Feminist and Queer Approaches to Religion — Association of Canadian College and University Teachers in English (ACCUTE)

Format: 3 paper presentations

Co-Chairs: Graham Jensen (Dalhousie) and Brandi Estey-Burtt (Dalhousie)
Email contact: graham.jensen@dal.ca

In July 2016, the Anglican Church of Canada voted to allow same-sex marriage. The extensive discussion surrounding the vote has highlighted the importance of listening to, and making space for, feminist and queer voices in religious communities. At the same time, religion has been a hot-button topic in terms of how to navigate pluralism and religious diversity socially and politically. The matter of religious diversity all too often receives attention through the public policing of gender and sexuality, as evidenced in the niqab debate during the 2015 Canadian election. This panel seeks submissions that explore these issues through the lens of literature and literary study. How does literature navigate, mediate, and represent feminist and queer identities in relation to religion? What issues have feminist and queer scholars foregrounded in the literary study of religion?

Topics may include but are not limited to:

• the gendering of religious experience
• gendered approaches to secularism
• feminist/queer reinterpretations/reclamations of religious traditions
• feminist/queer approaches to religion and post-colonialism/decolonization
• the policing of female-identified, non-binary, and queer bodies

We welcome submissions examining diverse religious traditions and identities.
Please send the following by November 1, 2016: a file containing a 300-500-word paper proposal, without personal identifying marks; a file containing a 100-word abstract and a 50-word biographical statement; and the 2017 Proposal Info Sheet available on the ACCUTE website.