The Power of Feminist Teaching: Overcoming binary narratives

The presence of feminist academics has become even more important since the rise of authoritarianism and of legitimised and normalised misogynistic, homophobic, sexist, transphobic, and racist discourses, including within public institutions and academia. One particularly memorable instance was when the Hungarian government banned gender studies courses, claiming that they constitute a “dangerous ideology”.

But where does our understanding of feminism(s) come from? Does “feminism” refer merely to the liberal feminism shaped in the Global North and West? What role do collective experiences, rooted in different contexts around the world, play in feminist teaching? In particular, what can we learn from feminist movements in countries of the Global South and (South-)Eastern Europe? How do we overcome the influence of mainstream feminism to teach diverse schools of thought within feminist academia? What kind of language do we need to use for improved acceptance of gender studies, thus preventing misuse of our formulations by authoritarian regimes? In our fourth webinar we discuss these and other questions with experienced feminist academics and activists.

Panelists: 

• Agnieszka Graff, Feminist writer, activist and researcher, professor at the American Studies Center at the University of Warsaw
• Yaliwe Clarke, Immediate past director of the African Gender Institute, University of Cape Town

Moderator: Vandita Morarka is the founder and CEO of One Future Collective. Their work here develops feminist leadership capacities for social change while supplementing efforts through knowledge co-creation, re-imagining advocacy, and feminist service provision. They are a human rights lawyer, organizer, and researcher. Currently, they are pursuing an MA in Development Studies at the Institute of Development Studies as a Chevening Scholar.