Catherine Cooper (Newcastle University, UK)

Date: 12th March 2011
Venue: Newcastle University
Deadline for abstract:  01.12.2010; please send 300-word abstracts and brief bio to War-gender@ncl.ac.uk 
More information: http://conferences.ncl.ac.uk/warandgender
 
War has always been understood in gendered terms, whether from the perspective of the male-identified space of the battlefield or the traditional invocation of woman as territory to be defended and controlled. Representations of war, from posters and propaganda, to literature, films and paintings, have come to define, reflect and reconstruct traditional gender roles. From Attic Sparta, whose gender identities emphasised one’s status as defender or defended, to the landgirls and factory girls of World War Two, whose warwork was often ignored, gender has always played a key role in characterising warfare both historically and nationally.

This one-day event investigates the relationship between gender and war. We invite papers which investigate the representation of gender in relation to war across a range of conflicts.

Suggested topics include war and gender in relation to national identity, propaganda, family, weaponry, torture and/or espionage.  Submissions welcome from a range of disciplines, including history, ancient, mediaeval and modern languages, sociology film and television studies, art history and literature. 

Key note speakers: Gabriel Koureas (Birkbeck), Victoria Stewart (Leicester)