The regulations of sexuality in Europe : Call for paper
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We decided to start the English version of this blog with a very interesting call for papers ;) The research group « Norms, gender and sexuality » of the free University of Brussels (Université Libre de Bruxelles) is launching a call for papers for workshops, to take place in Brussels during the week of 16 November 2009.
They will analyse public policies concerning the regulation of sexuality in Europe. Priority will be given to five themes: sexual identity ; sexual orientation ; sexual practices ; questions related to procreation and customs regarded as sexual mutilations. Contributions should deal with the way in which national regulation is orchestrated. Papers dealing with these five themes should focus on gender, 'race' and social class and will permit the identification of areas of autonomy and constraint so far as the free disposal of the human body is concerned. The workshops are intended to gather the essential material for an international and multidisciplinary conference to be held in Brussels in April/May 2010.
Description :
The regulation of 'sexualities' in Europe deserves to be systematically investigated in order to determine the reality and the scope of sexual 'liberation' and of the 'liberalisation' which seems, at first sight, to be so marked in recent decades. In particular, the expansion of European Space has allowed important differences between national experiences to be unveiled and has increasingly stimulated debate on the appropriateness and substance of State regulations in this field. The formulation of more or less constricting international norms as well as the development of an important European case law have led to yet further questions about such diverse topics as the fixity of sexual identities, access to contraception and to abortion or sanction of some sexual practices. If the question of reproductive and sexual rights is often considered from the angle of policies affecting he developing world, the interest of European public policies and of reflecting on the effective scope of a principle that humans have a right to the free disposal of themselves and their bodies, should be kept in mind.
It is this objective that the research group « Norms, gender and sexuality » of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (http://normes-genre-sexualites.ulb.ac.be/) will try to achieve in the context of a number of scientific meetings, organised in two stages.
For more details : please consult their website or the follwowing document