[Euromixproject.rch] Call for Papers 'Exploring Mixedness in Postcolonial Europe' - KU Leuven March '24

[Schrijvers, L.L. (Lieke)]

Dear all,


We invite scholars to submit an abstract for the upcoming expert meeting 'Exploring Mixedness in Postcolonial Europe: Interdisciplinary Approaches' at the KU Leuven, Belgium, on 20-22 March 2024.


This conference focuses on mixed couplehood in postcolonial Europe, where partners do not share the same background in terms of religion, race and/or ethnicity. Mixed couples are regarded as microcosms for analysing societal norms, prejudices and social change. Previously, scholars used the term 'inter' to label mixed couples, for example interracial or interfaith couples. However, the prefix 'inter' reflects an understanding of identities as fixed, with couples supposedly 'doomed' to live in two worlds simultaneously, while feeling at home in neither. Today scholars instead use 'mixed', which does not only refer to the different backgrounds of the partners but also centers on how partners occupy different social positions because of their divergence from socio-political norms. The concept of 'mixedness' furthermore, implies an awareness of the temporal, legal, geographical, and intersectional dimensions in conceptions and experiences of mixed couples. Society's perceptions of what is mixed changes, and this also affects couples in their day-to-day life. The conference is international and interdisciplinary, bringing together keynote speakers from religious studies, gender studies, theology, law, history and anthropology, as well as from different geographical contexts. It explores how the meaning of mixedness, as well as reception, representations and lived experiences, change depending on the (historical, legal, contemporary) context, thus reflecting on mixed families in relation to broader European and postcolonial frameworks of difference. We welcome scholars to submit an abstract related to the following themes:

- Conceptual explorations of 'mixedness'
- Ethnographic studies of mixed relationships and/or mixed families
- Gender and sexuality in the context of mixed families
- Histories of mixedness in the (post)colonial context
- Legal debates regarding mixed families, e.g. migration law
- Theologies of mixedness, e.g. texts/dogma about intermarriage
- Cultural representations of mixed relationships/families

We explicitly encourage junior scholars to apply. You can submit an abstract of 250 words, a title and your affiliation to marianne.moyaert at kuleuven.be<mailto:marianne.moyaert at kuleuven.be> before 15 December 2023. Feel free to share this call, which you also find attached as a pdf.

For more information, see https://theo.kuleuven.be/en/conference-exploring-mixedness

Organizing team:
Marianne Moyaert (Chair, KU Leuven); Katrien De Graeve (Ghent University); Lieke Schrijvers (VU Amsterdam); Deniz Aktaş (VU Amsterdam and KU Leuven)

Kind regards,

dr. Lieke Schrijvers
Postdoctoral researcher
Beliefs & Practices, Faculty of Religion and Theology
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Working days: Mo, Wo, Th, Fr | l.l.schrijvers at vu.nl<mailto:l.l.schrijvers at vu.nl> | LinkedIn<https://www.linkedin.com/in/lieke-schrijvers/> | she/her
Mailing and visiting address: De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam

Research project  'Unequal Partners? An Ethnographic Study of Christian-Jewish and Christian-Muslim Couples in the Netherlands.'
Managing editor of the international peer reviewed journal Religion and Gender<https://brill.com/view/journals/rag/rag-overview.xml?language=en>

Recent publication: Schrijvers, Lieke. 2023. "Gender, Gioer en Gebedssjaals: Het Gebruik van een Talliet door Nieuwe Liberale Joodse Vrouwen." Religie & Samenleving 18 (1):26-49.<https://doi.org/10.54195/RS.13291>

See the latest issue of Religion and Gender 13.2: Special issue 'Contested Conversions', guest edited by Karin van Nieuwkerk and Anne-Marie Korte https://brill.com/view/journals/rag/13/2/rag.13.issue-2.xml

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