Topics of the Conference
We invite international, national, and regional audiences to participate, whether as presenters or attendees. We seek presentation and session proposals for paper dialogues, panels, roundtable discussions, workshops, poster/exhibit sessions, and other formats appropriate for this unique, richly interdisciplinary conference.
We are particularly interested to receive presentation proposals that engage the conference theme, including but not limited to the following topics under the general areas of Research, Education, Practice, and Advocacy:
- The roots of “othering” in fear or ignorance, the manifestation of “othering” in hatred, intolerance, or inequality, and how these problems persist and propagate within institutions, social dynamics, and areas of law and policymaking
- New, emerging, or time-tested theories, concepts, practices, and lines of inquiry for understanding and challenging hatred, intolerance or inequality in pursuit of justice
- What various academic and professional fields teach us about the pursuit of justice in relation to hatred, intolerance, inequality, and bias, and how to integrate and utilize those insights in multiple contexts and callings
- Context-specific or comparative analyses of manifestations of hate or intolerance within or across cultures and countries, and processes or methods by which individuals or groups can evaluate, better recognize, and reject hateful or intolerant attitudes, actions, beliefs, and speech
- Comparative analyses of criminal justice systems within or across regions and countries in terms of racial bias, intolerance, or inequality, and knowledge-elevation on connections between racial bias, crime, and disparate treatment within those systems
- Innovative or demonstrably effective responses to acts of hate or bias (e.g. racial bias, homophobia, religious intolerance) committed within schools, businesses, local communities, national governments, or global structures as advancing peace, acceptance, tolerance, and justice
- The leadership role or potential of specific sectors and vocations (law enforcement, non-profit organizations, primary and secondary education, higher education, business, etc.) in challenging individual or organized activities, practices, or policies of hatred or intolerance (e.g. hate speech, hate/bias crime)
- Solutions and strategies for changing policies, laws, and practices that sustain or encourage hate, intolerance, or inequality (e.g. racial bias/race-influenced decision-making in the criminal justice system), and for building effective cross-sector relations for change/reform
Conference Structure
Through this collaboration, the dialogues begun with the International Conference on Hate Studies and the Conference on Race and the Criminal Justice System will continue in their respective areas. In addition, through intentionally integrative events, conference participants will share concerns, perspectives, knowledge, and resources to link and deepen the dialogues.
Joint Dialogues – A Unified Conference: Experts in Hate Studies and social and criminal justice will come together to explore fear and ignorance of the “other,” how these problems manifest in the nexus of hatred, intolerance, and inequality, and how to address these problems in the pursuit of justice.
Specialized Dialogues – Hate Studies: The international dialogue among those interested in the growing field of Hate Studies commences on the first day of the program, with in-depth engagement and content for experts and newcomers alike. Subsequent days will include focus on the relationship between hate, intolerance, and inequality as considered from multiple perspectives and disciplines, including applying Hate Studies to criminal justice and other human relations concerns. Because of the subject matter and featured speakers, we anticipate this day’s content and focus would also be valuable to wider audiences, including those focused on race and the criminal justice system.
Specialized Dialogues – Race and the Criminal Justice System: The second and third days also commence the Race and the Criminal Justice System portion of the program. These sessions advance the work of criminal justice experts and others in law enforcement by exploring the relations of hate, intolerance, inequality, and racial bias within the criminal justice system. Key issues include whether race still matters in our criminal justice system and the persistence conscious and unconscious bias.