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Call for Papers Theme: The Future of Diversity Subtitle: Approaches, Intersections, Innovations Type: International Winter School Institution: Centre for Gender and Diversity Research (ZGD), University of Tübingen Location: Tübingen (Germany) Date: 14.–15.1.2016 Deadline: 1.10.2015 __________________________________________________ ‘Diversity’ is everywhere. Over the past few years, it has become a central issue within social studies and political sciences, as well as literary studies and other academic disciplines. But there is also a measurable impact on the world beyond academia: ‘diversity’ is used in large company’s human resource strategies; it functions as a tool for determining who gets into university; job descriptions end with pointing out that diversity is important to the employer, thus women and disabled people are especially invited to submit applications. Somehow it seems as though we have arrived at the conclusion that diversity is good and wanted and must be protected or maybe established in the first place, and multiple studies measure the economic impact of diversity strategies in companies. But what is ‘diversity’? The widespread usage of the term comes along with a surprising lack of theoretical reflexion on the concept itself. What does it denote exactly? Which assumptions are silently accepted when companies seek to advance such incoherent groups as ‘women’, ‘disabled people’, ‘ethnic minorities’? What constitutes ‘diversity’? Can we make it productive as a research category, without repeatedly breaking it down into its assumed ‘parts’, gender, ethnicity, class, disability etc.? As a politically correct slogan, diversity has become ubiquitous; as a critical tool, the issues with its boundaries call into questions the concept’s feasibility. The newly founded Institute for Gender and Diversity Research at the University of Tübingen invites young scholars to submit their ideas about ‘diversity’. Our Winter School ‘The Future of Diversity? Approaches, Intersections, Innovations’ seeks to investigate the concept of ‘diversity’ from an interdisciplinary angle, taking into account different research traditions, schools of thoughts and approaches to the definition, negotiation and application of ‘diversity.’ Most of the secondary literature published on this theme is situated in the Anglo-American sphere; special attention should thus be paid to European or even German peculiarities when it comes to defining ‘diversity’. Contributions may address, but are in no ways limited to, the following topics: - What is ‘diversity’? Definitions of a slippery concept - Applications of ‘diversity’: A catch-all concept for the humanities? - This is where we are at the moment: Examples of productive uses of concepts of ‘Diversity’ - ‘Diverse categories’: Which groups are included in concepts of diversity, and why? - Diversity and representation: What is a diverse community, a diverse company, a diverse piece of art…? - Homogeneous groups? Categories of diversity We invite scholars of all social sciences, philosophy, gender and literary studies as well as any other scholar who engages with ideas of diversity in their research field. Our aim is to discuss diversity from an interdisciplinary angle in order to gain new insights to how the concept can be negotiated and made productive for future use. Please send an abstract of no more than 250 words and a short bio to: [email protected] Deadline for abstracts: 1st October 2015. There is no registration fee for the conference. Organised by Gero Bauer and Jutta Kling. This conference is supported by the Institutional Strategy of the University of Tübingen (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, ZUK 63). In some cases, funding will be available for accommodation; please contact the conference organisers for further information. Conference website: https://www.uni-tuebingen.de/einrichtungen/zentrale-einrichtungen/zentrum-fuer-gender-und-diversitaetsforschung-zgd/forschung/veranstaltungen/the-future-of-diversity-approaches-intersections-innovations.html __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://cal.polylog.org __________________________________________________
