Conference details
Traveling Seminar and Poster Competition on Masculinities.
Organized by Aakar, New Delhi.
Location: 10 universities in South Asia
Date: March 2005 onwards
The concept of 'masculinities', informed by recent feminist thought and the women's movement, has emerged as a means of renewing feminist discourse by encouraging a more relational approach to masculinities and femininities. This also allows for the investigation,
problematization and interrogation of masculinity equally with femininity. Not withstanding these enabling possibilities, however,"gender" is still essentially deployed in contemporary social science discourse as a synonym for women, its relational aspect obscured and the invitation to interrogate masculinities largely ignored. This is unfortunate because a textured understanding of the diversity of South Asian men's experiences, attitudes, beliefs, practices, situations, sexualities and institutions is essential to not only challenging the
social dominance of men over women but for building a more humane world.
Aakar, a Trust based in Delhi is organising a travelling seminar
comprising of academic papers, personal and activist anrratives and films to ten universities across south Asia. The travelling seminar on masculinities has been conceived from the position that the study of masculinities is important in that it is 'simultaneously a place in
gender relations, the practices through which men and women engage that place in gender, and the affects of these practices in bodily experiences, personality and culture.' (Connell R.W, 1994:71)Please find enclosed an announcement for a poster competition on the theme of masculinities. We are seeking entries from students at art
institutions across south Asia to express themselves creatively on the
theme.
A selection of these posters will be displayed as part of an exhibition during the Exploring Masculinities: A Travelling Seminar that is to be held at ten universities in Bangladesh, Nepal, India,Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Details regarding the competition and the travelling seminar are available on our website:www.southasianmasculinities.org
We look forward to a creative response from students at your institution. Kindly let us know if you require any further information or assistance. The last date for receiving entries is 1 March, 2006.
The competition is being supported by the Resource Centre On Sexual Health And HIV/AIDS.
