5th Annual Gender and Equity Research Symposium

Becoming Change Agents in our Theory, Inquiry, and Practice

This year the Gender & Equity Research Symposium focuses on how critical theory, inquiry, and practice can create and shape social justice for gender and sexual liberation. We also engage broad themes of race, class, gender, sexuality, nation, ability, place and space, bodies, activism, etc. We invite community members to submit research proposals, to lead scholarly paper talks, moderate panels, and come to engage in interdisciplinary research that centers gender and equity towards a more just society.

• Theory – How we understand complex social issues. How we approach these issues. How we make sense of the world around us.  
• Inquiry – What we discover and learn about how social problems occur. Who we study and how we amplify their voices. 
• Practice – How we take what we’ve learned in research and from critical theories and use them in our classrooms, our campus, and in our communities. How our practice changed over time. Practice can be understood as personal practice, our experiences as activists, and the ways we resist oppression.  

On April 14, community members will engage in virtual research presentations and scholarly talks. We will also include workshops led by campus community centers and local organizations. Join us as we come together to engage in interdisciplinary and inter-community conversations that center gender and equity towards a more just society. 

ABOUT GERS

The Gender & Equity Research Symposium was created to spotlight research that promotes a more equitable and justice-oriented society. The symposium bridges the interdisciplinary nature of gender and equity work at NC State University by putting social justice and equity research into action and at the forefront of how we “think and do.” We encourage submissions for multidisciplinary work that centers on gender, equity, and marginalized communities. Since its inception, the symposium boasts a tagline, Practicing the Equity We Preach. GERS 2021 is Hosted by the NC State University Women’s Center with support from our campus partners in The Study Abroad Office, NC State University Libraries, Women and Gender Studies, The Women of Welch Living and Learning Village, and the Department of Biological Sciences.

GERS is open to ALL students, staff, and faculty at NC State and surrounding college and university communities as well as activist organizations. 

Interested in Presenting Your Work?

There are three different ways for GERS presenters to engage in conversation on Symposium Day! We invite participants to submit 250-word abstracts for Oral Presentations, Lightning Round/Poster Style Presentations, and Roundtables (Undergraduate Students only). Participants are encouraged to submit a proposal for the following:

• Lightning Round/Poster Presentation (click for more information)
  • Poster presentations should highlight research that focuses on equity. Academic posters should include purpose, question, literature review, research design, and if applicable, data. 
  • Faculty, staff, students, and community members are encouraged to submit a poster presentation.
  • Once approved, the GERS staff will work with you on creating a one-page handout to submit by April 9th to provide to attendees. 
• Oral Presentation (click for more information)
  • Oral Presentations can be about your research, your work, or your community
  • Visual presentations like PechaKucha are encouraged
  • Accepted presentations will be grouped by topic to form a session
  • Each Oral Presentation will be 10 minutes in length with additional time allowed for questions from the audience
  • Faculty, staff, students, and community members are encouraged to submit an oral presentation.

• Round table Presentation (click for more information)
  • Roundtable presentations are for student scholars only.
  • Students will have the opportunity to present an academic paper for 5 minutes in a roundtable format and receive 5 minutes of question and answer. 
  • Academic papers may include basic/applied research and should include a review of the literature. 
  • Once approved, the GERS staff will work with you on creating a one-page handout to submit by April 9th to provide to attendees. 

Guidelines and Important Dates:

Poster and oral proposals should include an abstract of no more than 200 words and a proposal of no more than 1000 words. Student roundtable presentations only require an abstract and not a full proposal. 

Please be sure to complete each step of the proposal form or your proposal will be disqualified. Proposals should address and show an awareness of existing literature on the topic and give proper citations when appropriate. Data collection is not a requirement. 

Proposals are due by 11:59 p.m. on February 15, 2021. Proposal applicants will be informed of their presentation status by March 10, 2021. The Women’s Center will contact the first author regarding acceptance. The first author will be responsible for passing along pertinent information to any co-authors, including deadlines, acceptance decisions, and logistics information about the poster session. The first author should list anyone involved in the research for publication in the program brochure.

Proposal Deadlines

Oral and Lightning Round/Poster Proposals due February 15

Presenters will be notified by March 10

Presenters must accept or decline their invitation by March 20

Roundtable discussion abstracts are due by April 1

Submit Proposal