Black Lives Matter: Lessons from a Global Movement
( Zoom sessions:2 days-Virtual platform:6 days)
Thematic Approach
GIRES, the Global Institute for Research Education & Scholarship and the Greenwood African American Studies Center (GAASC) wish to explore the phenomenon of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.
The social media campaigns that transformed into one of the most important movements in the United States and sparkled racial justice protests across the globe. Black Lives Matter slogan became famous internationally and created a vast network of grass-roots organizations and a moral collective for activists and supporters social justice and equality.
The movement, different in organization and action than similar movements in the past, is obvious from the fact that it is not associated with its leaders; Black Lives Matter is connected with the names of the victims: Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Michael Brown,Trayvon Martin are only some of the people whose cases drawn attention to the well-rooted problem of racism in the United States. George Floyd’s murder, captured in video, is probably the case that helped the movement grow its reputation and power even more. Floyd “could not breathe” and it seems that his last words was the sparkle for protests in all over the world not only supporting the Black Lives Matter but also showcasing similar cases in numerous countries. From France to New Zealand and from the UK to Colombia people got inspired and protested against global “values” that seem to be powerful and relevant in the 21st century such as inequality, racism and discrimination.We seek to explore the roots of the Black Lives Matter movement, its transformation into a national and international phenomenon and its impact in the social, economic, cultural and political life of the US, the world and the people around the world.
GIRES, dedicated to interdisciplinarity, invites scholars from diverse fields including but not limited to philosophy, religion, theology, sociology, anthropology, history, literature, art, economics, geography, cultural and political studies along with representatives from think-tanks and organizations to contribute to the discussion and to debate these issues.
Proposed Topics
-Black Lives Matter: roots
-Role of Religion in the Movement
-Cultural Aspects and the Role of Arts
-US Presidencies and the Movement
-Human Rights
-Social Media and their role
-Arts, Architecture and Literature
-International Media and Public Opinion
-Organization and Structure: A Lesson for a Successful Movement?
-Gender Equality and Values
-Extremism and Social Reality
-Mass Media Coverage: Supporters & Opponents
-Nonviolence and BLM Philosophy & Values
-Police Brutality: Case Studies
-Local, State & Federal Justice: Reactions and Decisions
-Nationalism and Violence
-Blue Lives Matter
-The Civil Rights Movement and the Black Lives Matter Movement
-“I Can’t Breathe”: A Universal Slogan
-BLM and Public Space
-BLM in the World: Case Studies
-BLM in the UK, New Zealand, France etc
-BLM: Present and Future perspectives
Proposed Formats (Lingua franca: English)
-Individual papers (GIRES will included it in a panel)
-Panels (up to 4 presentations-chaired by one of the presenters or appointed by GIRES)
-Roundtable presentations (chaired by one of the presenters or appointed by GIRES)
-Poster presentations
-Student presentations (one paper presented by up to 3 young scholars)
-Keynote speech (depending on the time availability)
-Pre-recorder presentation (s) (Asynchronous Platform)
-Pre-recorder presentation (s) (Synchronous-live- Sessions: live participation of presenter (s) during the Q&A sessions)
Publication Opportunity
The Organizing Committee and GIRES Press will publish the most powerful and dynamic presentations of the conference and include them
in a collective volume in the form of short articles and/or long essays. For more information please contact us
Live Sessions & Recording
All speakers are offered up to 30 minutes to present their work. All speakers have the option to have their presentations recorded (during live sessions) in HD quality.
The recordings will be uploaded to GIRES media for unlimited access and dissemination.
Asynchronous Options
All participants have the option to have their presentations (video/audio/text) uploaded to our Virtual Platform. All registered participants will have access to the material for 5 days.
Our proposed topics & formats are not restrictive and we invite additional germane ideas
Due to the restrictions of Corona Crisis our event (for the time being) will take place VIRTUALLY
Date of Conference
GIRES Headquarters (GMT +1)
21-22 May 2022Deadline for proposals
10 May 2022
Acceptance notification
12 May 2022
Publication
Collective Volume
(GIRES PRESS)Registration fee
Presenters:80 Euros
Listeners:GratisAccreditation
Official Certificate issued by GIRES