Roles: A Gender and Sexuality Forum

Roles: A Gender and Sexuality Forum

Third Annual Gender and Sexuality Conference
University of Birmingham,
10th May 2013

Key Note Speaker: Dr. Nadine Muller

This one-day interdisciplinary conference offers postgraduates the opportunity to present their research in a friendly and supportive environment. We invite applications for twenty-minute papers from researchers working within the fields of gender and sexuality studies.

Suggestions for presentations may address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

- social policy, government legislation, and matters of the law
- cultural products: film / music / art / TV / literature
- media, representation, and social images
- sexuality, otherness, erotic practice
- the body: subject, object, identity
- theory, methodology, practice
- feminism and postfeminism: representation and invisibility
- queer and trans*: changing images of femininity and masculinity

Please send an abstract, including a short bio, of no more than 300 words to g.roles@hotmail.com by 10th March 2013.

Roles is an interdisciplinary research forum hosted by researchers at the University of Birmingham for the purpose of fostering discussion and debate. We hold regular seminars as well as our annual conference, and can be followed online: T: @groles, F:
/roles-a-gender-and-sexuality-forum, W: groles.wordpress.com, E:
g.roles@hotmail.com.

Gray's Inn Seminar: Criminals or Victims?

Readers may be interested in this forthcoming event

CRIMINALS OR VICTIMS?
A Necessary Guide to the Non-Criminalisation of Victims of Human Trafficking

Panel
Peter Carter QC
18 Red Lion Court

Parosha Chandran
1 Pump Court

Pam Bowen
Head of Trafficking Policy, CPS

An expert seminar aiming to bridge gaps in knowledge concerning the criminalisation of victims of trafficking.

Principally for Judges, Barristers and Students with an interest in criminal law and public law, the seminar seeks to raise awareness of how to identify possible victims of trafficking and how to protect the legal rights of such persons

 Monday 4th February 2013 Gray’s Inn Hall 6.15pm – 8.15pm

The cost is £10 for students to attend the seminar and drinks afterwards. Everyone must register in advance for the event.  For mor einfo, and the registration form, contact cpd@graysinn.org.uk

Gender, Sex and Power: Seminar Series

The wonderful Rob Clucas at the University of Hull has organised what looks like a really interesting seminar series.  it's called Gender, Sex and Power and the details can be seen below:

The Centre for Sex, Gender and Sexualities Speaker Series, Durham University

Readers may be interested in these forthcoming events:

Workshop: Problematising ‘Problematic’ Pregnancies Presenters: Dr Sally Brown, Dr Rachel Colls and Abi McNiven, Durham University Discussant: Professor Robyn Longhurst, University of Waikato 22/11/2012, 09:30 to 12:00, Room W215, Department of Geography

A Phenomenology of Cultural Racism: Veiling, Embodiment, and the Nature of Culture, Prof Alia Al-Saji, The Institute of Advanced Studies, Durham University Wor 05/12/2012, 16:45 to 18:00, Shincliffe Room, St Aidan's

Feminist Punk Rock Academia? Punk praxis, grassroots activism and the future of feminisms, Dr Julia Downes, Durham University 12/12/2012, 16:45 to 18:00, Shincliffe Room, St Aidan's

Child Sexual Exploitation, Vulnerability and Justice, Prof Jo Phoenix, Durham University 24/01/2013, 16:45 to 18:00, Shincliffe Room, St Aidan’s

Seminar topic to be announced, Mr Neil Cobb, University of Manchester 20/02/2013, 16:45 to 18:00, Lindisfarne Centre, St Aidan's

Bodies and Struggles in Syria: an Anthropological Approach, Dr Maria Kastrinou, Durham University 06/03/2013, 16:45 to 18:00, Lindisfarne Centre, St Aidan's

Seminar topic to be announced, Prof Elizabeth Bernstein, Barnard College, Columbia University 02/04/2013, 16:45 to 18:00, Lindisfarne Centre, St Aidan’s

Edith Thompson and Traumatic Collective Memories of Capital Punishment, Dr Lizzie Seal, University of Sussex 07/05/2013, 18:00 to 19:15, Lindisfarne Centre, St Aidan's

Seminar topic to be announced, Prof Wendy Chapkis, University of Southern Maine w/b 03/06/2013, 16:45 to 18:00, Lindisfarne Centre, St Aidan's

Gender, Heterosexuality and Youth Violence, Prof James Messerschmidt, University of Southern Maine 05/06/2013, 18:00 to 19:15, Lindisfarne Centre, St Aidan's

More information can be viewed here.

Queer Homes, Queer Families: a history and policy debate at the British Library Conference Centre

Readers may be interested in this forthcoming event:

With Peter Tatchell; Professor Jeffrey Weeks, OBE; Dr Kath Holden; Professor Sasha Roseneil; Professor Alison Oram; and Dr Matt Cook.

Monday 17th December 2012, 6.30 – 8.00pm

Places still available but numbers are limited so book soon!

The last decade has seen incredible changes in attitudes towards lesbians and gay men and their relationship to home and family. From legislation on adoption, civil partnerships and access to fertility treatments to representations on sitcoms like ‘Modern Family’ and home make-over shows, there has been a marked domestication of queer men and women. If Clause 28 famously saw all this as a pretence, these home lives are now, arguably, being taken seriously. In this panel discussion we ask what precedents there are for apparently unconventional home and family formations; how far recent shifts reflect broader changes in expectations and experiences of home and family; what they might portend in terms of assimilation, radicalism and difference; and why history might matter in all this. 

Please come and join the discussion. The debate is free and open to all, but booking is essential. To reserve your place please contact Katy Pettit k.pettit@uel.ac.uk The event is convened by the Raphael Samuel History Centre, hosted by the British Library and supported by the AHRC.

SLSA 2013 CFP: Gender, Sexuality and Law

I'm once again organising the Gender, Sexuality and Law Stream at the Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference next year.  It's going to be at the University of York and will take place March 26-28th.  I hope many of you will be able to make it, and that you'll consider presenting a paper or poster.  You can see all the Calls for Papers here, along with general info on the conference.

Out and About

I'm sometimes where I'm next going to be out and about (often, by would-be burglars).  I've accepted a couple of invites to speak next year, so hopefully see some of you at one of these events:

I'll be speaking as part of the Newcastle Law School Seminar Series entitled 'Law, Families, Personal Life:  New Reflections'.  I'm speaking on Thursday 7 February at 4pm in Seminar Room 3 in the Law School.  My presentation is entitled:   ‘Family and the Homonormative: Where Now for Queer Legal Identities?’

For further details contact: Suzanne Johnson, Newcastle Law School, Newcastle University, 21-24 Windsor Terrace, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU. Tel: 0191 222 8637 e.mail Suzanne.Johnson@ncl.ac.uk

Then, on Saturday April 6th, I'll be over at Staffordshire University.  I'm speaking as part of the Staffordshire University Law School Centre for Family Law and Policy Annual Family Law Seminar.  My provision title is the very original:  ‘Family and the Homonormative: Where Now for Queer Legal Identities?’.  You may have seen it used elsewhere...

I'll post more details about that next year.  If you organise a charity, community or academic event, I'm always willing to speak if I can fit in my diary, and providing my expenses are covered.  Don't be afraid of getting in touch:  chris.ashford@sunderland.ac.uk

Diversity Week

I'm absolutely delighted to be speaking as part of the Student Union run Diversity Week in Sunderland next week.  More information about the week can be found here.

I'm speaking on Wednesday 14 November (not December as I accidentally wrote earlier) as part of the session called 'Being Gay'.   Here's the official description:  In order to celebrate, raise awareness and highlight the LGBT ( lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community at University of Sunderland as well as the Sunderland City, we are organizing an exciting event that will include a talk by Chris Ashford and a movie screening [...] After the talk we will be showing: Beautiful Thing (trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf0fvLprGk4) There will also be a buffet available and the event is FREE to attend.

I'm going to talk on the subject of 'Being Gay', particularly how shifts in the law over the last few decades and re-shaped and re-made the LGBT identity.  Don't worry, I'll be pitching it for a broad audience so I promise there will be (I'll try) no impenetrable theory.  If you're in the area - whether a student at the uni or otherwise - do feel free to come along and say hello.  It's an event for the City community, not just the University.  Me, a film and free food - what else were you going to do on Wednesday?  Hope to see some of you there!

Centre for Gender Studies Seminar Series 2012-13: Gender, Sex and Power

Readers may be interested in this series of forthcoming seminars, organised by Rob Clucas (r.j.clucas@hull.ac.uk)

Dr Meg Barker, Open University 

‘Critically informed kink? Comparing understandings of sex, gender and power in 50 Shades and the BDSM blogosphere’

Keynote speaker Gender, Sex & Power: interdisciplinary dialogues
University of Hull Postgraduate Conference
Wednesday 21st November 2012, 4.30 pm,
Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery & Emancipation (WISE)

Christina Richards, West London Mental Health NHS Trust (Charing Cross Gender Identity Clinic) 

'Trans and sexuality - theory and pragmatics'

Wednesday 6th February 2013, 4.15 pm South East Asia Museum, 1st Floor, Wilberforce Building

 Grant Denkinson, polyamory community activist volunteer 

‘Polyamory Activism’

Wednesday 6th March 2013, 4.15 pm South East Asia Museum, 1st Floor, Wilberforce Building

Professor Lisa Downing, University of Birmingham 

‘Re-assessing Agency and Consent in Queer and Feminist Theory’

 Wednesday, 17 April 2013, 4.15 pm South East Asia Museum, 1st Floor, Wilberforce Building

Vicki Kirby, Associate Professor, University of New South Wales 

‘Can anthropocentrism be redeemed?’

 Wednesday, 8 May 2013, 4.15 pm South East Asia Museum, 1st Floor, Wilberforce Building

Event: Queer and/ in Translation

Readers may be interested in this forthcoming event.

Critical Sexology is an interdisciplinary seminar series for psychologists, sociologists, psychoanalysts, medical doctors, literary and cultural studies scholars, philosophers, artists, lawyers, and historians with a critical interest in the construction and management of gender and sexuality in the medical, discursive and cultural spheres.

Established in 2002 by Iain Morland and Lih-Mei Liao, Critical Sexology has since held three seminars per year. All meetings took place in London until 2011, when "Critical Sexology up North" was launched. One in three yearly sessions is now held at a university in a northern location, with plans to introduce an annual Midlands session from 2014. The seminar series is currently co-organised by Lisa Downing (University of Birmingham), Meg Barker (Open University), and Robert Gillett (Queen Mary, University of London).

2-6pm, 7th December 2012
"Queer and/ in Translation"
 Venue: Arts Two, Room 316, Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS 

Organised by Dr BJ Epstein (University of East Anglia) and Dr Robert Gillett (QMUL).

Speakers:

Dr BJ Epstein (Lecturer in Literature and Translation, University of East Anglia) "Neither Here Nor Queer: Translating Queer Literature for Children from English to Swedish"

Dr Heike Bauer (Senior Lecturer in English and Director of Birkbeck Interdiscplinary Gender and Sexuality Studies, Birkbeck, University of London) "Dead Wilde: Translation and the Emotional Undercurrents of Modern Queer Culture"

Clara Bradbury-Rance (PhD Candidate in Film, English and American Studies, University of Manchester) " 'This is So, So Real': Realising Lesbian Sex, Compromising Queer Space in Nathalie... and Chloe"

Respondent:

Dr. Emily Jeremiah (Director of German, Royal Holloway, University of London) *** (Abstracts and more detail can be found in the attached Word document.) (The seminar is open to all and entry is free. There is no need to register your intention to attend with the organisers.) 

http://www.criticalsexology.org.uk

Out & Proud Corporate Counsel Award Reception

Some London-based readers may be interested in this event:

On Thursday, November 15, 2012, the National LGBT Bar Association will be honouring  Timothy Hailes Managing Director and Associate General Counsel at the Out & Proud Corporate Counsel Award Reception

It takes place 6:00-8:00 p.m. Shoreditch House Ebor Street, Shoreditch London, England.

The Out & Proud Corporate Counsel Award Receptions give LGBT legal professionals and their straight allies the opportunity to honor distinguished colleagues who have worked hard to increase LGBT diversity awareness in the corporate office and in the community. These receptions provide a business casual environment for corporate counsel of all levels to gather and network toward the betterment of diversity in the legal profession.

This is a ticketed event. All corporate counsel receive complimentary tickets courtesy of the LGBT Bar. RSVP by sending an email to: kelly@LGBTbar.org

ESRC Funded Seminar Series: Understanding the young sexual body

Readers may be interested in the following seminar series...

This ESRC seminar series will foreground the body whilst drawing up-on cutting edge research on: young people's sexual health, sexual relations and relationships, sexual subjectivities, and sexuality education. It will discuss the role of media, popular culture, commerce and technologies in the construction of different understandings of the young sexual body.

The seminars will draw together two distinct groups: firstly: leading academics, early career researchers and PhD students working in the fields including child-hood and youth studies, health and social policy, critical social psychology, psychoanalysis, medicine, education and media and communication studies; and secondly: practitioners and agencies dealing with young people's sexual health and education in the UK. A key aim is to foster partnerships, and creative dialogue, between leading academics and practitioners broadly concerned with young people's sexualities and sexual health and well-being. Further, it aims to include front-line practitioners' experiences and perspectives within this dialogue so it is a dynamic inter-active two way process. The overall aim is to facilitate the impact of applied social research in both policy and practice.

The series is a collaborative venture organised by the University of Greenwich, Anglia Ruskin University, Cardiff University, the Institute of Education (University of London) and Kings College London.

http://www.gre.ac.uk/esrcseminars

The North East Feminist Gathering (no men need apply)

Of possible interest to some NE-based readers...

The North East Feminist Gathering is a celebration of local feminism in all its multifaceted amorphous glory.

It aims to bring together the feminist, pro-feminist and femi-curious population of the North East through a series of workshops, discussions and artistic endeavours. A wonderful mix of theory, practical activism, debate, skills you always wanted to develop and interesting sessions to make you smile and rejuvenate your activism…

An event for women by women.

The weekend will culminate in an evening event for participants showcasing a line-up hand-picked from the regions fizzing creative underbelly.

Free crèche facilities – open arts space – film screenings in our feminist cinema space.

For further information and to register: http://www.nefeministgathering.com/

SOLIDARITY BUT NOT SIMILARITY?

Readers may be interested in this forthcoming event...

SOLIDARITY BUT NOT SIMILARITY?
LGBT COMMUNITIES IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

Free one day conference, 9th November 2012, Sheffield

This conference will disseminate findings from the recent UK Arts and Humanities Research Council project on understandings and experiences of ‘LGBT communities’, and their implications for ‘wellbeing’. It will also feature additional contributions from experts in the field (see below).

 The event is aimed at a wide variety of people, including academics, policymakers and service commissioners, practitioners and service providers, project participants, postgraduate researchers/students, and anyone else who’s interested!

Confirmed contributions so far include: Professor Catherine Donovan, University of Sunderland Eleanor Formby, Sheffield Hallam University Lee Gale, TransBareAll Steve Slack, Centre for HIV and Sexual Health Youth group drama performance, Sheena Amos Youth Trust

To register for a place please complete the booking form and return to: e.formby@shu.ac.uk. There are a very small number of travel bursaries available for those on a low income. If you would like to apply for this please provide details on the booking form. www.lgbtcommunityresearch.co.uk

Book launch for Homosexuality and the European Court of Human Rights

I'm sure this will be a terrific event for an important book.  Try and make it if you can.

Thursday 1st November 2012, 7pm

Gay's the Word bookshop
66 Marchmont Street
London, WC1N 1AB

The author of Homosexuality and the European Court of Human Rights would be delighted if you could join him for a discussion of some of the important issues raised in this first book-length study of the Court’s jurisprudence on sexual orientation.

The book offers a socio-legal analysis of the substantial number of decisions and judgments of the Strasbourg organs on the wide range of complaints brought by gay men and lesbians under the European Convention on Human Rights. It provides a systematic analysis of Strasbourgcase law since 1955 and examines decades of decisions that have hitherto remained obscure. Going beyond doctrinal analysis by employing a nuanced sociological consideration of Strasbourg jurisprudence, the book shows how the Court is a site at which homosexuality is both socially constructed and regulated.

The author argues that the Court’s judgments have played an important role in reshaping the landscape of sexuality in contemporary Europe and have provided lesbians and gay men with an authoritative and powerful resource with which to challenge homophobic and heteronormative social relations. The book identifies limitations in the Court’s approach to homosexuality and aims to promote discussion about how its interpretation of the Convention might be evolved in the future to better protect lesbian and gay rights and lives.

There will be a talk by the author, followed by open discussion and a wine reception.

The event is open to all and if you wish to attend please send an email to paul.johnson@york.ac.uk 

Published by Routledge, a GlassHouse book. ISBN: 978-0415696579

Paul Johnson is Anniversary Reader in Sociology at the University of York.

Event: Civil Society Strikes Back

The British Institute of Human Rights have released details of a rather interesting tour that some readers may find of interest:

 Human Rights are for everyone. Human Rights are the result of centuries of struggle, by groups and individuals who suffered persecution or neglect at the hands of an often all too powerful state. Human Rights became international law after the horrors of World War II when, thanks to the advocacy of civil society, the international community adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Human Rights are under attack. Too many of our political leaders and some sections of the media want to go backwards, not forwards. Join the fight back at the BIHR 2012 Human Rights Tour – coming soon to a city near you!

Human Rights go to the heart of the kind of society we want to be. Learn more, and get involved, at the 2012 Human Rights Tour.

Venues and dates: 

All venues are centrally located. Further details on remaining venues will be posted shortly. Please note: Some of the dates have changed since our initial correspondence regarding the Tour; the dates on this page and the booking form are confirmed.

Cardiff – 17 September - Cardiff County Hall, Committee Room 3, Atlantic Wharf, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff CF10 4UW

Truro - 20 September - Truro Town Hall, Municipal Buildings, Boscawen Street, Truro, TR1 2NE 

Ipswich – 25 September - Ipswich Town Hall, Cornhill, Ipswich IP1 1DH

Bournemouth - 3 October - Bournemouth University, Room TBA

Brighton – 11 October - Brighthelm Community Centre, North Road Brighton, East Sussex BN1 1YD

Inverness - 17 October - Spectrum Centre, 1B Margaret Street, Town Centre, Inverness IV1 1LS 

Edinburgh - 18 October - Pleasance Theatre (Edinburgh Students Union), 60 Pleasance, Edinburgh EH8 9TJ

Preston – 30 October - The Avenham Park Pavilion, South Meadow Lane, Preston, PR1 8JT 

Manchester – 1 November - Age Concern Manchester, 24 Mount Street, Manchester, M2 3NN

Belfast – 5 November - NICVA, 61 Duncairn Gardens, Belfast, BT15 2GB

Bangor – 15 November - Central venue (TBA)

Leicester – 22 November - Leicester Guildhall, Guildhall Lane, Leicester, LE1 5FQ

Boston – 29 November - Centenary Methodist Hall, Red Lion Street, Boston, Lincolnshire, PE21 6NY

Sunderland – 4 December - Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens, Burdon Road, Sunderland, SR1 1PP

London - 7 December, Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London, WC1R 4RL

York – 12 December - York University (Room TBA)

More information and booking details can be viewed here.

Event: Gender, Sex & Power: interdisciplinary dialogues

Gender, Sex & Power: interdisciplinary dialogues 
University of Hull Postgraduate Conference

Wednesday 21st November 2012 9.00am-6.30pm
Wilberforce Institution for the Study of Slavery & Emancipation (WISE)
Oriel Chambers, 27 High Street, Hull, HU1 1NE

The Centre for Gender Studies at the University of Hull hosts a biennial interdisciplinary Gender Research Conference for all taught and research postgraduate scholars with an interest in gender. We also encourage early career or postdoctoral scholars to participate. Our theme for this year is Gender, Sex & Power. This one-day interdisciplinary conference, funded through the Department of Social Sciences and Gender Studies programme at the University of Hull, draws together postgraduate scholars from across disciplines to explore the intersections of gender, sex and power through their research. The conference provides an important opportunity to discuss your research and network with researchers interested in issues of gender, sex and power from disciplinary and cross-disciplinary standpoints. University of Hull students can be awarded 10 PGTS credits for presenting a paper. We encourage papers from any relevant field, for example, anthropology, biology, cultural and media studies, criminology, drama, education, history, law, literature, philosophy, policy, politics, psychology, slavery studies and of course within gender studies and the social sciences.

Call for papers

The conference will offer a combination of thematic panels allowing participants to present formal papers of 15 minutes on a theme drawn from their research, and workshops allowing those who do not wish to present a paper to discuss and raise questions about aspects of their research in an informal discursive format.

Indicative Themes

Themes are mutable and papers will be located as deemed most appropriate. 1. Embodying Gender, Sex & Power Key words: representation; pornography; body modification; sexualised bodies; racialised bodies; abjected bodies; objectified bodies... 2. Gender, Sex & Power in Movement Key words: migration; diaspora; empire; global power structures; cosmopolitanism; postcoloniality, slavery, trafficking and sex tourism... 3. Gender, Sex & Power Through Time, Space & Relations Key words: narratives of lifecourse, families and intimate relations; emotions; memory; reproduction... 4. (De)Constructing Gender, Sex & Power through Science, Media & Technology Key words: knowledge production; technologies; science; new media; medicalised bodies... 5. Policing Sex & Gender Key words: structures of power, politics, policies, institutions, gender-based violence, conflict and crime, trafficking, prostitution... 6. Performing Gender, Sex & Power Key words: the power of performativity, narratives of representation, sex & gender as visual and representational power, performing masculinities, femininities, intersexualities...

Workshops

1. Do you work on gender outside of Gender Studies? How do we incorporate a gender analysis into our research and writing? What does gender analysis mean? 2. Crossing boundaries of gender and sexualities in research and writing: how does your personal standpoint impact on the research process? How do we research taboo?

Timetable:

Registration & Welcome: 9.00-9.30 Registration & tea/coffee 9.30-10.00 Welcome Address Morning Sessions: 10.00 - 12.00 Simultaneous Panels 10.00 - 11.00 Workshop 1 12.00 – 1.00 Lunch Afternoon Sessions: 1.00-3.00 Simultaneous Panels 1.30-2.30 Workshop 2 3.00 – 3.30 Afternoon Break (tea/coffee) 3.30-4.30 Plenary (performance event t.b.c.) Evening Session: 4.30-6.00 Key Note Speaker: Dr Meg Barker, Open University 6.00-6.30 Wine reception

Registration:

This event is heavily subsidised by the Department of Social Sciences & Gender Studies (GEMMA) programme at the University of Hull and places are limited. There is a £5 registration fee to secure attendance which is inclusive of refreshments, buffet lunch and wine reception. Send cash or cheques payable to The University of Hull with your registration form and abstract (if wishing to present) to: Dr Suzanne Clisby Director of Postgraduate Gender Studies University of Hull Hull, HU7 6RX s.m.clisby@hull.ac.uk Deadline for registration and submission of abstracts: Monday 1st October 2012

Event: KNOWING YOUNG PEOPLE: RESEARCH METHODS, YOUNG PEOPLE AND SEXUALITY

Knowing Young People 2: 19th September 2012. at Brunel University, Uxbridge.

KNOWING YOUNG PEOPLE: RESEARCH METHODS, YOUNG PEOPLE AND SEXUALITY:

The second of 2 day conferences on methods for researching youth sexualities - this time focussing on the politics of sexuality research with young people. Jointly hosted by the BERA Sexualities SIG, the Centre for Youth Work Studies and the Brunel Sexuality and Gender Research Centre.

The day features International Keynote Speaker: Dr Mary Lou Rasmussen, Monash University, Australia, whose paper will be entitled ‘Cool secularism? Reframing 'progressive' sexuality education’.

- For this second Knowing Young People event there is a chance to present your work in short papers of 15-20 minutes on themes of methodological, ethical, political or epistemological issues.

Please send an abstract of 150 words and a short bio to Pam Alldred in the first instance (Pam.Alldred@Brunel.ac.uk) for review by a small panel. Please send this by 13th August 2012.

 N.B: Successful abstracts will be notified by 31st August.

Resourcing Care

A workshop by the AHRC ReValuing Care Research Network Keele University, Wednesday and Thursday 19-20 September 2012

Registration Open: Please see http://www.keele.ac.uk/risocsci/currentactivities/therevaluingcarenetwork/

Resourcing Care will provide a space to reflect critically on care’s heritage and to consider anew the different ways in which care is a resource in an era characterised by renewed austerity and intensified personal management.

Speakers include: Sue Westwood (Keele, UK), Sarah van Walsum (VU, the Netherlands), Alissa Tolstokorova (ISEO, Ukraine), Dania Thomas (Keele, UK), Olivia Smith (DCU, Ireland), Elizabeth Peel (Aston, UK), Alice Margaria (EUI, Italy), Ambreena Manji (BIEA, Kenya/Keele), Kerry Kyaa (BIEA, Kenya), Jane Krishnadas (Keele, UK), Rosie Harding (Birmingham, UK), Ruth Fletcher (Keele, UK), Fabienne Emmerich (Keele, UK), Anja Eleveld (Leiden, the Netherlands), Maria Drakopoulou (Kent, UK), Helen Carr (Kent, UK), Jo Bridgeman (Sussex, UK), Chris Beasley (Adelaide, Australia), Marian Barnes (Brighton, UK), Martha Augoustinos (Adelaide, Australia), Maybrit Jill Alpes (VU, the Netherlands), Donatella Alessandrini (Kent, UK), Renu Addlakha (CWDS, India).

The ReValuing Care Research Network builds on academic connections developed by Westminster, Kent and Keele through the Research Centre for Law, Gender and Sexuality (AHRC 2004-2009), and generates new research collaborations with the Fay Gale Centre for Research on Gender at the University of Adelaide, and those arising through the network's international and interdisciplinary activities.

Mr Gay UK 2012

In a further sign that time seems to zoom on by, Mr Gay UK 2012 kicks off this Saturday at Blu and Basement in Middlesbrough.  A couple of days later, it's in Darlington and then on the 27th, it's at Powerhouse in Newcastle.  Details of the national listing - and contact details if you'd like to host a round - can be found here.

Mr Gay UK is a British annual beauty contest for gay men, with regional heats held in gay nightclubs with a grand final usually at a gay venue. The contests is owned and promoted by the self-styled 'gay entrepreneur' Terry George.  George is also the man behind the Bent magazine and online store empire, and a range of bars and clubs in Leeds.  More info here.

Mr Gay UK is therefore as much about business as it is community, but I do wonder what will happen when George heads for retirement.  Can Mr UK (and should it) survive beyond this one entrepreneur?