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CFP: Feminist Bioethics Deadline approaching!

FAB 2012 CONGRESS: CALL FOR PAPERS AND PANELS

ROTTERDAM, JUNE 24-26, 2012

The International Network on Feminist Approaches to Bioethics is pleased to invite proposals for panels and papers for presentation at the 2012 Congress. The Congress theme is “Generations: Imagining the Future to Promote Health and Justice”. Submissions on any topic in feminist bioethics are welcome.

Submissions (in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format) should be e-mailed to FAB.Rotterdam2012@gmail.com by December 1, 2011. This e-mail address should only be used for communications concerning submissions, and not for general conference or FAB inquiries.

Paper abstracts should be 300 words, accompanied by both a descriptive title for the paper proposed and 2-3 keywords. Proposed panels should include a 300-word description of the overall topic and objectives of the panel, a panel title, and the titles of all the papers to be included in the panel. All submissions should include the names, e-mail addresses, and full affiliations of all authors. In cases of panels and co-authored papers, please identify a corresponding author.

The conference organizers welcome submissions from a wide range of disciplines, including philosophy, the social sciences, critical cultural studies (gender and sexuality studies, disability studies, race studies, etc.), law, public health, and others. We particularly encourage submissions from early career researchers.

Please provide enough detail for reviewers to be able to assess your proposal for a paper or panel from the abstract. This should include a clear statement of method, thesis, and conclusion, and indicate what participants will learn from your presentation.

One or two submitted papers may be selected for plenary presentations. If you wish your paper to be considered for a plenary, please submit the full paper and indicate that you seek review for a plenary.

The theme of Generations should be interpreted broadly. Topics may include, but should not be limited to:

– Ethical issues in assisted reproduction

– Reproductive rights

– New social patterns in reproduction (reproductive tourism, surrogacy, etc.)

– The distinctive moral status and needs of children

– Caregiving across generations (eldercare, child care, etc.)

– Protecting the environment for future generations

– Re-imagining the future

– Adoption and the creation of families

– The value and social meaning of biological ties between generations

– The next generation of feminist bioethics

– Sustaining and shaping communities over time

High Pay too High – findings of UK High Pay Commission

The High Pay Commission is an independent body set up to investigate high pay in the UK. A year long investigation culminated in the publication of a report on Monday. Those who’ve been keeping an eye on the recession will be wholly unsurprised to learn that the poorer members of society are bearing the costs of austerity cuts, whilst the top 0.1% of earners are getting richer. The Commission states that:

In 1980 top bosses were well rewarded, but they had not pulled so far away from the rest of society. Since then some of them have enjoyed an increase of over 4000% to what are now multi-million pound packages… so much wealth has been channelled to those at the very top. This is a trend that has led to such a huge rise in inequality over the period that Britain now has a gap between rich and poor that rivals that in some developing nations.

Amongst the figures quoted by the Commission, is the salary of the chief executive at Lloyds Bank (now partly owned by the State), which the Commission states has increased by more than 3,000% since 1980 to more than £2.5m – 75 times the average Lloyds employee’s salary. In 1980, it was just (‘just’ – hah!) 13.6 times the average. Lloyds have responded with the claim that “The High Pay Commission’s figures are flawed. They have compared the average basic salary of our employees to a remuneration package awarded to the CEO that includes salary, bonus and benefits. As a result they have reached an inflated number that is entirely unrepresentative of the truth” – because everyone knows that bonuses and benefits aren’t really part of one’s salary, just little treats left by the banking fairy.

A copy of the High Pay Commission’s report, including recommendations such as not-doing-salary-deals-in-secret, can be downloaded from here.