CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION in celebration of NATIONAL WOMEN’S MONTH

RE-IMAGINING RELIGION, SEXUALITY and VIOLENCE in the POST-COLONIAL STATE

Keynote Lecture: Wednesday 26th August (17h00 – 20h00)

Roundtable Discussion: Thursday 27th August 2015 (09h00 – 16h00)

In celebration of NATIONAL WOMEN’S MONTH, the Gender, Religion and Health programme at the School of Religion, Philosophy and the Classics invites abstracts to a roundtable discussion.

In the introduction to their edited book, Remembering Conquest: Feminist/Womanist Perspectives on Religion, Colonization, and Sexual Violence,1 Nantawan Lewis and Marie Fortune focus on a shared vision :

… of the interconnection and intersection of patriarchy, colonialism, imperialism, racism, classism, capitalism and militarism which simultaneously and multi-facedly contribute to violence against women….[R]eligions of the lands through their teaching and treatment of women have historically been a collaborating force of institutionalized exploitation and subordination of women. This results in the inferiority of woman and the use of her body at the will of an imperialistic, colonialistic, racist and patriarchal power.

The role that religion has played in sanctioning the control and exploitation of womens’ bodies, and the bodies of sexual minorities, has been well documented in academic literature. This roundtable invites (in the celebrated South African Women’s Month) contributions, which reimagine the nexus of religion, reproductive rights and sexual violence particularly in a postcolonial state (both as nation state and as discursive practice and condition). We envision a re-imagining of the sort that Kwok Pui Lan reflects on in her book Postcolonial Imagination and Feminist Theology2: "To imagine means to discern that something is not fitting, to search for new images, and to arrive at new patterns of meaning and interpretation."

We invite contributions from scholars working in any area of the topic – broadly interpreted. If you are interested in participating please forward an abstract to Dr. Fatima Seedat at seedatf@ukzn.ac.za with the subject line "Roundtable August 2015" by 7 August 2015. Decisions will be finalised and responses emailed by 10 August 2015.

The first day (26th August) begins with keynote addresses by two renowned scholars who work at the intersections of gender, religion, reproductive rights and violence. The second day is dedicated to engagement on the topic via a roundtable discussion. Details of the venue and other logistics will be confirmed once all the abstracts are received. We look forward to receiving your abstracts.

Prof. Sarojini Nadar (Programme Leader: Gender and Religion Programme)

Nadars@ukzn.ac.za

Dr. Fatima Seedat (Co-ordinator: Gender, Religion and Health Programme)

Seedatf@ukzn.ac.za