This interdisciplinary conference is a forum for teachers, researchers, advocates and practitioners pursuing alternative perspectives in early childhood education and early childhood studies. It is an opportunity for those interested in expanding the boundaries/borders of the field to participate in conversations about emerging issues, contradictions, and possibilities related to theory, research, policy, and praxis.

The theme of "troubling identities" recognizes that identity functions in the lives of communities, institutions, and individuals to create both possibilities and limits for social and cultural recognition, self-representation, action, relations and ways of being.

"Troubling identities" has many possible meanings. Troubling may be something we do, as in to trouble dominant discourse or it may be a description, as in things we find to be troubling. Issues addressed may include troubling notions of identities that are constructed as troubled in social and cultural discourse, troubling our own or others’ uses of identities, or positive possibilities conceptualized across multiple identities. We welcome proposals that address identity as it is deployed at the international level with issues such as immigration, language issues and globalization of capital and culture impacting on the lives of children, their families, and the early childhood community. We also welcome proposals that look at identity locally, across diversity, and intra-personally related to a range of on-going issues in the fields of early childhood education and early childhood studies.

We invite the submission of session proposals that challenge traditional assumptions about theory, research, and practice in early childhood. Early childhood is defined as children aged 0 – 8-years old. We are especially interested in sessions that:

1. Describe practices built on reconceptualizing principles, including work with children and adults in diverse settings;
2. Offer reconceptualist/critical advocacy perspectives on policy issues
3. Explore childhood in multiple contexts, including ways that globalization, increasing divisions between rich and poor, and diaspora are transforming the first years of life.
4. Demonstrate ways in which theoretical perspectives such as critical theory, feminism, poststructuralism, cultural studies, postcolonial theory, decolonizing methodologies, or queer theory expand the boundaries of our work.

A variety of session formats are welcomed and encouraged. Some possible formats include a panel organized around a theme; a workshop that is interactive with the audience, or a more informal work-in-progress discussion. Proposals may come from individuals or groups. Please be aware that individual proposals will be grouped into shared session slots.

To ensure a diverse number of speakers, your name must appear on one proposal only. Proposals must be no more than 3 pages in length and include the following:

• The names, affiliations, addresses, and e-mail addresses of all presenters;
• A brief title, capturing the primary theme, concern, or topic of the session;
• A brief rationale explicating the theoretical grounding of the session, and its relevance to the interests of the conference;
• Indication of provisions for participant involvement (overhead, Powerpoint, etc);
• A fifty-word abstract for inclusion in the conference program.

Submit proposals to gail-boldt@uiowa.edu

Proposals will be reviewed by an international program committee. You will be notified of the outcome no later than February 1, 2004.

Submit questions to Jeanette.Rhedding-Jones@lu.hio.no

Information on proposal submission will be available on the organization website http://www.lu.hio.no/rece/ and via the listserv to subscribe send an empty message to reconcep-subscribe@lists.pacificu.edu (For the time being - not working).

For more information on Oslo University College, please visit http://www.hio.no/.