NEW DEADLINE CALL 2 - Socioscapes. International Journal of Societies, Politics and Cultures Second issue (Summer 2020) “Gender and Sexualities Studies in Difficult Times: Uncertain Presents, Coalitional Futures”

2020-06-04

Socioscapes. International Journal of Societies, Politics and Cultures

Second issue (Summer 2020)

“Gender and Sexualities Studies in Difficult Times: Uncertain Presents, Coalitional Futures”

Guest Editors: Dr Samuele Grassi (University of Florence-Monash University), Dr Churnjeet Mahn (University of Strathclyde), Dr Cirus Rinaldi (University of Palermo), and Prof Yvette Taylor (University of Strathclyde)

Abstracts are sought for the Special Issue of Socioscapes. International Journal of Societies, Politics and Cultures, titled “Gender and Sexualities Studies in Difficult Times: Uncertain Presents, Coalitional Futures”.

Media and press coverage of the coronavirus pandemic is building ostentatious narratives such as ‘the world being different after this’ and this being a ‘life-changing moment’. These discourses rest on the assumption that the not-too-distant future is going to open new possibilities for everyone. Not only do they extend the paradigmatic caveat of the pull of the present vs. the future, but also, they foreclose recognition of and engagement with the effects of this crisis that are already visible in the lives of vulnerable and precarious groups.

Feminist and queer interventions in the social sciences and humanities have explored personal and public narratives of pandemics and illness, with notable examples ranging from Audre Lorde’s diaries (1980) to Susan Sontag’s use of illness-as-metaphor (1978; 1988), Eve K. Sedgwick’s narratives on AIDS and cancer (1993; 2000) and Ann Cvetkovich’s delving into trauma archives (2000). Times of crisis outbreak worsen the conditions of vulnerability shared by marginalised, oppressed, and under-represented groups (Heckert 2004) – casual and sessional workers, sex workers, care workers, the homeless, migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, and people living in contexts of conflict. How can we address the rhetorical use of the mask of ‘a different world waiting for us’ to justify and to cover over acts of institutional violence, often legitimised through discourse about citizenship (including sexual citizenship)? What can be learned from past ‘crises’ and ‘pandemics’?

The second issue of Socioscapes seeks contributions combining disciplines, approaches and methods to expose the economic, social, pedagogic, emotional, and political strains of ‘crises’ and to offer new directions for the socially engaged humanities and social sciences. It aims to provide a platform for networking, coalition-building, and alliances in these difficult times. Proposals are welcome in one or more of the following themes and their interrelations:

  • Crises and/or pandemic(s) seen from ‘the margins’;
  • The effects of the coronavirus pandemic on increasing future labour insecurity;
  • Gender, queer and intersectional approaches to ‘living in difficult times’;
  • Gender, queer and intersectional approaches to histories of illnesses and pandemics;
  • Representations of pandemic(s) in literature, theatre, and film;
  • The current pandemic and the resurgence of nationalistic rhetoric: the ‘enemies’ of the State

We invite proposals from academics and non-academics that respond to the above issues and questions in any of the journal sections and subsections (‘Topics’; ‘Research, interventions, and ‘Works in progress’; ‘Conflicts, resistances, and voices’; ‘Reprints and represented: old and new classics’; ‘Keywords’; ‘Reviews and portraits’). Information on the journal is available on the website: http://www.socioscapes.org/index.php/sc/about. Proposals should include information about the author(s), institutional affiliations, contact details, a 250-300 words (maximum) abstract, keywords (3 to 5). Once selected, papers should be between 5000-6000 words (including Bibliography). Languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish. Please follow the instructions gathered in the Author’s guidelines. All texts must be transmitted in a format compatible with Windows (.doc or .rtf), following the instructions provided by the Peer Review Process. Please see the Journal’s Author’s guidelines.

Abstracts must be submitted in English, French, Italian, and Spanish by email to: samuele.grassi@unifi.it, churnjeet.mahn@strath.ac.uk, cirus.rinaldi@unipa.it, yvette.taylor@strath.ac.uk.

In thanking you again for submitting your abstract proposals for the Second issue of Socioscapes: International Journal or Societies, Politics and Cultures, we are sending the extended deadlines for your information, as follows:

  • July 15th, 2020 – abstract submission;
  • July 31th, 2020 – selection;
  • September 15th, 2020 – submissions due;
  • October 2020 – submissions published.