Fourth Annual EcoJustice and Activism Conference
March 19-21, 2015 at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, MI
EcoJustice Education is an approach that analyzes the deep cultural roots of intersecting social and ecological crises, focusing especially on the globalizing cultural, economic and political forces of Western consumer culture. EcoJustice scholars and educators also study, support, and teach about the ways that various cultures around the world actively resist these colonizing forces by protecting and revitalizing their commons—that is, the social practices and traditions, languages, and relationships with the land necessary to the healthy regeneration of their communities. By emphasizing the commons (and its enclosure or privatization), EcoJustice perspectives understand social justice to be inseparable from and even imbedded in questions regarding ecological well-being.
This conference was organized to engage activists, educators, students, and scholars in deep and meaningful discussion around what we can do together to address and organize actions aimed at alleviating and/or eliminating current social and environmental injustices occurring in our local, national, and international communities.
This year’s theme, Art, Activism, and EcoJustice Education aims to explore the ways the arts can focus public attention and responsibilities toward developing eco-ethical consciousness and action that challenges devastating social and ecological degradation occurring both locally and globally. We encourage a wide range of critical perspectives from within artistic, scholarly, and activist traditions and groups. These could include presentations, performances, or exhibitions around site specific art, insurgent art education, place-based art education, performance art, radical and guerrilla art, eco-art education, sustainable art, indigenous arts, anarchist arts and more.
We also welcome related presentations on animal welfare, environmental philosophy, climate change, ecofeminism and other gender studies, critical race theory, eco-pedagogy, eco-ability, post-humanism, anarchist studies, place-based education, critical animal studies, critical cultural studies, political ecology, peace studies, critical geography, indigenous studies, indigenous education, post/anti-colonial studies, critical literacies, critical pedagogy, urban studies, eco-philosophy, eco-democratic reforms, EcoJustice education, and critical disability studies. Questions? Contact Co-Chairs, Rebecca Martusewicz, rmartusewicz@gmail.com, or Monica Shields Grimason mshield1@emich.edu
Proposals are due January 15, 2015 to Rebecca Martusewicz, rmartusewicz@gmail.com
Find more Information at www.ecojusticeconferernce.weebly.com
PROPOSAL GUIDELINES
Due January 15, 2015
Send to rmartusewicz@gmail.com
General Instructions: All papers, panels, and workshop proposals will be peer reviewed. Do not include your name or the name of your organization or institution, but do include whether participants are K-12 students and teachers, faculty or students from a higher education institution, or activists from a community organization. Use 12-point font, single or double space, 1-inch margins. Please use the following guidelines when proposing any of the formats. It is strongly suggested that the terms in italics be used as headings in the proposal document. E-mail your proposal as a Microsoft Word document attachment to Rebecca Martusewicz: rmartusewicz@gmail.com. The blind proposal will be sent to 2-3 reviewers.
Papers: Single paper proposals should be no more than 500 words and address a) the Purpose of the study being presented; b) the theoretical Context within which the questions or arguments are posed; c) the Method of research and/or analysis d) the Arguments or overall thesis to be presented; and e) the Relevance of the arguments presented especially to EcoJustice education and activism. Papers that address some aspect of the theme will be given priority. Please include a brief Bibliography. Papers that are accepted will be put together in a in a one-hour long panel session with 1-2 others that deal with similar questions or topics.
Panels: Panels consist of 2-3 papers addressing a common theme or question. Panels will be one hour long and should include time for discussion with the audience. Panel Proposals should be no more than 750 words. Please include a) a Summary of the overall theme or topic, b) Descriptions with titles of each individual paper, briefly discussing the Purpose, Context, Method of research, Arguments or thesis, and Relevance of the information presented (see Papers above). Please include a brief Bibliography.
Workshops: We will be accepting a limited number of one hour-long interactive workshops. Workshop proposals should be no more than 500 words and include a) a brief Description of the workshop; b) its Relevance for the overall purpose of the EcoJustice and Activism conference; c) the Learning Objectives for the workshop, and d) a step-by-step Plan.
Alternative Sessions: We will also consider a limited number of alternative sessions. These might include films, roundtable discussions, outdoor activities (such as poetry walks, guided nature walks, and so on), performances, or exhibitions. If you are interested in proposing an alternative session please write a proposal of 500 words or less describing the a) Purpose, b) the Objectives, c) the Relevance to the themes and purpose of the conference, and d) the Plan for the session. If the session requires more than a one-hour session, please include that in the proposal.
