Governing Bodies: Reflections on the Self, Society, and State

Seventh Biennial ACS Gender Studies Conference:
March 24-25, 2006

View the Final
Conference Program.

About the Conference

The Associated Colleges of the South (ACS) and Centenary College of Louisiana are pleased to invite you to the seventh biennial ACS Women’s and Gender Studies conference. Since 1993, faculty, staff and students from ACS colleges have convened to examine issues critical to the study of gender in contemporary society. This year’s conference will focus on how bodies are imbued with varied gendered and sexual meanings across cultures and time periods, how these meanings are learned and policed and how they influence individual selves, social institutions and the state. The conference begins at 1 p.m. on Friday, March 24 and concludes with a late afternoon crawfish boil on Saturday, March 25.

Keynote Speaker

Naomi Wolf - The Beauty Myth Revisited: How Images of Beauty are Still Used Against Women

By summarizing the core argument of her feminist bestseller The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf will show where we were ten years ago in relation to images of women – and where we are now because women have spoken up and acted out. She will use this as a stepping-stone to speak to what is called for now in terms of feminist teaching and activism on college campuses – in terms of how to tap women's innate awareness of their own beauty and power to take feminist discourse and activism on women's behalf to the next, global, level. She will also talk briefly about certain themes in ideologies of beauty and femininity – such as racial stereotypes in relation to beauty and stereotypes of 'southern belles', both of which have echoes today in young women's preoccupations on Southern college campuses.

Featured Performers

The Magnolia Sisters perform many styles of the French music characteristic of the heritage of Southwest Louisiana. Each Sister plays multiple instruments, allowing the band to perform songs that range from early Creole to front porch ballads to dance hall Cajun. The Magnolia Sisters’ specialty, however, is rejuvenating rare, old Cajun songs to bring them back into the public ear. At the ACS conference, the Magnolia Sisters will conjure the sounds, the stories and the folklore of the region’s past during a traditional Louisiana crawfish boil. For more information, go to www.magnoliasisters.com.

Potential Topics

The full conference program is now available. Potential topics discussed at the conference might include, but are not limited to, issues like the following:

Self

  • The sexual self
  • Women’s health
  • Cosmetic surgery
  • Gendered performances
  • Public and private bodies
  • Psychology of gendered behaviors
  • Eating disorders, dieting, and body image
  • The gendered self and autobiography/biography

Society

  • Gendered labor
  • Domestic violence
  • Gender and family values
  • Sex work in the U.S. and abroad
  • Gender and sexuality in education
  • Gender images in popular culture
  • Defining sins and legislating salvation
  • Gender and sexuality in social movements

State

  • Gay marriage
  • Reproductive rights
  • Legislating the body
  • Gender and criminal justice
  • Utopian re-envisioning of the state
  • Gender and sexuality in the military
  • Policing the bedroom/domestic sphere
  • Practices and policies in the global community

Conference Fees

Conference fees are $45 for students and $80 for faculty. These fees include all meals, beginning with dinner on Friday and concluding with a crawfish boil Saturday afternoon. Vegetarian options will be available at each meal. Fees also include transportation to all conference events. Students may be eligible for travel funds from the ACS.

Accommodations

The conference will be held on the campus of Centenary College. Participants are invited to stay at the Best Western Chateau Suite Hotel in downtown Shreveport near local attractions and activities. Conference rates at double occupancy are $79/night for a standard room and $89/night for a suite. The hotel provides free shuttle service to and from Shreveport Regional Airport, and additional transportation from the hotel to campus and hosted events will also be available. To receive these special rates, participants must make reservations by March 1, 2006, and mention the ACS Women’s and Gender Studies Conference. Contact the hotel directly at 318-222-7620.

Contact

For more information about the conference, contact either Dr. Michelle Wolkomir at 318-869-5054 or mwolkomi@centenary.edu or Dr. Kim VanHoosier-Carey at 318-869-5253 or kvanhoos@centenary.edu.

Registration & Submission Info

We are no longer accepting registrations for the ACS Gender Studies Conference. If you have questions, contact Michelle Wolkomir at mwolkomi@centenary.edu or Kim Vanhooser-Carey at kvanhoos@centenary.edu. The full conference program is now available.

Deadlines

Early Submission October 22, 2005
Regular Submission January 20, 2006
Hotel Reservation- special rate March 1, 2006