Call for conference papers – Feminist Approaches to Bioethics

The International Network on Feminist Approaches to Bioethics (FAB) is pleased to invite proposals for panels and papers for presentation at the 2018 World Congress (FAB 2018). FAB 2018 will be held at St John’s College, Bangalore, India, from December 3rd to 5th 2018.

The FAB 2018 theme is ‘Confronting Inequality in Health and Health Care: Global Challenges, Feminist Responses’. Submissions are particularly welcome on this theme and associated topics. We will also welcome submissions on approaches to feminist bioethics and submissions that examine other bioethical issues from feminist perspectives.

FAB is affiliated with the International Association of Bioethics. The final event of FAB 2018 will be a plenary session run jointly with the 14th World Congress of Bioethics.

FAB 2018 theme and sample topics

The FAB 2018 World Congress theme is ‘Confronting Inequality in Health and Health Care: Global Challenges, Feminist Responses’. Sample topics include:

Tackling social inequalities in access to good quality health care
Inequality and inequity: feminist perspectives, definitions and approaches
Equality of what, for whom? Feminist priorities in different contexts
Relationships between research and activism in feminist approaches to inequality
Developments in feminist empirical bioethics
While submissions are particularly welcome on the main FAB 2018 theme and associated topics, we also welcome submissions on approaches to feminist bioethics and submissions that examine other bioethical issues from feminist perspectives.

The conference organizers are keen to continue the strong FAB tradition of embracing contributions from a wide range of disciplines, including philosophy, social sciences, critical cultural studies (e.g. gender and sexuality studies, disability studies, race studies, etc.), law, public health, and others. We also encourage submissions from early career researchers.

Categories of submission

Submissions can be made in the following categories:

Primary papers will be allocated 30 minute slots (20 minutes for presentation and 10 for questions and discussion).

Concise papers will be allocated 7 minutes for presentation. We include these shorter presentations on the programme to enable more delegates to share information about what they are currently working on. They will be held on the first day of the conference to allow as much time as possible for ‘follow up’ discussions and networking during the conference breaks.

Workshops will be either 60 or 90 minutes long (please indicate which you prefer and why). You may propose a small collection of linked papers and/or other activities e.g. a debate or a panel question and answer session relating to a relevant theme in feminist bioethics. Opportunities for audience interaction (at least discussion!) are encouraged. Workshop teams usually chair and facilitate their own sessions.

Please note that each person may present a maximum of one primary paper at the conference. (A person may be a co-author on more than one primary paper but can only present one). Priority for concise papers will be given to people who are not also presenting a primary paper. We therefore encourage you to submit no more than two abstracts for primary and/or concise papers as a presenting author.

There are no strict restrictions on contributions to workshops (you can present in workshops as well as give a primary and/or a concise paper), but we do want to enable as broad a range of conference delegates as possible to present their work formally, so please bear this in mind when planning workshops.

Submission process

All submissions should be made via e-mail to fab2018.abstract@gmail.com. Submissions are due by April 15th 2018.

E-mail submissions for Primary Papers or Concise Papers should include two attachments: a completed submission cover sheet and a completed abstract form (blank forms are attached here and available at http://ijme.in/nbc-20140321/index.php/14th-wcb-india/index/pages/view/call-for-papers

E-mail submissions for Workshops should ALSO include additional completed submission cover sheets and abstract forms for any individual papers if appropriate.

Please note that the FAB Advisory Board will be using an anonymised system of peer review to assess the abstracts for inclusion in the conference programme, so your abstracts should NOT include the names or affiliations of authors or presenters. The title used on the abstract form must be identical to the title on the relevant submission cover sheet.

The maximum word count for the abstract is 300 words. Sub-headings are not required, but you can use them if you think they will help to summarise your proposed presentation or session clearly and concisely.

For workshops, your main abstract (bearing the title of the workshop as a whole) should describe the focus of your planned workshop, outline the structure of the workshop session as a whole, and give a clear indication of each component paper or activity. You may attach additional abstracts for component papers if you wish. If authors of the component papers wish them to be considered for presentation in their own right if the workshop as a whole is not selected, you must include additional submission cover sheets for these (selecting the option ‘Paper to be considered as part of a workshop).

The criteria that will be used to assess abstracts are:

· fit with the FAB 2018 theme and relevance to feminist bioethics;

· originality;

· significance;

· rigour; and

· clarity of communication.

Papers accepted for the conference may subsequently be submitted for consideration for publication in The International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics (IJFAB) as long as they conform to the journal’s requirements and are not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

International Network on Feminist Approaches to Bioethics
For more information about FAB, visit www.fabnet.org <http://www.fabnet.org>

International Association of Bioethics (IAB)
FAB is affiliated with the International Association of Bioethics <http://bioethics-international.org/> (IAB).