Call for Papers | The GenDJus Final Conference on “(De)Constructing Gender in International Judicial Discourse: Actors, Norms and Practices”
The Department of Legal, Language, Translation and Interpreting Studies (IUSLIT) of the University of Trieste hosts a two-day international conference to explore gendered discursive practices in international judicial language and their consequences on the scope of human rights protections. The conference is the final event of the interdisciplinary research project “Rights and Prejudice: Linguistic and Legal Implications of Gendered Discourses in Judicial Spaces (GenDJus),” financed by the Italian Ministry of Education and the European Union (Next Generation EU funding scheme) [www.gendjus.it].
In the era of polarisation of debates, anti-gender movements, and populist anti-rights rhetoric, the power of language is clearer than ever. Sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and sex characteristics are among the most salient themes in those contexts, especially where these substantiate claims for individual protection. To this end, international human rights law constitutes one of the possible devices that societies deploy to ensure egalitarian values. But what does it mean to deal with gender through the language of human rights? How do international legal norms understand gender, and its connected categories? To what extent can international and EU legal actors, including judges, speak the language of human rights despite their possible personal prejudices, stereotypes and biases? How can gendered judicial discourse impact on the enjoyment of human rights? More broadly, what can make gender an analytical category to understand discursive constructions in international and EU judicial decisions? The conference will explore these and other questions about the premises and effects of gendered language in the practices of international and EU judicial actors. It will gather scholars working on gender in legal discourse across areas as diverse as linguistics, translation, law and, more generally, social sciences.
Key information
- Conference date: Thursday 16 and Friday 17 October 2025
- Venue: SSLMIT/IUSLIT, University of Trieste, via Filzi 14, Trieste
- Registration fee: none
- Languages: English, Italian, Spanish
- Submission deadline: 7 May 2025
- Notification of acceptance: 23 May 2025
The call for papers is available here.
For more information, please contact Giovanna Gilleri (giovanna.gilleri@units.it) and Chiara Sarni (chiara.sarni@units.it). Visit www.gendjus.it and follow on Instagram (@gendjusproject).
