Call for Book Chapters: "Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Women and Conflicts of Law"

We invite chapter submission for inclusion in an edited collection, currently under the consideration of Vernon Press, on Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Women and Conflicts of Law.

The volume discusses the consequences for women when law systems clashed –between independent nations, colonizers and colonized, majority and minority religions, or between secular and religious laws. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries saw industrial nations draw more and more of the globe into the orbit of their law systems, and these were also the centuries in which women contested their legal positions vigorously. Thus, this period offers an ideal forum for studying the effects of legal differences across the globe. Conflicts of law were inevitable whenever people crossed borders, converted to different religions, or married/divorced someone of a different class, religion, or locality. Women were often harmed by conflicts of law, but this was not inevitable. In other words, these clashes offered both a challenge and an opportunity.

This volume has no geographical limitations; we welcome proposals from historians of all parts of the world. The most important factor for selection will be the authors’ ability to highlight women’s experiences when law systems clashed. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Conflicts between criminal and civil law
• Conflicts over differing national laws of marriage, divorce, and child custody
• Women in imperial law systems
• The interaction between gender and other factors such as race, class, and sexual orientation in the law courts
• Conflict between secular and religious courts
• The consequences of the lack of legal recognition for lesbian and transgender families
• The regulation and criminalization of sex work across national borders
• Women as actors in the international legal community
• Feminist efforts to eliminate women’s disabilities caused by conflicts of law
• Disputes over nationality, dual nationality, and statelessness in peace and war

The proposed schedule is as follows:

January 15, 2023 – Proposals due; these should be of no more than 300 words, accompanied by a one-page C.V.

February 15, 2023 – Authors receive notice of editorial decision.

November 15, 2023 – Full manuscripts due to the editor. Manuscripts should be standard length for journal articles, approximately 7,500-8,500 words (including notes).

Those interested in contributing should direct all correspondence to the volume editor, Dr. Ginger Frost at: gsfrost@samford.edu