5^th International Critical Dietetics Conference

Manchester, England, UK

August 14^th – 16^th, 2015

Critical Dietetics programme now available here!

Doing Justice

shaping change through experience, science and creativity

Critical Dietetics originated as a movement in June 2009 and the enthusiasm that fuels its momentum confirms it as an idea whose time has come. Critical Dietetics necessarily embraces multiple disciplines, perspectives and voices and we actively welcome contributions from allies who share our aims. We have previously convened conferences in Canada, Australia and USA, and are delighted that our 5^th International Conference will take place at the Manchester Conference Centre in August 2015.

As ever, we expect this conference will spark critical conversations about novel ways of approaching the complex social, political, and cultural issues encountered in the broad field of dietetics and nutrition practice, research and education; paying attention to the ways the profession shapes, and is shaped by, norms, stories and silences.

The over-arching theme of this conference is Doing Justice: shaping change through experience, science and creativity. The aim is to promote new understandings for advancing health equity, food justice and nutritional wellbeing using diverse means of knowledge creation to enrich our practice. This includes experiential knowledge, knowledge from critical biomedical and social science perspectives, and creativity and arts-inspired knowledge – with room for mystery. In this we are doing justice to nutrition and dietetics, as insiders and outsiders, by showcasing innovation, activism and good practice, doing justice to diverse ways of knowing by naming the importance of art, personal narrative and the medical humanities, and ‘doing social justice’ by seeking to be the change that challenges inequity.

Possible presentation topics and questions include and are not limited to:

•  Doing justice to innovation in nutrition and dietetic education, practice, activism, research, practitioner development

• Student, practitioner and activists’ experiences of speaking and practicing from their own lives and/or disenfranchised positions, or feeling silenced

• Promoting diverse ways of knowing in dietetics and nutrition, including embodied knowledge
• What is the role of the medical humanities in nutrition and dietetics?

• How does our own embodiment impact our work?

• Can creativity be taught?

• Arts-based or arts-informed inquiry as a means for challenging knowledge hierarchies and supporting knowledge co-creation

• Expanding the dietetic performative – artist/activist/researcher-practitioner

• Creativity, leadership and equity

• What conceptual frameworks support a reorientation of health to embrace social justice?

• How can we simultaneously improve nutritional wellbeing and avoid healthism?

Presentation Options:

Abstracts are welcome from students, interns, activists, practitioners, and academics within and outside dietetics that speak primarily to the conference themes.

• Individual Papers (20 min and 10 min questions): Submit a 200-word abstract (may include one or more authors).
• Symposium of Three Papers: Thematic Session (90 min): Submit a thematic overview (up to 200 words) of the symposium and three abstracts (200 words each; one for each of the three papers). Please also identify the corresponding author.
• Poster Presentation: Submit a 200-word abstract including the presenting author’s name.
• Pecha Kucha (20 slides of images to be shown for exactly 20 seconds each): Submit a 200-word abstract. Learn more about pecha kucha at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pecha_Kucha

The deadline for oral presentations has passed but the deadline for poster abstracts has been extended to July 30th.  Please email your abstract to Lucy Aphramor lucy@well-founded.org.uk. Include the name of the author(s) and their current role or relevant interest.

Interested in supporting us? See these affordable sponsorship opportunities with great reach.