CALL FOR PAPERS: Whither Feminist Art History?

32nd Association of Art Historians Annual Conference 2006
University of Leeds 5-7 April 2006

We welcome paper proposals for the following session.
Deadline for paper proposal submission is 11 November 2005.

Whither Feminist Art History?
Session Convenors: Dr Francesca Berry (University of Birmingham) & Dr Amy
Mechowski (Independent Scholar)

Art historians who align themselves with feminist politics are presently faced
with a climate of both anti- and post-feminism. Following radical
interventions into the discipline, second-wave feminist methodology is now
well established within the academy. At the same time, feminist analysis is
considered by many to be either an inappropriate or an outmoded form of
historical enquiry. The conditions of feminist art history's current
malcontent are evidenced in simple pedagogical terms: feminist analysis is a
necessary and often welcome component of methodology courses yet many students
reject as anachronistic feminist politics and the vocabularies employed within
its discourses. This radical past yet ambivalent present suggests a future
for feminist art history that is devoid of feminism as a political agenda - a
situation that holds both limitations and opportunities for its practitioners.
This session aims to debate this future by asking: is there a future for
feminist art history and if so, what shape might it take?

In order to explore the future of feminist art history, this session will
consider the past and present of feminist interventions in the history of art.
As such, papers are invited from scholars addressing the historiography of
feminist analysis. These might consider the historical relationship between
feminism as a methodology and as a political agenda. Alternatively, they might
address both the historical and current relationship between feminism and
other politicized methodologies including those identified with the politics
of class, ethnicity and sexuality. In order to debate the present, papers are
invited from those considering feminism's place at both the center and margins
of art history or those considering feminist art history's position within the
culture of inter-disciplinarity. Contributions are equally welcomed from
those considering how later generations of feminist art historians are
negotiating the authority and politics of their predecessors. Finally, papers
are invited from those seeking to identify new issues, methodologies and
future directions in the 'endangered' field of feminist art history. In this
respect, papers might consider the future of feminist analysis in relation to
issues such as new visual technologies or the escalation of global politics.

If you would like to submit a 30 minute paper to this session please contact
the session convenors by sending them a completed pro-forma Paper proposal
form. Paper proposal forms can be downloaded from the AAH website
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/aah2006
where further details about the conference are
also available.
The paper proposal form must include an abstract of your proposed contribution
in no more than 250 words, your name, organisational affiliation (if any) and
contact details. Do not send proposals to the conference organiser and/or
administrator, send proposals to the session convenor(s).

Please send completed paper proposal forms to:

Dr Francesca Berry, Department of History of Art, University of Birmingham,
Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham, B15 2TS, F.Berrybham.ac.uk

Dr Amy Mechowski, Independent scholar, 115 East Hill, Wandsworth, London, SW18
2QB, amy_mechowskihotmail.com