"Multiculturalism and Feminism," 13th Symposium, International Association of Women Philosophers, Ewha Women's University, Seoul, July 27-29, 2008.

Organizers: International Association of Women Philosophers (IAPh), Korean Association of Feminist Philosophy (KAFP) Program: Plenary Sessions, Sections for Contributed Papers, Round Tables, Students Session, Society Meetings Official Languages: English, French, German, Korean (Host Country Language), Spanish The Thirteenth Symposium of International Association of Women Philosophers (IAPh) will be held in Seoul, Korea, just prior to the XXII. World Congress of Philosophy. The symposium seeks to bring philosophical analysis to bear on the complex relationship between feminist and multicultural theories and practices. It also seeks to explore questions concerning commonalities and differences among women, who often come from radically different social, cultural, and political contexts and yet who live in a world that is increasingly globally connected. Feminism has developed globally in accordance with the diversity of the demands of women who are often faced with divergent forms of inequality and discrimination. Its diversity thus reflects the different sources of gender inequity that originate from particular socio-cultural and political situations. However, the diversity of women's concerns does not deter women philosophers from collaborating and engaging in shared philosophical discourse. The Seoul symposium will examine proposed solutions to the inequality and discrimination that undermine women's living conditions and that deny women decency, while also attending to issues posed by differences among women. The Seoul Symposium especially invites contributions from women scholars who are interested in the intersections of 'multiculturalism and feminism,' as well as with the philosophical interrogation of the concepts of 'women,' 'feminism' and 'multiculturalism' as (for example) ontological, epistemological, or ethical questions.

The symposium plans to focus its discussions around a number of substantive areas, or 'sites of inquiry.' These include:

• examination of the self-understandings of women in diverse culture and societies today.
• critical reflection on the role forms of the family play within women's lives;
• examination of how the perpetuation of tradition and processes of modernization - and tensions between them -- affect women's lives within diverse social and historical contexts;
• examination of processes of globalization, their intersections with particularistic forms of inequality for women, and the dilemmas thus faced by emergent global or trans-national feminist movements;
• discussion of biomedical practices, and other uses of science and technology, that may threaten women's rights to bodily integrity and social autonomy;
• analysis of the diversity of cultural norms that give rise to images of women in various forms of representation and self-expression, ranging from art, to religion, to the media.

We welcome the participation of women philosophers and other scholars in addressing the intersections of feminism and multiculturalism through an exploration of any of the above "sites of inquiry." Proposals that address the relations of feminism and multiculturalism through other "sites of inquiry" will also be considered.

For more information, please visit: http://www.iaph2008.org/.