2023 Women’s and Gender History Symposium 

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Theme: Gender Variance and Non-Conformity

Date: March 3 & 4, 2023

Format: Hybrid (Zoom and in-person at UIUC)

Submissions and Contact: wghs.uiuc@gmail.com

Submission Deadline: November 30, 2022 at 5pm CST

The 21st annual Women’s and Gender History Symposium at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign seeks graduate papers of 15-20 minutes in length that foreground histories of women, gender, sexuality, and/or queerness that pay particular attention to gender varience and non-conformity broadly defined. Additionally, we are open to alternative presentations (e.g. film, poetry, art) so long as they fit within the symposium’s format. We welcome papers and presentations from a broad range of time periods, disciplines, and methodologies that engage, but are not limited to, the following issues: 

• The intersection of gender variance with other discourses, such as race and ethnicity, disability, sexuality, science and medicine, or environmental studies. 
• Broadly defined challenges to expectations of gender through choices in reproduction, marital status, reproduction, modes of appearance, and other acts.
• Representation of gender variance and gender non-conformity in media.

This year’s keynote speakers are Dr. Clare Sears and Dr. Toby Beauchamp. Dr. Clare Sears is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Sexuality Studies at San Francisco State University. Their research focuses on queer theory, transgender studies, critical criminology, historical methods, and disability studies. Dr. Toby Beauchamp is an associate professor in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on the problem of visibility in trans politics, arguing that the scrutinizing of gender nonconformity is motivated less by explicit transgender identities than by the perceived threat that gender nonconformity poses to the U.S. racial and security state. 

Panels will take place the morning and afternoon of Friday, March 3rd and Saturday, March 4th, 2023. The keynote addresses will be held each afternoon. While our keynote speakers will be presenting in person at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, we will also offer a hybrid format via Zoom for panelists who wish to attend remotely. 

We encourage submissions focusing on and using interdisciplinary methods and subjects. Subjects need not be confined to history (or its methods) alone. Papers that engage with, but are not limited to, critical geography studies, disability studies, performance studies, African American studies, Latinx studies, Asian American studies, ethnic studies, American Indian studies, and/or postcolonial studies are also encouraged. First time presenters and/or MA students are warmly welcomed.
Please submit proposals (200-300 words in length) together with a CV to wghs.uiuc@gmail.com by November 30, 2022 at 5pm CST.