rather than feminist practice within universities.

This special issue focuses on feminism within universities. Given the broad range of definitions of feminism, we do not provide one. Rather authors are invited to provide their own. Our aim is to further understand the experiences of feminist academics (faculty, research staff and PhD students) in relation to their teaching, research, relationships with colleagues and career progression. Papers are invited from academics at any stage of their academic career from any country. These papers may be reflective pieces or empirical work. Papers could include reflections on (but are not limited to):

• Feminism and career progression
• Intersections of feminism with ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, academic discipline, type of institution or age.
• Feminist activism within universities
• Relationships with students
• Relationships with colleagues
• Feminism and research

 The call is open and competitive. Each submission will be subject to the usual (blind) review process. Submission to this special issue implies that the paper does not contain original work which has previously been published and is not currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. Authors should follow the journal’s regular author’s guidelines. We ask that papers are no longer than 7000 words.

20th June 2010 call for papers opens
1st March 2011 submission of papers
1st July 2011 authors notified of outcome of peer review
1st October 2011 authors to submit final papers to Editors.
1st November 2011 Editorial decision

Prospective contributors are welcome to contact the Guest Editors prior to submission to discuss the suitability of their work for the special issue.

Kate Sang
Norwich Business School
University of East Anglia
Norwich
NR4 7TJ
k.sang@uea.ac.uk

Susan Sayce
Norwich Business School
University of East Anglia
Norwich
NR4 7TJ
s.sayce@uea.ac.uk

Josie Kinge
Norwich Business School
University of East Anglia
Norwich
NR4 7TJ
j.kinge@uea.ac.uk

Simy Joy
Norwich Business School
University of East Anglia
Norwich
NR4 7TJ
Simy.joy@uea.ac.uk

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Oh, if anyone wants this in a pdf document email me at paicomics at yahoo dot co dot uk and I'll send on the original pdf I got sent.