Telling Women's Stories
March 20 - 22, 2025
Christopher Newport University's College of Arts and Humanities is seeking submissions for the forthcoming Conference on Women and Gender.
Featuring Keynote Speaker Barbara Hamm Lee, this interdisciplinary conference on Women and Gender is organized around women’s stories. Our definition of “story” is deliberately vast and inclusive, and may refer to a personal account, historical or contemporary representation, or any form of expression that illustrates the breadth of women's experiences. Historically, many women’s stories have been silenced, overlooked, or filtered through outside perspectives. This conference offers an opportunity to recover, share, and pass them on. We may ask, to what extent is storytelling gendered? What can we learn from women’s stories that were previously untold? What roles do the categories of race, sexuality, class, and/or ability play in narrating women’s stories? What does it mean to tell the story of a woman’s life or to recover a forgotten story from the past?
In the spirit of the theme, we envision a conference that brings together a variety of voices from multiple disciplines, organizations, and communities. As such, the format will feature a diverse selection of panels, roundtables, workshops, and creative sessions. For example, while faculty participants may consider presenting on their scholarship, they are also encouraged to share personal experiences within academia. Artists may highlight the performing arts' pivotal role in narrative-based storytelling and collective sharing through a formal presentation or live performance. Community activists, entrepreneurs, and business leaders may share their own personal trajectories and create opportunities for networking and dialogue among attendees. Overall, we have a number of slots reserved for artistic performances or readings, for panel discussions, and for workshops and networking, and we encourage anyone interested to submit a proposal. Please indicate your preferred format in your submission.
While organized around women and gender broadly conceived, we invite intersectional approaches that call attention to the workings of race, sexuality, class, ability, and other categories of identity. Topics may include but are not limited to:
- biography and autobiography
- historic recordkeeping
- the art of storytelling
- oral traditions
- oral history projects
- media and dissemination of stories
- notable women of Hampton Roads
- pedagogy and storytelling
- storytelling as social justice
- reproductive rights and choices
- migrants’ and refugees’ stories
- women’s work and career experiences
- women as makers/authors of mass media products (TV/streaming, social media influence, film, podcasts)
- Women in STEM fields
- Women as doctors and healers
- categories of identity (race, class, sexuality, etc.) and shared experiences
- LGBTQ+ and coming out
- “the personal is political” and consciousness-raising groups
In an effort to highlight the wide range of women’s stories that deserve our attention, we invite academic researchers, community organizers, and leaders from business, nonprofit, education, and government sectors to participate. We also encourage submissions from undergraduate students.
Submissions in the formats below are welcome (please indicate your choice in your proposal):
| Panels/roundtables 60 or 90 minutes |
Discussions among multiple participants (3-6) about a particular topic (based on personal experiences or areas of expertise) |
| Presentations 20 minutes |
Individual presentations or personal stories (lectures, academic work, or TED-style talks) |
| Creative Sessions 45 minutes |
Theatrical pieces, spoken word, short films, artistic performances, readings (please indicate the length of the work in your submission)/td> |
| Workshops Up to 60 minutes |
Teaching and learning a particular skill, facilitated networking |
Please submit a 350-500-word abstract or description by October 1, 2024 by clicking on one of the two submission buttons below.
Please include with your abstract: your name, affiliation, contact information, format (choose from above), and professional title or student status (professor, scientist, artist, entrepreneur, industry professional, graduate student, etc.) All submissions will be peer-reviewed, and those accepted will be notified by December 15th. Abstracts that exceed 500 words may not be considered.
Please direct inquiries about the conference to cwg@cnu.edu.
Frequently Asked Questions
| Presenters | Fee |
|---|---|
| External faculty | $200 |
| CNU and NSU faculty | $125 |
| Graduate student | $125 |
| Undergraduate | $65 |
| Attendees | Fee |
|---|---|
| Full conference | $125 |
| Daily rate | $75 |
We often publish a selection of top papers from the conference and will provide further details to conference participants.
Occasionally, international guests are caught by surprise when encountering our chilly March temperatures. Newport News averages a high of 55 degrees F (13 degrees C) and a low temperature of 37 degrees F (3 degrees C). Our indoor spaces on campus tend to run a bit cool, so plan accordingly for your comfort.