(un)SAFE an interdisciplinary gender, sexuality, and women’s studies graduate student conference at the University of Pennsylvania.  December 6th and 7th, 2012  with a keynote address by Lauren Berlant

Experiences of the contemporary social world are often defined in terms of safety: a group of friends, a college choice or a sexual encounter could be “safe”, where a classroom, a piece of equipment or a social space would be “unsafe”. But the distinction between safety and unsafety is profoundly unstable, and articulates some of the most disturbing paradoxes of contemporary life. Safety can be banal, when a writer or athlete reaches only for goals within immediate reach, but it can also be  utopian, in the scene of therapy, learning or rehearsal. Media rails against an apparently over-prescriptive “health and safety culture”, while government works hard to remove worker protections (no safe job, no safe workplace) and to limit access to healthcare. At the level of foreign policy, a drive towards safety can legitimate the erosion of national sovereignty (“a world made safe”) and suspension of civil liberties. And so the promise of global security conceals a dangerous reality: selective distribution of safety by capitalism.

(un)SAFE seeks explorations of the theme of safety and the unsafe from the multiple perspectives afforded to scholars of gender, sexuality and women’s studies. Lacking institutional support, and denied parity in hiring and tenuring, such scholars lack the safety afforded to many academic researchers. Gender, sexuality and women’s studies, however, has constantly resisted surrendering its tendencies towards the dangerous, its pressurizing of the dominant form of safety. We resist the criminalization of the unsafe, whether it be sexual, emotional or institutional, and prefer to dwell in the social relations that might come after safety. We recognize that safety is the necessary mid-point, rather than the desired end: gender and sexuality studies has offered to many scholars a safe interdisciplinary space to discuss and conduct their research, the products of which have contributed considerably to the creation of safe environments for people across the spectrum of genders and sexualities, bridging the gap between academics and activism.

So what then is (un)safe? The questions raised by this term are complex, difficult and many. What does it mean to be safe? Or to not be safe? Where are we safe or unsafe? How does one find a place, space or mindset marked by safety or a lack thereof? What are the political, institutional, individual, physical and emotional implications of safety? Is the safe place, the safe practice, the safe route always better? Can the unsafe be productive or beneficial?

To begin contemplating these questions, the Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies Program at the University of Pennsylvania invites papers that consider the complex personal, institutional and political meanings of safety from all disciplinary and intellectual backgrounds.

We invite submission of abstracts from the sciences, social sciences and humanities. 

Potential topics include, but are by no means limited to:
State of academia
Institutional structuring of Gender and Sexuality Studies
Job security
Emotional safety
Sexual practices
National security
Security vs. safety
War and peace
The “endangered” animal
Safety in games and sports
Safety in numbers – identity politics
Utopias
Dystopias
Contested spaces
Gendered and racialized bodies
Sexual subcultures
Safe spaces and geographies
Medical practice
Global gender
Transgender Studies
Institutional structuring of Gender and Sexuality Studies
Qualitative and quantitative modes of analysing safety
Safety and religion
Family and kinship
Critical race studies
Feminisms
Queer theory
Affect studies
Performativity, Performance
Gender and sexuality as studied in ALL fields

(un)SAFE is made possible through the generous support of the following programs, centers, and departments at the University of Pennsylvania: The Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Program; The Alice Paul Center for Research in Gender, Sexuality, and Women; The Departments of Germanic Languages and Literatures, English, History, History of Art, Political Science, Anthropology; The Program in Comparative Literature and Literary Theory; The Center for Africana Studies; and the Center for Global Women’s Health.

Quoted from:  http://lucian.uchicago.edu/blogs/studentgrantsfellowships/2012/02/24/penn-predoctoral-fellowships-for-excellence-through-diversity/

Deadline: April 15
Duration: one year
Description: The University of Pennsylvania invites applications for the first Predoctoral Fellowships for Excellence Through Diversity. This program is designed to provide mentorship and access to Penn’s resources for doctoral students in the humanities or social sciences, enrolled at universities other than Penn, as they complete their dissertations. It supports scholars from a wide range of backgrounds, who can contribute to the diversity of Penn and the higher education community. The Fellowships support graduate students in the final stages of dissertation research or writing for residency at Penn for an academic year, normally September through August. They offer an opportunity for scholars who plan an academic career to take advantage of Penn programs and faculty expertise and to have access to libraries and the resources of the Philadelphia region.   Each scholar will be hosted by a department or program and assigned a faculty mentor.  Recipients can be in the stage of either dissertation research or writing.

The Fellowship provides a stipend of $27,000, health and dental insurance, office space, library privileges, and a $3000 research and travel fund.  The application deadline is April 15, 2012.

This year, three of these new Fellowships will be awarded.  Candidates must:

• Be a U.S citizen or permanent resident.
• Be enrolled in a PhD program in the humanities or social sciences at an institution other than Penn, have passed their PhD qualifying examinations, and have an approved dissertation proposal.
• Be a student of exceptional academic merit who belongs to a group underrepresented in higher education;  and/or comes from a socially, culturally, or educationally disadvantaged background or have faced other significant personal obstacles; and/or pursues academic research on cultural, societal, or educational problems as they affect disadvantaged segments of society.

Applications consist of:

• A personal statement describing the student’s work, dissertation, and any other information that the student would like to present to the selection committee.  The statement should begin by addressing the importance of the student’s topic and approach and then explain the dissertation’s aims, methodologies (how the student will conduct the research), originality, and contribution to its field.
• A dissertation abstract.
• Two letters of recommendation, one which must come from the dissertation advisor, commenting on the student’s performance, potential, and expected time to degree.  At least one of the letters must address the student’s contribution to diversity in higher education.  These can be sent separately by the recommenders.
• Official graduate transcript(s).
• Current curriculum vitae.

These materials should be sent to Stephanie King in the Office of the Provost atstking@upenn.edu. They can be transmitted in more than one email.  Statements of endorsement, reference letters and transcripts should be sent as PDFs. Correspondence must be signed and on official letterhead.

Questions can be addressed to the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty at provost-fac@upenn.edu.

Postdoctoral Fellowship

Comparative Reproductive Politics in the Americas

Hampshire College invites applications for a three-year postdoctoral fellowship in Comparative Reproductive Politics of the Americas.  This Mellon-funded position is one of five to be filled in 2012-13 in cooperation with the Five College Consortium (Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, Smith colleges and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst).  Hampshire College encourages inter-disciplinary teaching and research.  While in residence at Hampshire, the Fellow will participate fully in one of the nation’s most vibrant academic collaborations, including the Five College Reproductive Politics Group comprised of faculty and graduate students working in global reproductive politics, and the annual conference for students and community activists, From Abortion Rights to Social Justice: Building the Movement for Reproductive Freedom.  There is related support from colleagues and library and research facilities at all five campuses, each located within a twenty-minute drive of the others.  Over three years the Fellow will teach six courses, two at Hampshire College, two at Mount Holyoke College, and two at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.  The Fellow will be provided research and teaching mentors on each campus in coordination with Hampshire College which will host the fellowship.

The candidate should have expertise in comparative reproductive politics in the western hemisphere, including the countries of the Americas, with a particular interest in political and juridical aspects of reproductive and sexual rights movements.  Applicants should have research and teaching interests in one or more of the following themes:  transnational social movements that seek to achieve as well as to contest sexual and reproductive rights; factors that facilitate or impede policy reform, legislative action, and grassroots social movements; comparative methodologies; the relationship of political parties and NGOs to reproductive and sexual rights movements; and new forms of social activism that emerge in the wake of civil war and military dictatorship.

The successful candidate must have completed all requirements for a PhD before assuming the fellowship.

Position begins fall 2012.  Review of applications begins March 16, 2012 and will continue until the position is filled.  Hampshire College is committed to building a culturally diverse intellectual community and strongly encourages applications from women and minority candidates.  We offer a competitive salary and comprehensive benefit program, including support for research.  Applicants should send a letter of interest, CV, writing sample, and two letters of reference to via our website at http://jobs.hampshire.edu/

www.hampshire.edu

Hampshire College is an equal opportunity institution, committed to diversity in education and employment.