What Is Gender? Vol. III: Gender and its Intersections
Rowan Bell, Sofie Vlaad, Katrina Haaksma and Harry Ainscough
University Place 5.209
Questions about the metaphysics of gender have sparked much debate in philosophy, social and political theory, and feminist theory. From Judith Butler’s performance theory, to Sally Haslanger’s materialist structuralism, to María Lugones’ view of gender as a form of colonial domination, the foundations of contemporary metaphysics of gender invite a wide range of further study. Modern scholarship on these questions is constituted by a rich plurality of ideas. Perhaps Dembroff is right that gender is a hierarchical system of political subjugation which prioritizes “real men”. Or perhaps, as Ásta suggests, it is a context-dependent social status that can be conferred or revoked. Or perhaps, as Jenkins argues, our definition of gender itself is contextual, and depends on the constraints and goals of our theorizing.
Whatever gender is, however, it is clearly not a univocal or unidimensional category. Recent scholarship within philosophy aimed at addressing these issues has drawn attention to the way that gender is co-constructed with other features of identity, including, for example race, class, and sexuality. There is still much work to be done in addressing questions like: what role does self-identification play in constructing gender? In what ways is gender co-constructed with other identities and categories? What are the metaphysics of intersectionality as a theoretical framework and practical reality? These issues deserve careful and collaborative consideration.
We invite scholars with a variety of backgrounds and interests to a workshop discussing these questions and other related issues in a philosophical light. The event will be the third in a series of MANCEPT workshops, under variations of the title What Is Gender? The previous workshops were held on Zoom in 2020 and 2021. We hope to hold the third workshop in person, from the 7th-9th of September, 2022, in Manchester, UK. Currently, our confirmed keynotes are Charlotte Witt and Dee Payton.
|
|
|
|
11:00-12:30 |
Registration |
|
12:30-13:30 |
Lunch |
|
14:00-16:00 |
Session 1 Alexis Davin (they/them): Gender, Exploded: Social and Sexual Reproduction Across Social Categories (in-person) Zahra Zargar (she/her): Should We Assume Gender As A Mega-Role? (virtual) R.A. Rowland (they/them): Chair |
|
16:00-16:30 |
Tea and Coffee Break |
|
16:30-17:45 |
Keynote 1 Charlotte Witt (she/her): Keynote Address (virtual) Sofie Vlaad (she/her): Chair |
|
17:45-19:00 |
Wine Reception / Zoom Social |
|
19:30 |
Conference Dinner |
|
Thursday 8th September |
|
|
9:30-11:30 |
Session 2 Alex Gruenewald (he/they): Negotiating the Disabled and Trans Self (in-person) Bella-Rose Grace Kelly (she/they): Concealing: A Phenomenology of Gender Transition and Disability (virtual) Alexis Davin (they/them): Chair |
|
11:30-12:00 |
Tea and Coffee Break |
|
12:00-13:00 |
Session 2 (con’t) Riley Lewicki (she/her): Transition Calendars and The Promise of Coercive Liberation (in-person) R.A. Rowland (they/them): Chair |
|
13:00-14:00 |
Lunch |
|
14:00-16:00 |
Session 3 Gillian Grey (she/they): Misgendering as an Oppressive Barrier to Meaningful Social Interactions (in-person) Manon Andre De St. Amant (they/them), Áila O’Loughlin (they/she/he), and Ray Pedersen (they/them): A Year of Non-Binary Philosophy (virtual) Harry Ainscough (they/them): Chair |
|
16:00-16:30 |
Break |
|
16:30-17:45 |
Keynote 2 Naomi Scheman (she/her): Keynote Address (in-person) Rowan Bell (they/he): Chair |
|
20:00 |
Social Event (TBD) |
|
|
|
|
10:30-11:30 |
Session 4 Hsiang-Yun Chen (she/they): Gender and Gender Terms: Semantic, Metaphysical, and Normative (in-person) Rowan Bell (they/he): Chair |
|
11:30-12:00 |
Tea and Coffee Break |
|
12:00-13:00 |
Margot Witte (they/them): Theoretical Virtues in Tension: Towards a Non-Unified Gender Phenomena? (virtual) Katrina Haaksma (she/her): Chair |
|
13:00-14:00 |
Lunch |
|
14:00-16:00 |
Session 5 Yixuan Wu (she/her): Gender as Property vs. Gender as Structure (virtual) R.A. Rowland (they/them): Gender Identity First (in-person) Alex Gruenewald (he/they): Chair |
|
16:00-16:30 |
Tea and Coffee Break |
|
16:30-17:45 |
Keynote 3 Dee Payton (she/they): Keynote Address (format TBA) Rowan Bell (they/he): Chair |
|
18:00 |
Post-Conference Wrap-Up and Social Event (TBD) |
