CAWLS 2021 Call for Proposals
CAWLS’ 7th annual conference, as part of Congress 2021, will take place online from June 1 to June 3.
Labour activism, mobility, and marginalization in a time of precarity
The present pandemic has intensified the precarity of the working class. The 2021 Canadian Association for Work and Labour Studies (CAWLS) conference is an opportunity to engage in conversations about the challenges and solutions available to citizens and workers as well as the organizations they have created, whether focused on the past, present, or future of work and labour studies.
Our goal is to create a final conference programme reflective of the broadest range of methodological, theoretical, and disciplinary themes and approaches. The conference’s scope is broad and includes but is not limited to the following topics:
- The relationship between the labour movement and BIPOC workers and communities.
- Precarity, patterns of inequality amongst workers, and the distribution of paid and unpaid work.
- Racialization, nationality, gender, sexuality, class, age, and ability, and their implications for the politics of labour and the future of the labour movement in Canada and elsewhere.
- Worker and union engagement with environmental movements and issues.
- Policy approaches and legislative solutions to advancing equity, diversity and inclusion, and their limits.
- Migration, work and labour internationalism.
- An intersectional analysis of work and of labour movements
- Anti-racist and decolonizing approaches to labour studies.
The committee welcomes proposals for single papers, thematic streams, multiple paper panels, roundtables, and workshops. The participation of researchers in union and community settings is encouraged.
With Congress 2021 moving entirely online, the format of CAWLS 2021 is presently in flux. Formats for online presentations could include:
- Traditional: a series of short (7- to 10-minute) live presentations followed by a Q&A.
- Interactive: a series of presentations or papers posted for viewing before the conference with a live discussion and Q&A during the conference.
- Panel: A discussion among 3-5 panelists on a common question or issue.
The committee is open to session proposals that incorporate innovative or creative formats to harness this opportunity.
New Voices in Work and Labour Studies: New scholars (graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and faculty/researchers in the first five years of their appointment) are encouraged to indicate their status on their proposal in order to be considered for the New Voices in Work and Labour Studies Prize.
Proposals of up to 250 words as well as questions can be sent to Dr. Jason Foster (Program Chair) at cawlscongress2021@gmail.com. Please indicate your preferred presentation format at the bottom of your proposal. The organizing committee will try to accommodate different presentations formats as much as possible.