Call For Papers—Women of Color Feminists Invited to Examine the 2008 Presidential Campaigns
Posted on VidaAfroLatina.com on September 30, 2008

María Ochoa of San Jose State University, Myra Mendible of Florida Gulf Coast University, Barbara K. Ige of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and I, a women’s studies professor at the University of Delaware, will co-edit “Succotash: Critical Reflections on the 2008 Presidential Campaigns.”

We are issuing a call for papers that provide a variety of critical frames for the many, indeed thousands, of exchanges—formal and informal, analytical and reflective—that are brought about and sustained by the 2008 campaigns for United States president and vice president. We welcome political, social and cultural reflections, critiques and analyses that have stakes in current discussions by, for and about U.S. women of color feminist and transnational/postcolonial feminist discourses within and outside of the United States.

Possible topics include, but not limited to:

•    Mis/appropriations of feminism as a label, project, agenda
•    Re-alignments and alliances across racial/ethnic lines
•    “Mainstreaming” of identity politics
•    Reconstituting whiteness as a political entity
•    Mommy Wars: Hillary, Sarah, Michelle, and their daughters/sons
•    Body politics: the visual representation of candidates
•    Battles for/among voters of color, particularly Latinas/os and Blacks
•    Invisible constituencies: Asian, Pacific Islander, American Indian, Middle   
     East populations
•    Out of the rainbow, on to Main Street: LGBTG matters
•    Youth/campus activism
•    Discourse analyses: the presentation of candidates, platforms, ideas
•    Transnational analyses: thinking global, acting local
•    Rhetorical strategies or frameworks
•    Exploitation of nativist, racist, sexist sentiments
•    Militarism/diplomacy
•    Social constructs of rights, entitlements, and privilege
•    Cross-dressings: the cooptation of language and signifiers
•    Faith based activism: clerics and congregations
•    It’s the economy, stupid: just don’t talk about poverty or poor people
•    All in the family: constructs, illusions, visions
•    Circuits of information, dissemination, disbursal of news
•    Re/Framing of international perspectives regarding the United States

Submission Guidelines

•    Deadline for abstracts: October 31, 2008

•    Deadline for first draft of completed pieces: January 30, 2009

•    Deadline for final draft: April 1, 2009

•    Send 300-500 word abstracts outlining the intent and scope of the paper,
      and where appropriate, author’s theoretical, empirical, and/or 
      methodological framework and one-page bios to:
      succotash.info@gmail.com.

•    N.B. Abstracts and bios will be utilized in the book prospectus.

•    Submittal format: Please save all work in MS Word format using Times New Roman, 12-point font size and double-spaced. Papers should adhere to Modern Language Association (MLA) style guidelines, APA style, or law review Bluebook citation format. Papers should be 15-25 pages plus references. If you have additional questions, please e-mail: succotash.info@gmail.com.

Alvina E. Quintana is an associate professor of Women's Studies at the University of Delaware. She can be reached at succotash.info@gmail.com.