THEORIES AND METHODS THAT CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

CSCW 2023 Workshop, October 15 in Minneapolis, MN, USA.

This one-day hybrid workshop builds on previous feminist CSCW workshops to explore feminist theoretical and methodological approaches that have provided us with useful tools to see things differently and make space for change. Since its inception over a decade ago, feminist HCI has progressed from the margins to mainstream HCI, with numerous references in the literature. Feminist HCI has also evolved to incorporate other critical HCI practices such as Queer HCI, participatory design, and speculative design. While feminist approaches have grown in popularity and become mainstream, it is getting more difficult to distinguish the feminist emancipatory core from other attempts of developing and improving society in various ways. In this workshop, we therefore want to revisit our feminist roots, where theory is a liberatory and creative practice, motivated by affect, curiosity, and wonder. We will engage in speculative, playful and collaborative making. From this standpoint, we consider which of our feminist tools can make a significant difference today, in a highly datafied world. The goal of this workshop is to; 1) create an inventory of feminist theories and concepts that have had an impact on our work as designers, educators, researchers, and activists; 2) develop a feminist toolbox for the CSCW community to strengthen our feminist literacy. 

Call for submissions

To participate, submit a 2-4 pages position paper where you suggest one or more feminist theories and methods that have been useful in your previous research. Describe the theory/method and explain how you have used them. As this is a hybrid workshop, notify if you intend to participate online or offline. Use the templates found here: https://authors.acm.org/proceedings/production-information/taps-production-workflow

Deadline: September 22, 2023 (decision notification: September 28)

E-mail your submission to: atoolboxofwonder@gmail.com

The papers will be selected based on both their depth, and how they together with the other submissions represent a wide range of feminist perspectives. We hope to accept around 15-25 participants. The accepted position papers will be shared among the participants.

The workshop is organized as part of the CSCW.conference, however, a workshop only pathway is available upon request.

For more information contact Karin Hansson (karin.hansson@sh.se) or Adrian Petterson (a.petterson@mail.utoronto.ca)