Call for Papers/Contributions: WUN Workshop

Call for Papers- WUN workshop (PDF , 297kb)

For a Special Issue submission and funded in-person workshop at the University of York, UK

3-5 July 2024

Deadline for Abstract submission: 29 February, 2024

Peasants, indigenous people and rural communities across the Global South have been at the forefront of mobilising against the fossil fuel industry, large-scale land acquisitions, and other extractive land use patterns. These struggles are embedded in the political economy of agrarian systems in the Global South, where the everyday survival of rural households, and rural women’s disproportionate contributions to unpaid care labour are crucially dependent on land and natural resources (Ossome 2022, Naidu 2023, Ojeda 2021, Naidu and Ossome 2016, Agarwal 1994). These gendered socio-ecological and material conditions have driven women smallholders in several developing economies to organise, advocate and mobilise against deforestation, extractive industries that pollute and degrade nature and unsustainable, intensive forms of land use (see for e.g. Joshi 2023; Torvikey 2021; Tran 2021; Jenkins 2017).

Much of this academic literature on women’s environmental activism has not found resonance in global, national and regional policies. The policy narrative on gender and the environment continues to stress women’s economic vulnerabilities without fully accounting for their agency and how these are critically shaped through material relationships with land and nature.

A possible reason for this may be insufficient cross-country comparative analyses on rural women’s activism. To address these gaps, this Workshop centres struggles and activism in extractive frontline communities, the lived experiences of climate change among smallholder farmers across varied geographical settings, as well as highlights the significance of local forms of agency in countering climate change.

The Workshop, among other things, aims to bring to light the everyday, local and context-specific dimensions of rural environmental movements, climate change activism,  the political struggles that underpin these and the complexities of seeking ‘climate justice’ that overlaps with social dynamics of land, gender, class, race and ethnicity. Most significantly, it will generate a comparative framework and bring together empirical evidence across various continents, pushing existing research agendas on this subject in a more expansive, globally relevant direction.

The process for developing the Special Issue will include an in-person workshop at the University of York, jointly organised with the Interdisciplinary Global Development Centre (IGDC) and held over the course of three days. We will ensure time for the presentation of research papers, discussions among participants and opportunities to foster connections, mentorship and future collaborations.

We invite contributions that are able to:

1. Develop critical feminist perspectives on extractivism using primary and secondary research, grounded in case studies from the Global South
2. Investigate processes and outcomes of activism and social movement building against extractive forms of land-use, with a focus on gendered and racialisation processes
3. Examine the links between extractive forms of land use, environmental degradation and gender relations that underpin agricultural production
4. Explore novel forms of resistance against extractive industries in the Global South, drawing on critical and feminist theories
5. Historicize women’s participation in environmental activism in the Global South with a focus on rural or agrarian struggles against land acquisition and natural resource dispossession

Requirements for participation

We welcome a variety of contributions, including original articles, photo-essays and position papers based on empirical research. We particularly support contributions from scholars from or based in the Global South.

• Paper or contribution abstract (300 words), including title
• Short Bio (200 words) and CV (max 3 pages)

Selected participants must submit a full draft (8,000-10,000 words for article-based contributions) and will also be assigned a role as discussant for another workshop paper. At the end of the workshop, we will invite contributors to join us in submitting their papers to a Special Issue on the same theme, to an interdisciplinary academic journal. 

Support for workshop participants

We are able to provide travel, visa and accommodation support for participants travelling to the workshop. We are expecting to support 10 participants with travel and accommodation costs. 

Timelines

• Deadline for submissions: 29th February, 2024
• Selection notification: 15th March, 2024
• Full papers for accepted abstracts due: 15th June, 2024
• Workshop at University of York campus: 3-5 July, 2024

The total workshop size is expected to be around 15 participants (not including audience).

Organizing team

Our team comprises scholars that have worked on the theme of gender, agriculture and natural resource struggles in Asia, Africa and Latin America. This workshop is a product of collaboration between the University of York (Dr Saba Joshi), University of Ghana (Dr Gertrude Dzifa Torvikey), Federal University of Minas Gerais (Dr Cristiano Rodrigues) and Makerere University (Prof Lyn Ossome), supported by the World Universities Network.  

Submit your abstracts and questions to:

Saba Joshi saba.joshi@york.ac.uk, Gertrude Dzifa Torvikey gdtorvikey@ug.edu.gh and Cristiano Rodrigues csrodrigues@ufmg.br