#GenderChallenge - Exploring Gender Identities Online, July 18-20, 2021

In co-operation with the University of Greifswald and the IZfG (Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Geschlechterforschung, Greifswald), the Advanced Data and Information Literacy Track (ADILT) is delighted to host #GenderChallenge, an interdisciplinary online conference that aims to investigate concepts of gender as they are enacted, represented, negotiated, and challenged in online spaces.

Social media platforms have opened up spaces for users to enact gender identities as well as engage in meta-discourse on gender in online environments. This has made them particularly interesting as sites for researchers studying gendered linguistic patterns within sociolinguistics, as well as those interested in the varied constructions of gender identities from the perspectives of pragmatics, discourse studies, and applied linguistics.

This conference aims to contribute to a wider conversation on the ways in which social media research may be integral to advancing our understanding of the linguistic performances of gender. We look forward to participation from conference attendees, including any insights on methodological approaches, ethical considerations involved in studying gender and/or social media landscapes or findings that challenge previous notions of gender and gender-focused research. The call does not address only linguists, but also those working on similar topics in related fields of media studies, sociology, (digital) ethnography, education, psychology and cultural studies. 

Keynotes

July 19th 10:30 - 11:30 CET

Prof. Veronika Koller: Introducing Mantrap: Misogyny and the Red­ Pill

July 20th 15:30 - 16:30 CET

Dr. Christian Ilbury: Gender, Sexuality, and the Digital Commodification of Linguistic Style

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The conference will be preceded by a one-day workshop, which will include two hands-on sessions on linguistic analyses of gender identity representation online and a round-table discussion on the topic ‘Rethinking Gender’.

Conference format: The reference will be the local time (CET). 10-15-minute presentations will be made available in advance, giving attendees the opportunity to view them on their own time while providing background for live Q&A sessions on the conference days. Our pre-conference workshops, plenary talks, Q&A sessions, and lightning talk presentations will take place synchronously.  

We plan to publish a selection of accepted papers in the proceedings of the conference. 

The conference is open to all attendees free of charge.