Registration Open
Registration is now open for Relationships and Sex Education: Philosophical and Historical Perspectives on 4-5 June 2021. This is an online, interdisciplinary conference, co-sponsored by PESGB and the History of Education Society UK, to mark the arrival of statutory Relationships and Sex Education in England. The conference fee is £20 (standard rate) or £10 (concessionary rate).
In September 2020, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) became a compulsory subject in English schools. The new Statutory Guidance on RSE specifies what pupils should know by the end of their schooling about families, friendships, online relationships, intimate and sexual relationships, and issues of consent, coercion, safety and abuse. Teaching on these topics is to be underpinned by ‘the deliberate cultivation of character traits and positive personal attributes’.
The Guidance also stipulates that all pupils must be taught LGBT content: ‘sexual orientation and gender identity should be explored at a timely point and in a clear, sensitive and respectful manner’. This requirement has proved to be controversial, with well-publicised protests outside a number of Birmingham primary schools in 2019 over their positive representations of same-sex relationships. The ongoing controversy has led to criticism of the Guidance for being too vague about the timing and content of LGBT teaching.
To mark the arrival of statutory RSE in England, the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain (PESGB) and the History of Education Society UK (HES UK) are hosting an international virtual conference on relationships and sex education. The conference will be a unique opportunity for philosophers and historians to reflect together on the pressing questions of policy and practice raised by this vital area of educational provision.
Keynote speakers
 |  |  |  |  |
| David Archard, author of Sex Education (Wiley, 2000) and Sexual Consent(Westview, 1998) | Lauren Bialystok and Lisa Andersen, co-authors of Touchy Subject: The History and Philosophy of Sex Education (University of Chicago Press, 2021) | Cris Mayo, author of Gay Straight Alliances and Associations Among Youth in Schools (Palgrave, 2017) | Jonathan Zimmerman, author of Too Hot to Handle: A Global History of Sex Education (Princeton, 2016) | |
Programme
The conference will take place online, in three virtual rooms. All session times are BST (British Summer Time). The detailed programme can be downloaded here.
| Friday 4 June | |
| 10.30-10.45 | Welcome and introductions – Michael Hand and Stephen Parker |
| 10.45-12.00 | Keynote lecture 1 Teaching good sex: consent, mutuality and morality – David Archard |
| 12.10-13.10 | Parallel session 1 A Teaching about and for sexual consent: including students with intellectual disabilities – Ashley Taylor, Kevin McDonough Educating for sexual morality – John Tillson B Not in our school: how social boundaries shape sex education policy – Meghanne Bartlett-Chase Sex education’s democracy problem – Caitlin Howlett |
| 14.10-15.25 | Invited symposia A Mutuality or consent: what standard of ethical sex should schools promote? – Sharon Lamb, Sam Gable, Michael Hand, Michael Reiss B What can we learn for the future from the past in RSE? – Hannah Elizabeth, Lutz Sauerteig, Glyn Davis |
| 15.35-16.35 | Parallel session 2 A A crisis of authority: parent participation in Ontario’s recent sex education controversies – Lauren Jervis Parents as ‘prime educators’? RSE in England – Naomi Rudoe B What can philosophy contribute to education to address pornography’s influence? – Aidan McGlynn Differentiation by religion? A critical analysis of faith-based carve-outs to RSE policy in England and beyond – Ruth Wareham C ‘All alone! Whether you like it or not!’: teaching solitude to overcome loneliness – Nicola Robertson From abuse to acceptance: RSE and ‘the minority body’ – Ursula Blythe |
| 16.45-18.00 | Keynote lecture 2 Assessing a touchy subject – Lauren Bialystok and Lisa Andersen |
| 19.30-21.00 | Public forum Making RSE inclusive – Lucy Emmerson, Kirsty Liddiard, Andrew Moffat, Cris Mayo, Jonathan Zimmerman, Michael Reiss |
| Saturday 5 June | |
| 10.30-11.30 | Parallel session 3 A Analysing religious perspectives on homosexuality and the implications for LGBT education – Danielle Diver Sexuality education and religion: from dialogue to conversation – Seán Henry, Joshua Heyes B Constructing a problem: challenging notions of girlhood within RSE – Abby Gilsenan Reframing the menstrual narrative in the new statutory guidance for RSE – Kara Livingston C ‘Neither first nor second’: Merleau-Ponty’s perspective on adolescence and its implications for RSE – Agnieszka Bates Her word against his: whose testimony has more credibility? Exploring sexual consent through the lens of epistemic injustice – Alison MacKenzie |
| 11.40-12.55 | Keynote lecture 3 Gender diversities and sex education: thinking together with science and decolonizing perspectives – Cris Mayo |
| 14:00-15.00 | Parallel session 4 A The RSE statutory guidelines and Catholic schools – Sean Whittle ‘The human person integrally and adequately considered’: sex education in US Catholic schools in the wake of Vatican II – Dennis Gunn B Public schools in Texas: trans exclusionary policies in K-12 education – Sherri Castillo Sex ed for social justice: using principles of hip-hop based education to rethink and re-brand sex education – Sin R. Guanci |
| 15:10-16.25 | Keynote lecture 4 Can sex education and diversity mix? A look backwards and forwards – Jonathan Zimmerman |
| 16.25-16.40 | Closing remarks – Michael Hand and Stephen Parker |