CfP: Threading Gender and Craft: Exploring the Gendering of Craft and the Crafting of Gender in Diverse Historical Contexts (ESSHC, 04/2023, Gothenburg); by: 15.04.2022

Panel at the 14th European Social Science History Conference (Web)

Time: 12.-15.04.2023
Veue: Gothenburg, Sweden
Proposals by: 15.04.2022

Craft is often discussed as a set of traditional skills that are rooted in the domestic sphere. The gendering of craft from this perspective has roots in the gendered division of labor. Handicrafts such as quilting, embroidery, weaving and other types of textile work, are most often linked to female labor performing housework. This panel for the ESSHC seeks to explore the historic relationship between gender and craft. It hopes to explore different historical contexts in which the gendering of craft occurred across the world. Finally, the panel aims to broadly situate study of craft as a historical intervention. What happens when we take craft as a subject of historical study and as a methodological tool?

There are many different narratives of craft emphasizing its changing significance throughout history. One enduring narrative focuses on the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution, when craft production suffered a decline that displaced (male) craft guilds and produced deskilled workers in the industrial factory. Others discuss how craft and aesthetics became displaced from the realm of production into the realm of a feminized consumer, domestic sphere (Auslander, 1996). Yet other narratives hone in on crafts and their importance in the everyday experiences of women. In art history, compelling narratives have challenged traditional accounts which have tended to place crafts outside the boundaries of fine art. This panel asks to critically engage with and expand these narratives of craft.

This panel seeks to locate discourses on craft and gender in a transnational, historical context. Under this theme, there are many questions to be explored that challenge dominant narratives of the relationship between crafts and gender. Papers are encouraged to discuss topics connected to gender and craft, broadly defined, and examine questions including but not limited to the following:

  • How have crafts been gendered in different geographic and historical contexts?
  • How has gendered discourse contributed to the devaluation of women’s work?
  • In what ways have femininity, masculinity, and other expressions of gender identity emerged as salient in craft work?
  • How has craft emerged in different historical contexts to challenge or reify frameworks and discourses of gender?
  • How have individuals in historical contexts used craft work to perform gender?
  • How does a focus on craft inform our understanding of histories of gender and historical studies?

The 14th European Social Science History Conference will take place in Gothenburg, Sweden between April 12th-15th, 2023 (Web). The deadline for submission to the conference is April 15th, 2022.

If you are interested in taking part in this panel please send an abstract or a description of your proposed paper (up to 300 words) to Sohee Ryuk (sr3451@columbia.edu) (Web) and Elya Assayag (era2145@columbia.edu) (Web), both from New York, by April 11, 2022.

Source: H-Net Notifications