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Feminism, Activism, Writing!

Call for expressions of interest for a 2-­‐day workshop to be held at Copenhagen Business School on November 20-­‐21, 2017.

Feminism seems to be undergoing yet another public revival. Feminist groups

and activists are speaking out against persistent gender inequalities in terms of basic rights and freedoms, e.g. the right to equal pay or the freedom of bodily integrity. At the same time – and as always when women's rights find public points of articulation – anti-­‐feminist as well as postfeminist arguments are blooming. Despite massive evidence to the contrary, some argue that the feminist project is no longer relevant because it has succeeded. Others question its very foundations. The contours of social conflict, then, are looming large, but cracks are also appearing within feminist circles: what is the struggle about? Who's rights to what freedoms are 'we' fighting for? May twerking, for instance, be conceived as a feminist act? Or does, perhaps, embody the very power dynamics feminism sets out to dissolve? 

In this context of increased internal and external attention with the concomitant

foundational debates within activist environments as well as the fierce challenges from outsider positions, self-­‐identified feminist scholars face the twin task of strengthening feminism conceptually and fortifying it in practice. That is, we must, today, promote feminist scholarship AND activism as inherently interrelated activities. Asking, how do we persuasively raise awareness about feminist agendas? But also, whose voices are heard in the current debate and who do/can they speak for? That is, if we claim to speak for all women, who suffers? And, conversely, when one recognizes the particularities of one's articulatory position, who listens? How can we as academics promote a feminist activist agenda in a way that tackles uncomfortable questions of representation without losing political clout? We need to continue addressing the socially awkward issues concerning the persistence of gender inequality while becoming better at addressing the conceptually problematic issue of what it might mean to speak for or as 'a woman'. 

With this workshop we seek to bring together issues of (feminist) activism and

(scholarly) writing in order to discuss the future of feminism in academia: How can we develop a viable research agenda for social change and what are the means of communicating it – to disciplinary communities, activist networks and society at large? 

Hoping to better address these issues, we abandon the traditional workshop format of paper presentations and instead invite participation in four thematic convened discussions (1/2 a day each):

•              (Post)feminist Discourses

•              Alternative Feminist Organizing 

•              Affective Activism 

•              Powerful Writing 

The conveners will serve as facilitators of the discussion, meaning they will not promote their own academic stands in the conventional way, but rather invite open dialogue and discussion based on short presentations of what they perceive to be a main current challenge to our field. Prior to the workshop, each group of conveners will distribute 4-­‐5 key texts upon which their presentations of challenges and corresponding questions for plenary discussion will be based.

The workshop will span two days (Nov 20-­‐21) and include 2 lunches, coffee and dinner on the first evening (Monday Nov 20).

The workshop seeks to put feminist and activist ideals into practice by being free of charge. Moreover, 4-­‐5 PhD/junior grants to cover flights/accommodation of a maximum 650 euro per person are offered.

Further, we do not ask prospective participants to submit a paper abstracts, but instead to provide a motivational letter stating their interest in and ambitions for feminist activist scholarship. If applying for the grant, be sure to mention and motivate this in the letter as well.

Please send the motivational letter to workshop organizers Sine Nørholm Just (sinenjust@ruc.dk), Sara Louise Muhr (slm.ioa@cbs.dk) and Annette Risberg (ari.msc@cbs.dk) by October 1st. Decision letters will be send out no later than October 15th.

Venlig hilsen / Best regards,