Sisterhood in Action 2022
Supporting each other's research
Spring term - Week 5
'Sisterhood in Action' goes online
The CWS's sixth 'Sisterhood in Action' CWS conference will continue to keep on encouraging and supporting each other in these challenging times in a safe online space for all of us.
This exciting event is a space for all CWS students (MA and PhD) to actively develop their own research and encourage each other: discussion, intellectual stimulation and fun games. Our aim is for everyone to leave invigorated, with at least one new idea for their work.
‘sisterhood in action’: The term ‘sisterhood’ as used here is intended to be symbolic, and designed to invoke feminist camaraderie and support, rather than focus on embodied womanhood.
Format of the conference
Although we hoped to be able to hold the conference in-person, we have recognised the currently ongoing Covid-19 concerns within our community and hence have decided that this year’s Sisterhood in Action will be conducted online so as to help maintain our collective safety.
The conference will follow similar patterns to last year’s successful online conference with panels of 15 minutes paper presentations and 'table talks' (small discussion groups) which will be accompanied by additional fun activities. There will also be a space to showcase artwork, and an Open Mic.
15-minute papers
2nd-4th year PhD students and MA by Research students are invited to submit a 200-300-word abstract on any aspect of their work for a panel presentation. (Tips and guidelines for writing an abstract are available here)
The papers will be followed by questions and comments from the audience.
Deadline for abstracts: 12 noon on Friday 14th of January 2022.
Table talks
Conference participants will break away into smaller groups for focused discussion. Further details to be confirmed.
Format: four or five students in each group, each offering a short introduction to a research-related issue, followed by a general focussed discussion around broadly-related areas. Master students will be asked to submit a proposal of your thesis ahead of the conference (precise date TBC). More details to follow.
Open mic session
We will round off the conference with an open platform for anyone to sing, perform, read their poetry, dance... the possibilities are endless and can be as exciting and novel as you wish! We welcome prepared work but there will be space for spontaneous contributions; aim for 3 minutes with 5 minutes maximum for each ‘turn’.
Art exhibition
All CWS students are invited to submit artwork (craftwork, written work, pictures, posters etc.), which we will present in the conference room and provide spaces for discussions.
All kinds of feminist-inspired work are welcome, both polished and provisional, so long as it can be fixed to a display board or placed on a table.
Please email cws.sisterhood@gmail.com with your ideas by the 14th of January so we can provide and allocate sufficient space.
