1. science
2. social science

Call for Papers
Critical Realism, Gender and
Feminism
Special Issue of Journal of Critical Realism for Volume
15, Number 5, 2016
Edited by Angela Martínez Dy, Lena Gunnarsson and Michiel van Ingen
Email enquiries to: [email protected]
Submit online at: www.editorialmanager.com/rea
An increasing number of gender scholars have become familiar with critical realism, finding it a robust
alternative to the poststructuralist perspectives that currently dominate gender studies and feminism. This
trend has coincided with an increased interest among feminist theorists in the issues of ontology, materiality
and nature, which have always been at the heart of critical realist interventions. However, despite these
thematic alignments, and despite the fact that both critical realism and feminist theory are inherently criticalemancipatory, the critical realist approach continues to occupy a marginal role within both feminist and
gender studies debates. Concurrently, the field of critical realism is decidedly ‘masculine’ in nature, both in
the sense that men dominate the field, and in terms of the issues with which critical realists have most
commonly concerned themselves. Recent critical realist feminist work, the International Association of
Critical Realism’s adoption of a proactive policy to enhance the representation of women in its organs and
activities, and the growing critical realist preoccupation (particularly in Bhaskar’s philosophy of metaReality)
with historically ‘feminine’ topics such as love, mark a potential shift away from these unfortunate trends.
In order to encourage the development of this emerging field of critical realist feminism and gender studies,
as well as critical exchanges between the respective branches of critical realism (including dialectical critical
realism and metaRealism) and feminist theory/gender studies, we are happy to invite submissions for a
special issue of Journal of Critical Realism on Critical Realism, Gender and Feminism. We welcome not only
contributions that draw on critical realism in studying gender relations and/or engaging with feminist
concerns but also critiques of critical realism from feminist or gender-based points of view.
Topics of interest include, but are by no means limited to, the following:
 Critical realism and poststructuralist feminism/gender studies
 Critical realism and socialist/eco/radical/black/postcolonial feminism
 Critical realism and the ontological/materialist/naturalistic turn in feminist theory
 Critical realism and intersectionality
 Critical realism, metaRealism, love and gender
 Critiques/auto-critiques of existing critical realist work from a feminist/gender studies perspective
 Feminist epistemology, standpoint theory and critical realism
 Critical realism and feminist critiques of (social) science
 Examinations/critiques of feminist taboos on realism, nature and causality
 Critical realism and post-feminist culture
 Critical realism, dialectics and feminist deconstruction
 Revitalizing the explanatory feminist tradition: what is patriarchy?
Leeds, UK • London, UK • Philadelphia, USA
Suite 1C, Joseph’s Well, Hanover Walk, Leeds LS3 1AB, United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)113 243 2800 • Direct Line +44 (0)113 386 81__ • Fax +44 (0)113 386 8178
Maney Publishing is the trading name of W.S.Maney & Son Ltd • Registration Number: 1922017 England VAT Number: GB 640 6260 62
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Critical realism and sexuality
Critical realism and queer studies
Critical realism and men/masculinity studies
Critical realism, sex and gender identity
Critical realism and gendered/sexual violence
Critical realism, feminism, gender studies and war/conflict
Critical realism and feminist ethics
Critical realism and pornography
Critical realism and feminist methods/methodology
Agency, gender and critical realism
Critical realism and feminist activism/politics
Feminism, gender studies, critical realism and other realisms (Barad’s agential realism, postpositivist realism etc.)
Critical realism as underlabourer for applied work in feminism/gender studies
Critical realism, interdisciplinarity, gender and feminism
Feminist spirituality and metaRealism
Critical realism and feminist economics
Instructions for authors
Papers should be no more than 8,000 words (not inclusive of references). In all other respects, please
consult our instructions for authors at www.maneyonline.com/ifa/rea or use one of our recently published
articles as a guide. Articles (as distinct from pieces for our Perspective and Debate sections) will be subject
to external peer review.
Submissions need not be exclusively concerned with critical realism or its critique, but should relate their
arguments in some significant way to critical realism. For instance, the main focus of an article could be
Karen Barad’s feminist appropriation of Bohr’s agential realism, but it should include consideration of critical
realism.
Important dates
October 1, 2015: deadline for first drafts
February 26, 2016: reviewers’ reports and editors’ decision provided
May 23, 2016: deadline for final drafts
June 30, 2016: final copy due with the publisher
October 2016: publication of the special issue online and print
Enquiries and submissions
Please send any enquiries to [email protected] and upload articles for peer review to our online
system, www.editorialmanager.com/rea. When uploading you will be asked if your paper is for a themed
issue. Please answer ‘Yes, the special issue on Critical Realism, Gender and Feminism’. If your paper is
accepted but not included in the special issue, it will appear in a subsequent issue. Please send any other
material for the special issue to [email protected].
About the Journal of Critical Realism
JCR is the journal of the International Association for Critical Realism, established to foster the discussion,
propagation and development of critical realist approaches to understanding and changing the world. It
provides a forum for scholars wishing to promote realist emancipatory philosophy, social theory and science
on an interdisciplinary and international basis, and for those who wish to engage with such an approach.
Leeds, UK • London, UK • Philadelphia, USA
Suite 1C, Joseph’s Well, Hanover Walk, Leeds LS3 1AB, United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)113 243 2800 • Direct Line +44 (0)113 386 81__ • Fax +44 (0)113 386 8178
Maney Publishing is the trading name of W.S.Maney & Son Ltd • Registration Number: 1922017 England VAT Number: GB 640 6260 62