Women, Gender, Sexuality, and Technologies Symposium

Call for submissions:

In conjunction with Women’s History Month, the RIT CLA Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) Program invites RIT students and faculty/staff to submit proposals for the inaugural 2025 WGSS Symposium, which will feature original and creative work and research by the RIT community on topics pertinent to the symposium theme. We encourage submission of work and projects to be presented in multiple formats and using various media, including traditional research papers, academic posters, digital displays, poetry, visual and performing art, material/physical objects, etc. We also encourage the submission of work and projects that are still in-progress.

Theme:

Women, Gender, Sexuality and Technologies

General theme of this year’s symposium is the intersection of women, gender, and sexuality with technologies—whether in terms of the place, representation, and contributions of women, gender, and sexuality within technologies or in terms of the ways in which various technologies affect women, gender, and sexuality. Within this context, we conceive of “technologies” as a broad notion encompassing many aspects of the science, technology, engineering, health, and mathematics (STEHM) fields, including biotechnology, personalized medicine, and biomedical and healthcare techniques; physical tools, software, and systems; environmental, sustainable, and green technologies; artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning; robotics, computing and information technologies, and virtual and augmented reality technologies. But we also understand “technologies” as sites of systemic social and/or political organization, control, and surveillance; as techniques of production of the self, of social being(s), of creative representations in science fiction, the arts, and media; and as tools of transformation of embodied subjectivities.

Date, location, and program:

March 28, 2025, RIT, Rochester, NY

The symposium will be held on Friday March 28, 2025 at RIT and will feature, among other events:

• morning presentations of original research and work in various formats by RIT students
• a luncheon presentation by an invited speaker
• prize award for the 2025 Women’s History Month poster design contest
• afternoon panel by RIT faculty/staff on topics relevant to the theme of Women, Gender, Sexuality, and Technologies
• a poetry reading and other conclusive event

Student submissions:

We are seeking individual or group proposals (max. 3 people) by RIT students (graduate and undergraduate) for original work (and/or works-in-progress) that connect the study of women, gender, and/or sexuality with technologies. We encourage students to propose work and works-in-progress in many formats, including traditional research papers, academic posters, digital displays, poetry, works of art, material/physical objects, etc.

Faculty/staff submissions:

We are seeking individual or panel proposals for an afternoon panel of scholars (approx. 3 people) who will present, as experts, on matters related to women, gender, sexuality, and technologies.

Submissions deadline:

Feb. 5, 2025 by 5:00p.m.

How/where to submit:

• Students: complete the form here [link]
• Faculty/Staff: complete the form here [link]

What to submit:

You will be asked to provide:

• Your name, pronouns, and academic/contact information
• The title of your proposed submission
• A brief description of your proposed submission (350 words)
• The name of any co-authors and/or co-presenters
• A short biography (150 words)
• A list of resources and/or accommodations that would facilitate your participation in the symposium

Selection process:

Proposals will be selected by faculty and affiliates of the CLA WGSS Council/Program. Notifications about selected submissions will be sent out to the proposers by the end of February 2025.

This call for submissions is restricted to the RIT Community.