This two-day, hybrid conference aims to look at the work that specifically focuses on the meaning of misogynistic and/or gendered language. The topics will relate, but are not limited to, the following questions:

What unique linguistic phenomena should be classed as misogyny, e.g. gendered slurs?
Does misogynistic language differ semantically from, e.g., racist language?
Does misogynistic language always carry a negative expressive/emotive component?
How far can semantics go in explaining misogyny?

We are excited to confirm that Professor Robin Jeshion will be our keynote speaker for the event. Her work on slurs, dehumanisation & contempt, reclamation, and expressivism has been highly influential in Philosophy of Language, and we are very much looking forward to having her in Manchester.

Confirmed speakers:

Justina Berškytė (University of Manchester): Hostile and Benevolent Misogyny: On the Expressive Power of Patriarchal Speech

Chris Cousens (University of Manchester): Bullshit Slurs, Gendered Slurs, and Patriarchy [invited]

Filipa Melo Lopes (University of Edinburgh): Misogynistic Dehumanization: Women as Witches [invited]

Alba Moreno Zurita (University of Santiago de Compostela) & Dan Zeman (University of Porto [invited]: Misogyny Beyond Neutral Counterparts: Gendered Slurs as Norm Enforcement

Vittoria Campisi (Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele) & Sergio Guerra (Universidad de Granada): Presuppositional Obstacles in Sex Negotiation

Robin Jeshion (University of Southern California) [keynote]: The Language of Misogyny: Slurs, Stereotypes, and Rape Threats

Grace Li (The University of Hong Kong & King’s College London): Who’s Afraid when Feminists “Box”? --Reclaiming Anti-Feminist Slurs in China

Amanda McMullen (University of Arkansas): The Context-Sensitivity of Extreme Manosphere Language

Mengyuan Qi (University of Pittsburgh): Event Labels [online]

Ayşe Seda Umul (Bilkent University): The Meaning of Misogynist: An Internal Critique of Manne

Registration

Attendance is free, but registration is necessary. To register, follow this link: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=B8tSwU5hu0qBivA1z6kadw1oO2vAu6FBgwNOb0QPdvNUMDQ0UTlIMFkwUFVENUhZMDUySlpMT0xUWC4u

Funding

This conference is part of Justina's Early Career Fellowship project titled The Language of Misogyny: Meaning, Function and Possible Interventions, funded by the Leverhulme Trust and the University of Manchester.

Organising Committee:

Justina Berškytė, [email protected]

Adelina Valoschi, [email protected]

https://sites.google.com/view/justinaberskyte-com/the-language-of-misogyny/year-1-the-meaning/conference-the-meaning-of-misogyny?authuser=0