Intimate Labors: An Interdisciplinary Conference

This conference showcased research on racialized gendered labors not usually thought about together to create an interdisciplinary dialogue among scholars from women’s studies, ethnic studies, history, and humanistic sociology. This interdisciplinary approach helped unpack the social, cultural, political, ideological, and representational definitions of work and worker and see how embodied identities based on gender, race, nation, and class shape the meaning of intimate labor. Participants sought to define intimate labor; interrogate its significance vis-à-vis market participation and global economic processes; evaluate relations of race, class, gender, sexuality, and citizenship; consider popular representations; and analyze the challenges and struggles in organizing workers. The event was organized by UCHRI’s Conferences & Seminars program grantee Eileen Boris, Women’s Studies, UC Santa Barbara.