March 30, 2018
Call For Proposals
Women's Spirituality Conference, October 12-14, 2018
California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS)
San Francisco, CA
Proposal Submission Deadline: May 28, 2018
The Women's Spirituality Program at California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) invites scholars, activists, artists, and healers to submit proposals for our conference in San Francisco, CA, on October 12-14, 2018.
We are currently at a critical juncture in human evolution. More and more people are beginning to wake up to the depth and pervasiveness of the harm that patriarchal societies have wrought, including misogyny, sexual violence, institutionalized racism, economic oppression, and ecological devastation. Movements such as #MeToo, #TimesUp, #BlackLivesMatter, #IdleNoMore, and #NeverAgain are heralding transformative global change, and grassroots communities are developing new systems and paradigms for cooperation and spirit-based activism. Women are at the forefront of these movements, which include both new and traditional wisdoms, practices, and systems of knowledge, not only bringing a much-needed Sacred Feminist voice to the table, but altogether reinventing the table.
Our conference seeks to connect and amplify the voices of those who are actively building a new, post-patriarchal world from the ashes of the burning world of hierarchy and oppression. We invite visionaries, educators, artists, practitioners, care-workers, and change-makers to share their innovative projects and audacious dreams during this exciting 2.5-day conference.
We invite proposals that relate to one or more of the following themes:
Goddesses, Female Deities, and the Divine Feminist
Sessions related to this theme explore how the Divine, particularly in female form, can support the liberation of all beings. This includes our collective spiritual history of Goddess(es) and the Female Sacred, which long predates contemporary patriarchal religions, a history on which we may draw to affirm the Divine in ourselves and in our human and more-than-human communities.
This theme is related to the Women's Spirituality program's area of emphasis "Women and World Religions."
Healing, Reconciliation, and Transformation
Sessions related to this theme focus on the necessity of both personal and collective healing, emphasizing practices and tools for transformation. We invite proposals that explore how we might build solidarity across differing gendered and racialized identities, heal from intergenerational trauma, enact transformative justice, and develop new paradigms of relating.
This theme is related to the Women's Spirituality program's focus on healing and partnership studies.
Earth-Based Ethics and Relationships
Sessions related to this theme emphasize our relationship to Mother Earth, nonhuman animals, and plant life. How can we begin to move away from paradigms of domination and toward ethical relationships with the other beings with whom we share the planet? We welcome perspectives rooted in Earth-based traditions, ecofeminism, ecowomanism, ecopsychology, environmental justice, permaculture, and others.
This theme is related to the Women's Spirituality program's area of emphasis "Feminist and Ecofeminist Philosophy and Activism."
Sacred Mysteries, the Arts, and Imagination
Sessions related to this theme invite us to draw upon both ancient and contemporary practices to liberate our psyches, to create relationships of reciprocity and harmony with each other and the rest of the natural world, and to dream and invoke our visions for the future. Ritual, ceremony, music, dance, and other art forms are explored as tools for creating new worlds.
This theme is related to the Women's Spirituality program's area of emphasis "Women's Mysteries, Sacred Arts, and Healing."
Spiritual Activism and Liberation
Sessions related to this theme invite us to imagine and create activist practices that are rooted in Spirit. We seek proposals that are based in a grounded analysis of the "isms" that currently shape our world yet simultaneously hold a vision of our fundamental interconnectedness. How do we co-create the world we want to live in?
This theme is related to the Women's Spirituality program's area of emphasis "Feminist and Ecofeminist Philosophy and Activism."
We are firmly committed to an intersectional analysis and praxis in our work and our conference is welcoming of all genders, gender identities/expressions, races, cultures, nationalities, economic statuses, ages, and ability levels. This event is wheelchair accessible, and we ask participants to arrive scent and fragrance free. ASL Interpretation is available upon request. Please contact Valerie Joi Fiddmont in Women's Spirituality at (415) 575-6175 or WomenRising@ciis.edu for access needs and accommodations.
Conference Background
The Women Rising Conference grows out of the women's spiritual and political movements of today. We seek to honor, ignite, connect, and empower every person's innate divinity. Women Rising fosters embodied spirituality to address the dis-spiriting of our lives, and to re-sacralize in free and open ways our personal and communal endeavors, as women and allies, who for so long have been under assault. We invite participants to celebrate and co-create a visionary culture and activism that promotes a plurality of voices and brings us ever closer to our dreams for a more just, equitable, humane, and sustainable future inclusive of all beings.
Proposals
All interested attendees are encouraged to submit a proposal. Proposals may include any of the following kinds of events:
- Academic lecture/discussion
- Panel discussion
- Workshops, potentially including artistic performance
- Roundtables
- Posters
- Ritual, ceremony, or spiritual practices
This conference is intended to balance academic, activist, and experiential elements, and will include sharing of experiences, visions, art, spiritual practices, and pragmatic strategies for building a post-patriarchal world. We particularly encourage programs that are interactive, creative, and embodied, invoking multiple senses and/or movement.
Please Note
- Presenters will need to register and pay the registration fee.
- We offer a reduced registration fee for students.
- The registration fee is reduced for early registration.
Timeline
March 1, 2018 - Call for proposals announced
May 28, 2018 - Proposal submission deadline
June 2018 - Announcement of selected programs
October 12-14: - Women Rising! New Visions for a Post-Patriarchal World
To Submit a Proposal
Electronic submissions on our portal are preferred: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/womenrising2018.
These are the things that you will be asked to share with us:
- Full name
- Professional title and organizational affiliation
- Email address
- Mailing address
- Phone number
- Program title
- Program proposal summary (maximum 75 words)
- Program proposal (300-500 words)
- Short biographical statement (maximum 100 words)
- Link to your work, including papers, photos, videos, if available
To attract attendees to your program, please consider a creative and compelling title. Please send any questions about the proposal process to WomenRising@ciis.edu.
