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If your social media platform of choice is facebook then, good news! We are now smashing the patriarchy on facebook too. Just search for 'Smashing the Patriarchy in 100,000 Words?' and you should find us. There are still 11 days to go if you want to submit an abstract and our CfP is available here, or on the facebook page.

Feminist Academics Nottingham

Thanks very much to Feminist Academics Nottingham who have featured our call to papers on their blog. Groups such as these have been an effective way of getting the word out so far - when organising an inter-disciplinary event such as this it can be difficult to make sure you're targeting all the people who will find your CfP of interest. If you know of any other groups we should contact, please tweet or email smashingthepatriarchy[at]gmail[dot]com. We've already had some great advice from people who have come across our CfP, it feels great to be connecting with feminist networks from around the country. Thanks again, sisters!

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Julia Long

It gives us great pleasure to announce our second keynote speaker. Dr. Julia Long is a radical feminist activist working with groups such as OBJECT and the London Feminist Network. She is the author of Anti-Porn: The Resurgence of Anti-Pornography Feminism, described by Professor Gail Dines as 'a book that not only eloquently speaks to the past, but importantly, paves the way for a radical future where the sexual dehumanization of women is no longer normalized, celebrated, or legitimized. This book is a must for every person who is fed up with the objectification of women's bodies, and wants to take back our culture from the pornographers.' Dr. Long achieved degrees in English Literature and Women's Studies before completing her PhD in feminist activism at London South Bank University in 2011. She has made media appearances on This Morning, Newsnight, and Channel 4's 4Thought TV. Dr. Long's position as both an activist and an academic makes her an ideal speaker for our conference and we're so excited to welcome her to Dundee. 

Keynote Speaker: Nel Whiting

It gives us great pleasure to announce the first of our keynote speakers. Nel Whiting is a Learning and Development Coordinator with Scottish Women's Aid. This means that she teaches various professionals (such as police officers) about domestic violence, and how women in such situations can best be supported. Nel has taken this approach to learning into the academy through her teaching on the Gender Justice, Masculinities and Violence module at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh. She studied for a Masters in Women, Culture and Society at the University of Dundee and won the Leah Leneman essay prize 2010 (awarded every two years by Women's History Scotland) for an essay based on her dissertation.

We are very excited to be welcoming Nel back to Dundee. Her work shows such a commitment to the fight for women's safety and happiness, both inside and outside of the academy. We hope that Nel's perspective, as an activist and an academic, will help us to connect the narratives of these two different discourses.

Feminism and Academic 'Giving'

Dr Judy Robertson has written a post for the Thesis Whisperer on academic 'givers and takers'. She writes, 'I'm sorry to say that I attended an ACM Women's Breakfast a month ago where a female speaker recommended only asking powerful male colleagues to be your mentor on the ground that women won't help other women. I think this is complete bollocks. I have been fortunate to have some very helpful women mentors and I try pretty hard to help other women'. 

I very much hope that this isn't a common view among female academics, but perhaps I'm being naive. This is partly why events like ours are important, so that we can help and support each other - and overcome misogynistic views that frame women as incapable of giving each other a leg-up. Hopefully with more networking opportunities, such as the Smashing the Patriarchy conference, we'll be well positioned to show that women can flourish through helping each other and believing in the sisterhood.

Childcare at the Conference

In the last few days we've been thinking about provision of childcare at our event in January. We know that some events are child-friendly and allow kids into the sessions - or, we could also consider using the university creche or taking on a couple of childcare professionals for the day. I've personally never been to a conference where childcare appeared to be in evidence, which must really scupper the chances for mothers (especially single mothers) to get involved with face-to-face academic debate. We want to make sure that we provide the best environment for everyone concerned. If you're thinking about coming, and it would be better for you to bring kids, please email us and let us know. You could also tell us whether you prefer to keep your kids with you or to have them in another room nearby.
If you have concerns about childcare, or anything else that could be helped by a bit of organisation on our part, then please let us know so that we can work towards making this the best experience we can. We might not think of everything ourselves, but we'll work like the dickens to solve problems once we know they're there. Our email is smashingthepatriarchy[at]gmail.com, drop us a line.

Independence and Feminism

We're very excited about the interest in our event and the support we've received so far. Thanks to all who have retweeted, facebooked and shared the blog. The organisers have also been brainstorming ways that we can show off Dundee to our visitors. We will add some details about local accomodation, eating, travel, etc. nearer to the time. At the moment our thoughts are on the culture that Dundee has to offer, and how we can squeeze as much of it as possible into the short time we will have.

This excitement about our local area got us thinking about the Scottish independence debate and how that might affect us as feminist academics. This is an ongoing, interesting, and extremely important conversation for all Scottish people and, indeed, all British people.

While there are many issues related to independence that particularly affect women, it would also be a good idea for Scottish female academics to think about how independence might affect us. The differences in policies with regards to higher education between Westminster and Holyrood have been marked, as have the policies affecting women: the intersections are ripe for discussion. Possibly something else for us to talk about when we meet in January as we soak up Dundee's cultural sights and think about our future.