Keynote Speaker – Dawn Currie from the University of British Columbia
We are pleased to invite applicants to submit abstracts or papers to present at the Researching Youth Conference 2009. Research into the lives of adolescents has the potential to bridge collective societal tensions about youth and the lived experiences of adolescents themselves. Access, ethics and methodological approaches are a central concern when studying this diverse group. Feminist, de-colonizing, anti-racist and other critical frameworks may be useful for creating research that allows the voices of young people to be clearly heard and understood during all stages of a research project. Of particular interest for this conference are the challenges faced, and approaches employed, by those pursuing research on sensitive themes such as adolescent sexuality or deviance.
We welcome applications from researchers and professors as well as from PhD and Master’s students in any of the social sciences. We strongly encourage Master’s students to submit research proposals or work in progress as a goal of this conference is to facilitate learning and open dialogue between students and professionals in various academic fields.
Some possible topics include the ethical problems and methodological challenges in youth research; ability, class, race, and gender; sexuality; youth offenders, crime and deviance; adolescent rights and liberties; inequality and social exclusion; and agency in relation to discourse and social structures.
Applications can also reflect on any of the following questions:
- What are the most effective strategies and methodologies to research adolescents?
- What do feminist, anti-racist and decolonizing methodological approaches bring to questions of researching youth at various stages of the research process?
- How can research disrupt popular representation of youth and contribute to the mobilization of policy and programming aimed at adolescents?
Proposals that focus on any topical issue related to youth research are welcome.
Please submit your proposal by Friday, March 6, 2009 at 5pm to researching.youth@gmail.com.
For more information, please visit: http://stonefallstudios.com/researchyouth2009/Conference_2009.html