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Organisers



Marianne Schleicher, PhD, Associate Professor in Jewish Studies, Department for the Study of Religion, Aarhus University, Denmark

As part of her research in the role of scripture in Judaism, Marianne has looked into cultural attempts at constructing subjects according to specific norms for gender and love, but also reflected on the premises for cultural tolerance of deviating genders and practices of love in face of embodied resistance to conform.



Dikmen Yakali Camoglu, PhD, Associate Professor of Communication Studies, Istanbul, Turkey

Dikmen co-organised and led the Global Gender and Love Conferences with Rob Fisher and Inter-Disciplinary.Net in Oxford for five years. In her research, Dikmen draws upon her background in Cultural Studies to explore how interconnections of gender and love are integrated in our gendered narrative identities.



Deirdre Byrne, PhD, Professor and Head of the Institute for Gender Studies, University of South Africa, South Africa

Deirdre’s interest in gender rests on her observation that gender is woven into all human relationships: with ourselves, with others and with the world around us. Deirdre has been interested in gender ever since she discovered radical feminist writing in her teens and this interest has not waned yet.



Kelly Gardiner, PhD, Lecturer in Creative and Professional Writing, La Trobe University, Australia.

Kelly’s research interests and her creative practice focus on female characters in literature, particularly in historical and biographical fiction, and in literature for children and young adults, and the ways in which gender is constructed on the page.



Wernmei Yong Ade, PhD, Assistant Professor and Deputy Head in the English Programme, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Wernmei’s research addresses ideological and ethical dimensions of love, and their representations in literature, philosophy and film. Her interest in love began as a postgraduate student researching the works of Georges Bataille. In recent years, Wernmei’s research on love has converged with her long-standing interest in women’s issues and feminism, owing much to the works of Luce Irigaray and Anna Jonasdottir. She is currently working on a monograph on the topic of love in the fiction of British writer Angela Carter.



Serena Petrella, PhD, Associate Professor in Sociology and Gender and Women's Studies as well as Chair in Sociology, Brandon University, Canada

Serena’s work focuses on the evolution of gender norms and the governance of love in intimate relationships, including the de-criminalisation of open relationships and the re-criminalisation of Mormon Polygamy in Canada. Serena investigates how the Law facilitates “responsible” intimate sexuality, instilling sexual self-governance in individuals, just as she concentrates on the way in which sexual desire is theorised to explain gender formation and identity, the development of gender scripts, and sexual orientation.