[Bilimsel Haber] CfP: The Second Biennial Women's Studies Conference (Izmir University of Economics, 12 - 14 June 2008)

[Onur Inal]

Izmir University of Economics will be hosting the 2nd Biennial Women's
Studies Conference at our University campus between June 12-14 2008. Please
see the Call for Papers below to participate in this year's conference
themed "Gender and Positive Action: Empowering or Disabling?". Further
details can also be found on our website: dba.ieu.edu.tr/women
 
Regards,
ITIR BAGDADI
Lecturer

Department of International Relations and the European Union
Izmir University of Economics
Sakarya Cad. No: 156 Balcova - IZMIR
Tel: +90 232 488 8246

GENDER AND POSITIVE ACTION: EMPOWERING OR DISABLING?
The Second Biennial Women's Studies Conference
of the Izmir University of Economics
12 - 14 June 2008
Izmir University of Economics, Izmir

Theme:
This year's conference, which is the second women's studies conference to be
held at the Izmir University of Economics, is entitled "Gender and Positive
Action: Empowering or Disabling?" and will aim to explore the effects of
positive action on women - a topic that has received a significant amount of
press but relatively little comprehensive academic studies. The main
objective of this conference is to offer a platform for discussion and
exchange of ideas among scholars, practitioners, governmental and
non-governmental organizations. Although women remain under-represented in
many sectors of the economy, educational institutions and in political
offices, the issue of aiding their advancement via positive action policies
is a heated topic. While advocates of positive action claim that such
policies clearly promote access to education, employment and political
representation for underrepresented women, a task necessary to compensate
for past and current discrimination, opponents argue that such policies only
serve to create a different type of discrimination and promotes the
advancement of unqualified individuals simply because they are women. Our
conference aims to analyze the effectiveness of positive action policies
such as gender quotas and work-related affirmative action policies and asks
the question of whether or not it "empowers or disables?" Given the current
status of discussions surrounding positive action, this conference hopes to
explore in detail the pros and cons of such an approach.

All papers are required to be submitted in English. Turkish-English
translation will be provided in plenary sessions and sessions focusing on
Turkey.

Call For Papers:

The application is open to any researcher who is interested in the study of
women's issues, and PhD students and young scholars are particularly
encouraged to apply. The abstracts of the proposed papers, that should not
exceed 500 words, are expected by March 17, 2008 and the Committee will
notify applicants by April 4, 2008.
Please see the conference website http://dba.ieu.edu.tr/women/ for more
information.
Please send abstracts to: womenstudies at ieu.edu.tr