Join us Friday, September 13, 2pm to 3pm (New York Time) for our first meeting of the Fall 2024 semester, on Zoom, when we welcome

Vanja Petrović and Nađa Bobičić (University of Belgrade) on

The Never-ending 90s in Serbia: What Came before the Phantasm of Gender

Abstract: Many of the same conservative politicians, intellectuals and clergy members of the Serbian Orthodox Church have been dominating Serbia’s political landscape for the better part of the past 35 years and have played a central role in the formation of the local anti-gender movement. Here, we seek to contribute to the ongoing efforts of making sense of how and why anti-gender mobilization is making such steady headway in our society. Using archival documents, we map actors and showcase the ideological imaginary held by the conservative elite during the 1990s. We argue that this ideological imaginary serves as the foundation of anti-gender mobilizations today. As right-wing actors did not act in a vacuum, we also highlight the unwavering feminist and pacifist left-wing opposition.

Nađa Bobičić (PhD) is a literary critic, socialist feminist and queer ally who lives and works in the region of the former Yugoslavia. She has been the co-editor of several collective volumes on the topic of gender-based violence, including Non/violence and responsibility: between structure and culture(Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung Southeast Europe, 2020). Recently, she was a member of several research projects concerning unpaid housework, the position of women cultural workers in Serbia, and countering gender backlash in Serbia and Montenegro.   

Vanja Petrovic is an organizer, activist, and PhD candidate in social policy and social work at the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Political Science. Her research is interdisciplenary, spanning across gender studies, social policy, and ethnography. They are a founder of the Novi Sad Summer School for Abolition Feminism.  

Workshop format: We ask that participants read the paper in advance. At the workshop, the presenters will share a brief overview, followed by an open discussion. We invite participants to ask questions based on the paper and the discussion.

To register for the Zoom link and receive the paper use this link