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Special Presentation

Call for Speakers for Fall 2013: NYU-NEWW Gender and Transformation in Europe Workshop

Due July 15, 2013

The GENDER and TRANSFORMATION in EUROPE Workshop—a joint project from New York University and the Network of East-West Women–invites speakers to submit proposals for Friday afternoon talks for Fall 2013 at the NYU Center for European and Mediterranean Studies.

Over the last couple of years, new forces have gathered to undermine women’s and feminist organizing in Europe and Eurasia.  The Orthodox Church has launched an “anti-gender” campaign in Russia and Ukraine–with similar campaigns in Serbia and by the Roman Catholic Church in Croatia and Poland–misunderstanding gender and linking feminism to anti-natalist and anti-nationalist projects.  Repression and violence, such as the harsh sentences for Pussy Riot and violence at Gay Pride events, raise the stakes.   Implicit in austerity policies–cutting services that more often help women while keeping low the taxes that men predominantly pay–is a neomasculinism that once again pushes gender equality off to until “later.”

As is our usual practice, we are looking for speakers to discuss gender, sexuality, or women in Europe or Eurasia, especially talks that consider the impact of broader cultural, political, or economic transformations.  For this Fall, we are particularly (but not only) interested in speakers that consider women’s and feminist organizing in the context of these anti-feminist forces. We are curious about the forms of these forces and how the backlash may be shaping the missions and activities of women’s and feminist groups and their ability to organize and advocate.  Generally, we have focused on the postcommunist countries of East and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union, including the Baltic countries and Central Asia, but we are also interested in explorations of gender in Western Europe or comparisons with gender in other parts of the world.

The workshop is an informal and friendly group of about 20 feminist scholars, activists, and journalists who have been meeting for more than 15 years and are knowledgeable about the region. This is the perfect space to present recent field research or scholarly reflections on your activism in addition to theory-based scholarship. 

We offer a small honorarium; however, we regret that we cannot cover transportation expenses to New York City.

For more information–and details about how to propose a talk–see http://gendertransformationeurope.wordpress.com/.

MODERATORS:

Mara Lazda, Assistant Professor of History, Bronx Community College, CUNY

Janet Elise Johnson, Associate Professor, Political Science, Brooklyn College, CUNY

Visiting Fellow, Center for European and Mediterranean Studies, NYU

Sonia Jaffe Robbins, co-founder, Network of East-West Women

Nanette Funk, Professor Emerita, Philosophy, Brooklyn College, CUNY

Visiting Fellow, Center for European and Mediterranean Studies, NYU

 

SPONSORS:

Center for European and Mediterranean Studies, New York University
Network of East-West Women, http://www.neww.eu/