Call for talks or posters

Please send anonymous abstracts (500 words max.), in Italian or English, to LIGHTS@unive.it by June 20^th, 2018 specifying whether for a talk (20 mins + 10 mins discussions) or a poster (70 x120 cm). The abstracts can address one or more of the following (or related) questions. Comparative and interdisciplinary approaches are especially welcome. Abstracts will be evaluated by anonymous reviewers. Acceptance will be notified by July 20th, 2018.

Research Questions

1. What is the impact of so-called inclusive or generic masculine on the representation of gender and the construction of gender identity at the individual and societal level? Can the mismatch between formal and natural gender interfere with fully accessing aspects of the content?

2. What is the impact of “gender-fair language” in the expressions used for professional roles and how does this relate to the empowerment of women in society and in social discourse? Can a perfect match between grammatical and natural gender improve the accessibility of the content?

3. What are the reactions expressed by different communities of speakers to various guidelines for non-sexist use in different languages and cultures? What are the differences across times / languages / cultures?

4. Can consistent and massive use of the feminine grammatical gender pose a threat to gender equity in the professions because of potentially derogatory connotations, uncertainties of denomination, or hostile reactions by others?

5. How can grammatical and semantic gender impact on the creation of gender identity in minority or heritage L2/L3-bilingual speakers when their L1 displays different properties from the L2/L3? Do bilinguals experience higher or lower degrees of accessibility to texts containing gender mismatches? Is it possible to foster a more inclusive approach to the social category of gender through the means of formal linguistic education?

6. What types of languages are more “gender friendly’? Is it languages lacking a formal gender category - in which the same terms apply to all genders - or is it languages that can highlight the presence of female referents in the discourse through rich gender agreement? What are the indicators of “gender friendliness” from both a cognitive and a social perspective?

7. What features and structures characterize misogynistic speech in terms of narratives, collocations, metaphors, use or neglect of gender-fair language across different types of media, political discourse, naturalistic interaction with peers?

8. What are the forms of “subtle” hate speech towards women and LGBTIQ persons that may ground the more common forms of hate speech in the cultural discourse? What are ways to pick out forms of subtle hate speech in “big data”?

9. What are the national and international laws to contrast hate speech? How can good practices be converged upon and shared at the transnational European level?

10. Is it possible to integrate educational policies for gender equity and citizenship on the one hand and linguistics education on the other hand?

11. Can we consider the wide spread “anti-gender” identity speech in Italy as a form of gender-based hate speech? What are the discourse strategies used by anti-gender ideology to support gender biases and stereotypes that reinforce misogyny, homophobia and transphobia?

12. How do technologies support the spread of discriminatory ideologies (including, but not limited to gender-based biases)? Conversely, how can new technologies be used as educational tools to disseminate gender equity and respect for diversity in the new generations in an intersectional approach?