Symposium

2025 Virtual Symposium

“No One is Free Until We All are Free:” Activism, Advocacy, and Academic Freedom During Late-Stage Capitalism

April 4-5, 2025


Registration now open at bwsasymposium.vfairs.com!

Fannie Lou Hamer famously said, “Until I am free, you are not free either.” While Hamer was referring to the Civil Rights struggles of the 1960s, her words are as relevant today as they have ever been. At the time of this writing, Israel's war on Palestine has resulted in the displacement of approximately 1.7 million Palestinians, as well as the deaths and injuries of over 100,000 Palestinian civilians; Haiti is in a state of crisis, currently governed by violent gangs; and the violence in the Sudan has displaced more than three million people. Here in the U.S., pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses have been met with intense repression and state violence, often at the direction of university administrators. Of late, Black women, queer people, and disabled folks have been subjected to heightened assaults in the academy, often under the guise of fairness; that is, suffering targeted attacks due to white discomfort with the realities of racism, anti- blackness, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism.

This year, particularly as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Combahee River Collective, we are reminded of the ways that Black feminist politics grounds Black liberation and feminist movements while illuminating the shortcomings of both at the intersections of Black women’s lives. As academics, activists, and advocates, what is our role in helping to end the oppression that so many of us face? How might we speak out, speak up, AND keep our jobs? What is the relationship between Black Women’s Studies and urgent movements for social justice domestically and abroad?

 We invite proposals that examine “the multilayered texture of Black women’s lives;” and will help us return to the guiding principles of the Combahee River Collective to ensure “we all are Free.” Themes for consideration include but are not limited to:

  • The history and sociology of Black Women’s studies and Black feminism

  • Activism and advocacy, within and outside of academia

  • Silencing and technologies of surveillance

  • The limits of academic freedom

  • Black feminist praxis

  • Challenges in organizing withing Black women’s studies and among Black feminists

  • Coalition building

  • Training future scholars amid attacks on academic freedom

  • Community engagement and accountability

  • Health, wellness, and self-care

  • Self-advocacy

  • Higher education leadership and administration


SESSION FORMATS
Panels examine specific problems or topics from a variety of perspectives given that they include 3-4 participants and perhaps a moderator. Panels may present alternative solutions, interpretations, or contrasting points of view on a specified subject or in relation to a common theme. Panel members are expected to prepare papers addressing central questions described in the proposal.  A typical structure for a session with four papers allows approximately 5 minutes for the moderator to introduce the session, 10 minutes for each presenter, and 30 minutes for discussion. Panel proposals should include a panel abstract, paper titles from each prospective presenter, and a rationale for your panel.

  • Roundtables include 4-6 presenters and one moderator who makes brief, informal remarks about a specific idea or project. They allow for extensive discussion and audience participation. 
    Workshops provide an opportunity to exchange information or work on a common problem, project, or shared interest. Workshops are typically experientially oriented, grounded in a specific methodology or research agenda, and include brief presentations that allow adequate time for reflective discussion and interaction. 
    Individual paper proposals are submitted individually and arranged into sessions with 3-4 presenters by the Symposium Review Committee. In paper sessions, authors present brief papers followed by audience discussion.


SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
Each proposed presenter must be a current member of the Black Women’s Studies Association. Submissions will not be reviewed if this requirement is not met.  The BWSA membership year runs from September 1 - August 31 annually. To join BWSA or renew your membership, click here. If you are unsure if your membership is current, please email membership@blackwomensstudies.com. 

 To submit a proposal, please upload a single file with the following information to a secure Dropbox folder using this link.  Please direct any questions to Dr. Stephanie Andrea Allen, BWSA Conference Chair, at conference@blackwomensstudies.com.

Each proposal requires contact information for all presenters, an abstract (150 words max), a rationale (150 words max), and a list of potential works cited if applicable. 

  • Contact information: names, email addresses, and affiliation for each participant.

  • Abstract: Describes the proposal’s topic in clear and concise language.

  • Rationale: Your rationale should include the following, as appropriate:

    • Objective or purpose of the paper, panel, workshop, etc.

    • Perspective and/or theoretical framework and/or references to relevant texts, research, or on-going debates in women’s and gender studies or related fields.

    • Results and/or conclusions and point of view.

    • Relevance to the conference theme or subtheme.

    • Discussion of how the session will be structured.

  • Works Cited: Should include relevant scholarship from the field of Black Women’s Studies, Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and its subfields.  

  • Deadline for submissions: November 8, 2024; Notification of Acceptance: January 30, 2025


CONFERENCE PARTICIPANT REQUIREMENTS:

  • Every presenter must be a current member of BWSA at the time of the symposium.

  • Every presenter must register for the symposium at the discounted member rate by Friday, February 28 in order to remain on the program.

 

 

Black Women’s Studies Association