Call for Proposals: The Message is in the Music: Hip Hop Feminism, Riot Grrrl, Latina Music, and More

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Sarah Lawrence College (in Bronxville, New York) is having a call for proposals for their twelfth annual Women's History Month Conference. The topic of the conference is The Message is in the Music: Hip Hop Feminism, Riot Grrrl, Latina Music and More.  The conference is on Friday & Saturday, March 5 & 6, 2010. This conference sounds awesome and I'm hoping I can go!

Keynote speaker: Carmen Ashhurst, former president of Def Jam Recordings and Rush Communications, and author of the forthcoming book, Selling My Brothers: The Movement, The Media and Me

Music has long served social movements as a sound track, as a means of communication, and as its own arena for activism. While multiple generations of feminists have used music in these ways, it has played especially vital roles for those born since the 1970s. This conference will explore the ways in which young feminists have defined and expressed politics through music and musical cultures and communities. Among the questions we will ponder are: How does music reflect sites of agreement and conflict among different groups of feminists? How have movements like Riot Grrrl and Hip Hop feminism attracted young women to feminist activism? How do young feminists’ uses of music compare with those of earlier generations?

We invite activists, scholars and artists in all fields to propose papers, panels, workshops, performances, and exhibits.  Specific topics may include, but are not limited to

• Hip Hop Feminism
• Feminism in Latin Music
• Body Politics in the Music Industry
• Feminist Messages in World Music
• Young Feminists’ Musical Icons
• Women-owned Record Labels
• Zines in Feminist Culture
• The Riot Grrrl Movement Lesbian Music
• The Politics of Race in Feminist Music
• Misogyny in Contemporary Music
• Feminist Music Festivals
• Women in Music Videos
• Feminist Songwriters
• Legacies of Women in Blues, Jazz, Rock, and Folk

Deadline: December 1, 2009

Send proposals to:
Tara James, Associate Director
Graduate Program in Women’s History
Sarah Lawrence College
1 Mead Way, Bronxville, New York 10708
(914) 395-2405
tjames@slc.edu

Please include a short description of each presentation and a one-page c.v. for each presenter. Proposals for whole panels or workshops are especially welcome, but we will also consider individual papers.

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The Eleventh Annual Women's History Month Conference was held March 6-7, 2009. The topic was Gender and Power in the Muslim World. View recap and photo gallery»