Conference "The sixth meeting of the international seminar
"Socialism and Sexuality", October 8-9, 2004, Sofia,
Bulgaria

The sixth meeting in the series "Socialism and
Sexuality" will be held on October 8-9, 2004 hosted by
the Department of Philosophy, Sofia University,
Bulgaria. It will focus on the sexual ideologies and
programs of the new social movements in Western
Europe, the United States, and after 1989 in Central
and Eastern Europe.
Cultural changes in the 1970s and 1980s have led to a
proliferation of new social movements in Europe and
the United States concerning ecology, peace,
ethnicity, gender and sexual identity. Although they
are called "new social movements" some of them have
existed since the late 19th century. Extension of
participatory democracy has been one of the most
notable features of these new social movements. Most
of them have been closely allied with socialist
parties, and share some of the goals of the
traditional and the new left ideologies (with the
exception of the right wing ecology movement).
Sexuality and sexual reform occupied a significant
place in the new social movements of the West. The
demise of communism in 1989 triggered a new wave of
social movements in Central and Eastern Europe and the
former Soviet States. Unlike their predecessors in the
West, the pro-democracy movements of CEE countries are
essentially conservative and anti-socialist. One
important cluster of the new social movements in
Central and Eastern Europe that is clearly missing is
the movement for sexual reform. Despite promising
legal changes and expansion of the freedoms for the
individuals in all countries of the region, sexual
relationships are considered only in the case of
couple: adult, monogamous and heterosexual. Sexual
reform, gay and lesbian and the transgender movements
have usually been excluded from the public discourse
on social tolerance and development of social capital.

About the "Socialism and Sexuality" Seminar
Created in 1997 by Francis Ronsin (University of
Burgundy, Dijon) and other scholars associated with
the Institute of Contemporary History (Dijon), the
International Institute of Social History (Amsterdam),
and the Center for Millennial Studies (Boston), the
"Socialism and Sexuality seminar" has brought together
on a yearly basis a number of scholars who explored
the link between socialism and sexual politics. This
year the seminar aims to attract more scientists from
Central and Eastern Europe and the countries of the
former Soviet Union, and expand the existing
international network of scholars who research the
sexual programs of leftist ideologies. (Read more
about the last meeting of the series "Socialism and
Sexuality" at:
http://www.iisg.nl/~womhist/socandsex.html)

Registration
If you are interested to attend the conference, please
submit paper abstracts by May 15, 2004 to Monika
Pisankaneva (monika_68@hotmail.com). The organizers
are currently searching for sponsors to cover the
conference-related expenses of scholars who lack the
means to attend.