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                Call for Papers
Creative BodiesCreative Minds

The third international, interdisciplinary conference in gender research
25-26 March 2024, University of Graz, Austria

Organized by:
Sociology of Gender section, Department of Sociology, University of Graz,
Austria;
FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences Graz;
Centre for Southeast European Studies, University of Graz.

Theoretical discussions on creativity in the last two decades have addressed
existing dichotomies in its conceptualization, such as professional/everyday
and public/private. Cultural studies have then been critical of creativity
being approached in terms of the individual talent and elite (creative
class), in economic terms (creative industries) or in terms of exclusive
locations (creative city)[1]. Gender scholars, in the meantime, have
levelled criticism at the gendered definition of creativity, too often
conceived as a property of a lone male genius, and at the gender bias of
research on creativity that had tended to overlook activities in which women
typically engaged [2].

Currently, in the European cultural/political space we witness a rise in the
use of diverse artistic, creative, and playful tactics and practices in
protests and everyday activism which challenge structural inequalities
intersecting gender, class, race, ethnicity, sexuality, age and (dis)ability.
Such examples of creative expression, including arts, crafts, participatory
practices, and/or aesthetic interventions in public space [3], and in feminist
and queer politics, in particular (e.g. craftivism [4], artivism[5])
challenge the common understanding of what constitutes political, as well as
creative activities. Likewise, studies on socially engaged art in Southeastern
Europe that have conceptualized creative work [] as a labor of care and
compassion [6] make us think beyond the ideas of creativity in terms of
individual self-expression.

The third Creative BodiesCreative Minds Conference 2024 will explore the
gendered and political aspects of current, historical or everyday creative
practices. DIY-making, as a form of everyday creativity, carries a different
meaning in different political regimes (such as in the former Eastern Bloc,
liberal market democracies, or post-colonial context). Covid-19 pandemic and
lockdowns exemplify how everyday creative practice is/was an adaptive response
to external circumstances. We witnessed how digital media enabled sharing of
creative responses to the constraints, including the use of humor (from zines
to memes) to cope with the situation, express care and solidarity, and
maintain relationships. We are interested in exploring creative adaptations to
external circumstances across different political, economic and gender
regimes.

Keynote speakers:
Vra Sokolov, Department of History, Charles University, Prague
Milica Tomi, Institute for Contemporary Art, Graz University of Technology

The areas of interest for the CBCM 2024 conference include, but are not
limited to:

  *   creativity and intersectional activism;
  *   arts, crafts, play as activist and political tools;
  *   reparative cultural and political practices;
  *   creative living as an adaptation to different biopolitical regulations;
  *   (everyday) creativity across different political, economic and gender
regimes;
  *   creative labor (precarity, rethinking work/productivity, collective
organizing);
  *   creative, playful, fun and politicized use of space and time (e.g.
festivals, parks and clubs);
  *   intersectional activism and digital media;
  *   humor, playfulness and fun in feminist and LGBTQ+ activism;
  *   creativity as care for others, collective and solidary creativity;
  *   DIY, maker movement: from knitting, through home-making to open source;
  *   material, processual and relational aspects of creative practices;
  *   the place of creative methodologies and creative research in teaching
and scholarly research in social sciences and humanities.

We are inviting proposals for presentations from scholars, practitioners and
postgraduate students from a wide range of disciplines including, but not
limited to: sociology, cultural studies, anthropology, human geography,
political science, gender studies, art, performance, history, literary
studies, social studies of science and technology and environmental studies.

Please send a 250-word abstract and a 150-word bio note before 10th September
2023 to creative.bodies@uni-graz.at

Registration fee: 190 EUR
Registration fee (student presenters): 130 EUR
The conference registration fee includes the conference dinner, two lunches,
tea/coffee breaks and the conference pack with the book of abstracts.

Information on registration and updates on the program will be available on
the conference website:
https://creative-bodies.uni-graz.at/en/

Graz, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site and Cultural Capital of Europe for
2003, is the capital of the Austrian province of Styria and the home of
Austrias second largest university.

Conference organizers:
 Libora Oates-Indruchov, Professor of Sociology of Gender, University of
Graz
Zorica Siroi, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of
Graz
Birgit Bachler, FH JOANNEUM  University of Applied Sciences Graz
Florian Bieber, Centre for Southeast European Studies, University of Graz
Wolfgang Khnelt, FH JOANNEUM  University of Applied Sciences Graz
Biljana Puri, Centre for Southeast European Studies and Institute of Art
History, University of Graz
Gudrun Reimert, FH JOANNEUM  University of Applied Sciences Graz


Important dates:
Submission of abstracts: 10 September 2023
Informing about abstract acceptance: mid-November 2023
Conference registration opens: 15 December 2023
Conference registration ends:  31 January 2024

References:
[1] Oates-Indruchov, Libora and Jana Mikats. 2022. Gender Perspectives on
Professional and Everyday Creativities: Introduction to the Special Issue,
Cultural Studies 36 (5): 699-712.
[2] Eisler, Riane and Alfonso Montuori. 2007. Creativity, Society, and the
Hidden Subtext of Gender: Toward a New Contextualized Approach, World Futures
(63): 479-99.
[3] Sommer, Doris. 2014. The Work of Art in the World: Civic Agency and Public
Humanities. Duke University Press.
[4] Cvetkovich, Ann. 2012. Depression: A Public Feeling. Durham, NC: Duke UP.
[5] Mouffe, Chantal. 2007. Artistic Activism and Agonistic Spaces. Art &
Research: Chantal Mouffe, Arts & Research. (Available at
www.artandresearch.org.uk/v1n2/mouffe.html, last accessed 30.11.2022)
[6] Alacovska, Ana. 2020. From Passion to Compassion: A Caring Inquiry into
Creative Work as Socially Engaged Art. Sociology 54 (4): 72744.

[demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type application/pdf which had a name of Creative Bodies Creative Minds 2024_FINAL_.pdf]
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