Geschlechterfragen: Altern, Pflege und Migration

Grazer Kooperationspartnerin: Assoz. Prof.in Dr.in Ulla Kriebernegg, Zentrum für Interdisziplinäre Alterns- und Care-Forschung
Junior Fellow: Mag.^a Anna Kainradl

Incoming Senior Fellow: Prof.in Dr.in phil. Helen Kohlen, VPU Vinzenz Pallotti University 
Incoming Junior Fellows: Stefan Schweigler, BA MA

Zeitraum: August 2022 bis Oktober 2024
CALL for Papers: INTERSECTIONALITY MATTERS - AGE, CARE, POWER RELATIONS - Spezialausgabe in IJAL - International Journal of Ageing and Later Life

Inhalt:

Im Projekt „Gender Matters: Aging, Care, and Migration“ werden aktuelle Erkenntnisse der Geschlechter- und Intersektionalitätsforschung auf das Verständnis von Narrativen des Alter(n)s von Frauen (60+) mit Migrationshintergrund und -erfahrungen angewendet. In der Zusammenschau der Forschungsschwerpunkte Alter(n), Care und Migration tauchen Phänomene besonderer gesellschaftlicher Brisanz auf. Die auch für Migrantinnen wirksam werdenden Dynamiken der Unsichtbarmachung und Marginalisierung gewinnen im Alter(n) im Bereich von Gesundheits- und Pflegeleistungen an Komplexität. Die drei Forschungsschwerpunkte Alter(n), Care und Migration weisen vielfältige thematische Überschneidungen auf; eine gemeinsame Betrachtungsweise aus der jeweiligen (alternswissenschaftlichen, care-ethischen und migrationswissenschaftlichen) feministischen Tradition verspricht daher neue Erkenntnisse für das gemeinsame Forschungsfeld.

Ziel ist es, Alter(n), Care und Migration durch die kritische Linse der Geschlechter- und Intersektionalitätsforschung zu betrachten, aufeinander zu beziehen und dadurch im Bereich der feministischen Alterns- und Care-Forschung neue Impulse für eine multiperspektivische theoretische Konzeptionalisierung zu setzen.

Bisherige Projekt-Aktivitäten:

1. Workshops and Events
1.1. Workshops
1.1.1. Elisabeth List Fellowship-Workshop: “Annäherungen an den Care-Begriff. Potenziale
und Herausforderungen für die Gender und Aging Studies”
6-7 December 2022 RESOWI, University of Graz
This workshop was organized by CIRAC’s team of the Elisabeth List Fellowship-Programme “Gender Matters: Aging, Care, and Migration” (Anna-Christina Kainradl, Helen Kohlen, Ulla Kriebernegg, Stefan Schweigler) in cooperation with Arbeitsbereich Kultur- und Geschlechtergeschichte and the Elisabeth List Fellowship on “War Welfare and Gender Politics in the First World War. Regional and global dimensions” (Louise Earnshaw, Ingrid Sharp, Chantal Sullivan-Thomsett, Viktoria Wind, Heidrun Zettelbauer) and the Research Network Hetereogeneity and Cohesion (HuK) at the University of Graz. The evening of the first workshop day included a keynote by Helen Kohlen and a commentary talk by Merle Weßel. Day two focused on an interdisciplinary dialogue: Researchers presented their work in the fields of Gender and Aging Studies and participated in a highly productive conversation. Speakers and panelists: Louise Earnshaw, Andreas Heller, Anna-Christina Kainradl, Patrick Schuchter, Stefan Schweigler, Klaus Wegleitner, and Viktoria Wind.

1.1.2. Elisabeth List Fellowship-Workshop: “Intersectionality, Aging and Care”
11 –12 May 2023 RESOWI, University of Graz
The team of the Elisabeth List Fellowship project “Gender Matters: Aging, Care, and Migration” hosted a very well attended workshop on methodology with Sally Chivers (Trent University). The interdisciplinary and interactive workshop on intersectionality introduced the concept of identity as fluid, fueled by and through multiple, often discordant, configurations of gender, race/ethnicity, sexuality, class, age, and ability. Following a keynote lecture by Sally Chivers on the movie Cloudburst (2010) participants had the opportunity to discuss and redefine their own understanding of intersectionality in a creative setting.

1.1.3. Elisabeth List Fellowship-Workshop: “Re-thinking Narrative Methods of Intersectional Research: Gender, Migration, and Age(ing) in the Context of Care Practices”
14–15 June 2023 RESOWI, University of Graz
Anna-Christina Kainradl, Helen Kohlen, Ulla Kriebernegg, and Stefan Schweigler–the team of the Elisabeth List Fellowship Project “Gender Matters: Aging, Care, and Migration”–hosted a very productive, international, two-day workshop on intersectional methodologies, in cooperation with Patrick Schuchter. The Programme included six talks from early-career researchers, two evening keynotes and several practical workshop sessions on the method of Narrative Inquiry.
The first day of the workshop focused on the research projects of the speakers Stefanie Rieger (University of Graz), Florence Borggrefe (Zurich University of the Arts), Anna Nebowsky (University of Oldenburg), Mara Kaiser (University of Vallendar), Dženana Pupić and Brigitte Kukovetz (University of Graz) and Merle Weßel (University of Oldenburg). Their research is situated in the fields of age(ing), care, and migration studies and was presented from a methodological viewpoint. In the evening of day one, the keynotes by Mark Schweda (University of Oldenburg) and Vera Caine (University of Alberta) were open to public audiences.
Day two was dedicated to Narrative Inquiry as a practical research method, which was presented by Vera Caine, Mara Kaiser, and Ramona Hummel (both University of Vallendar). Especially when considering the possibility of cultural and language barriers–both of which are hard to overcome for researchers socialized in Western Europe–the methodological diversity and participatory modality of Narrative Inquiry provided opportunities for creative exchange and transfer of knowledge(s).

1.2. Other Events
1.2.1. “CareAgeCinema – Putting Aging and Care on Screen”
Film series at the Filmzentrum im Rechbauerkino (2022–2023)
Organized by Nejra-Nuna Čengić, Anna-Christina Kainradl, Ulla Kriebernegg, Derya Özkaya Öztürk, Stefan Schweigler and Eva-Maria Trinkaus
The series was organized by members of the CIRAC and members of the Centre for Southeast European Studies (CSEES) – in collaboration with the Age and Care Research Group Graz (ACRGG), the Elisabeth List Fellowship Project “Gender Matters: Aging, Care, and Migration,” and Radio Helsinki 92.6 - Freies Radio Graz. The event was co-funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101029279 CareWork.
This movie series presented multidisciplinary and intersectional approaches to age/ing and care/ing. Each movie screening was followed by an expert discussion that brought together critical voices from academia, care practice, activism, policy making, and the general public. The series aimed at creating an engaging environment that allows for thematizing, researching, and acting upon contemporary issues about age/ing and care/ing–topics that are highly relevant to a society characterized by diversity.
20 October 2022
The premiere of “CareAgeCinema – Putting Age and Care on Screen” with the film Pandora's Box (2008) was very well attended. Students, researchers, professionals, and others came to the premiere of “CareAgeCinema – Putting Age and Care on Screen” on 20 October 2022 at the Filmzentrum in the Rechbauerkino. The following discussion focused not only on scientific background information but also on the multi-layered interweaving of age(ing) and care. In short impulses, Ulla Kriebernegg, (CIRAC) as well as Bilgin Ayata and Derya Özkaya Öztürk (CSEES), opened up new perspectives on the film.
Chair: Anna-Christina Kainradl (CIRAC)

24 November 2022
On 24 November 2022, Robot & Frank (2012), the second film in the “CareAgeCinema – Putting Age and Care on Screen” film series, was shown at Rechbauerkino.
The cinema was full and a discussion, followed the film screening, highlighting essential aspects of the film from a scientific perspective. Stefan Schweigler (CIRAC) talked about the interface of “robot” and ethics of care. Gerhilde Schüttengruber (Institute of Nursing Science, Medical University of Graz and ACRGG) discussed the role of robots in care, and Eva-Maria Trinkaus (CIRAC and ACRGG) dealt with the images of old age conveyed by the film, and also with other aspects. Through the interesting discussion, new perspectives on the film were raised which allowed for a broader reflection.
Chair: Teresa Hartinger (CIRAC)

19 January 2023
Questions of care and aging are the main focus of the Finish film Ruthless Times: Songs of Care (2022), shown on 19 January 2023.
In order to socio-politically contextualize a few thematic aspects of this documentary from the viewpoint of Cultural and Care Studies, the event started with two introductory talks by Nejra-Nuna Čengić (CSEES) and Klaus Wegleitner (CIRAC). The talks reflected upon critical perspectives on nursing, care, exploitation, and precariousness in late-capitalist societies – topics explicitly depicted in the film. As Čengić and Wegleitner pointed out, Ruthless Times very accurately addresses the negative effects a neoliberal society has for both care-givers and the older people. They concluded with emphasizing those voices in the documentary who, despite their hardships, strongly advocate for a better and more caring society. After all, the film suggests, it is these voices and their Songs of Care that can inspire change.
Chair: Anna-Christina Kainradl (CIRAC)

16 March 2023
The exploitation of the affective desires for the “good life” and the intersections of gender, aging, migration and care work are the main focus of the Japanese film Plan 75 (2022), was shown on 16 March 2023. In order to contextualize a few thematic aspects of this dystopian film from the viewpoint of Cultural and Aging Studies, the screening was followed by an expert discussion with Ulla Kriebernegg (CIRAC) and Franz Winter (Department of Religious Studies). The discussion touched upon critical aspects of intergenerational relations, images of aging and cultural representations of geronticide in late-capitalist societies – topics explicitly depicted in the film.
Chair: Eva-Maria Trinkaus (CIRAC)

11 May 2023
Intersections of gender, sexuality, dis/ability, aging and care are the main focus of the US-American and Canadian film Cloudburst (2011), shown on 11 May 2023. In order to contextualize a few thematic aspects of this queer road movie from the viewpoint of Aging Studies and LGBTQIA+-activism, the screening was followed by an expert discussion with Sally Chivers (Trent University) and Joe Niedermayer (Chairman of Styria’s LGBTQIA+-association Rosalila PantherInnen). The discussion reflected upon questions of LGBTQIA+ aging–especially upon social, cultural and legal challenges of older LGBTQIA+ people. Furthermore, the expert discussion revealed, that queer notions of kinship like “chosen families” – as depicted in the film – could inform new forms of thinking intergenerational practices of cohabitation and care.
Chair: Stefan Schweigler (CIRAC)

15 June 2023
Intersections of 24-hour care giving, gender, age(ing) and class are the main focus of the Albanian film Daybreak (2017), presented on 15 June 2023. Just like the previous events the grand finale of the screening series, too, attracted a wide audience. In order to highlight and contextualize a few thematic aspects of this cinematic drama from various viewpoints, the screening was followed by four inputs by experts. It was a great pleasure for us to gain Nejra-Nuna Čengić (CSEES), Helen Kohlen, Vera Caine (University of Alberta) and Simona Durisowa (IG24 – Interessensgemeinschaft der 24-Stunden-Betreuer_innen in Österreich) for this event and to come together in a vital discussion on stage with these experts, as well as with our great audience.
Chairs: Derya Özkaya Öztürk (CSEES) and Anna-Christina Kainradl (CIRAC)
Figure 9: CareAgeCinema: Panel discussion on Daybreak

1.2.2. “Hilfslinien/Lines of Help”
Exhibition at University of Graz
In cooperation with Universitätsmuseen (Head of Universitätsmuseen: Klaus Reisinger) the exhibition “Hilfslinien/Lines of help” took place during CIRAC’s inaugural conference “Age and Care Graz 2023. Aging in a Caring Society? Theories in Conversation” from 20–22 September 2023. It focused on the work of legally contracted carers from mostly from South East Europe and traced the lines of their migratory journeys showing what help from the 24/7 carer entails. The exhibition gave insight into job responsibilities, shed light on working conditions and addresses problems of the home care system.
Curator and exhibition author: Christine Braunersreuther, coordination: David Kranzelbinder
Figure 10: Hilfslinien/Lines of Help in front of the University Library Graz


2. Presentations
2.1. Online Lecture at lecture series “Key Concepts in Media Cultural Studies”
15 December 2022 FU Berlin Stefan Schweigler gave a lecture on the keyword “Care” as part of the lecture series “Key Concepts in Media Cultural Studies”. In the first part, the lecture outlined an introduction to concepts of care and their relevance for the history of Media Studies. In the second part, some exemplary potentials of a politicized concept of care were presented on the basis of the US-American dramedy series Pose. In doing so, the talk showed that critical practices of care in HIV/AIDS narratives are not only represented in terms of content, but can also be recorded on the level of media dispositives.

2.2. Talk at the Online-Workshop “Moral Conflicts in Familial Dementia Care Involving Migrant Live-in Carers. Ethical and Social-psychological Perspectives”
14 February 2023
University of Oldenburg
In many countries, such as Germany and Israel, migrant live-in carers live and work in the home of the person with dementia on a 24-hour basis, carrying out care routines as well as running the household. Considering legal, social, and moral aspects, these arrangements are prone to difficulties. At the same time, there are important national specificities and differences. In order to explore these difficulties and their connectedness to law and culture, the interdisciplinary research project MoDeCare (funded by the Volkswagen Foundation) has been launched comparing insights from Germany and Israel. In its workshop, first preliminary findings of the project were be presented and discussed with researchers from the fields of nursing ethics, medical ethics, health services research, and social psychology. Anna-Christina Kainradl added the perspective of older migrants in the Austrian Healthcare System in her talk on “Autonomie und Gerechtigkeit bei älteren Migrant:innen.Perspektiven der Alternswissenschaften für eine intersektionale Analyse”.

2.3. Talk at the Workshop “Care in Context”
15 May 2023 University of Vienna During the workshop Stefan Schweigler represented concepts of the ongoing research of the CIRAC based research project. In his talk he depicted care-ethical strategies within media practices of LGBTQIA+-communities. The talk at the University of Vienna was part of the workshop “Care in Context,” hosted by the AG Media Studies and Political Theory of the German speaking Society for Media Studies (GfM).

2.4. Talk at the Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Medienwissenschaft (GfM)
28 September 2023 University of Bonn
Stefan Schweigler represented CIRAC at the annual conference of the German speaking Society of Media Studies (GfM). This year’s conference of the German speaking Society of Media Studies focused on the topic “dependencies”. Stefan Schweigler’s talk was part of the panel “Intersectional and Media Dependencies: Power Relations and Solidarities”, which he conceptualized together with Louise Haitz, Leonie Kapfer and Olivia Poppe from the University of Vienna. In his talk, Schweigler presented key concepts of his research on media theory and queer aging and care.

2.5. Talk at the Workshop “Gender and intersectionality in nursing and health care practice“
5 October 2023
University of Applied Sciences Frankfurt
During this one-day workshop questions of gender and care were discussed under the perspective of gendered practices of caring. Anna-Christina Kainradl added the perspective of older migrants and their narrated care relations in her talk “Care narratives of older migrants in the healthcare system: an ethical analysis of patterns and approaches to intersectionality”.

2.6. Talk at the Workshop: “Dimensions of In/Equalities. Workshop of the Cluster ‘In/Equalities in Societal Transformation Processes’”
17 November 2023
University of Graz
During this workshop an understanding of how the various disciplines involved in the Cluster’s activities research different dimensions of in/equalities. Anna-Christina Kainradl contributed to this discussion with her presentation “The Concept of Intersectionality as an Analytical Tool for the Self-Representation of Older Migrants”.

2.7. Poster presentation at Genderforschung@UniGraz
26 June 2023 Forum Stadtpark Graz
The annual networking event brought together researchers from Graz who approach the interdisciplinary field of gender studies from various academic disciplines. Anna-Christina Kainradl and Stefan Schweigler presented their research at the symposium “Genderforschung@Uni Graz” at Forum Stadtpark with poster presentations.

2.8. Elisabeth List Fellowship Panel at CIRAC’s Inaugural Conference
20-22 September 2023 RESOWI, University of Graz
Panel: “Intersectionality Matters: Aging, Care, and Migration”
Anna-Christina Kainradl, Helen Kohlen, Ulla Kriebernegg and Stefan Schweigler presented their research in a joint Elisabeth List Fellowship Panel (21 september 2023) together with Merle Weßel (University of Oldenburg) at CIRAC’s inaugural conference at Graz “Age and Care Graz 2023: Aging in a Caring Society? Theories in Conversation”. The conference brought together over 100 international speakers. Therefore, the Elisabeth List Fellowship project team members had the chance to successfully demonstrate their research to a broad network of experts. The vital panel discussion clearly showed, that the team managed to put their innovative work at the University of Graz and beyond on everyone’s radar.


3. Mass Media
Podcast: “Gender, Alter(n), Care und Migration”
5 April 2023
In: gender und mehr
With: Ulla Kriebernegg and Anna-Christina Kainradl
Podcast: “Alter(n) am Schirm. Wie wird Alter(n) im Film dargestellt?”
8 May 2023
In: AirCampus
With: Anna-Christina Kainradl and Stefan Schweigler


4. Dissertations
During the ELF-project both junior fellows finished their dissertation project:
Stefan Schweigler
13 November 2023, University of Vienna.
Defensio of Vom Homemaking zum Worldbuilding: Mediale Praktiken der Sorge in LGBTIQA+-Communities der 2010er-Jahre (From Homemaking to Worldbuilding. Media Practices of Care in LGBTIQA+ Communities of the 2010s)
Supervisor: Andrea Seier (University of Vienna, Freie University of Berlin)
2nd Reader: Julia Bee (University of Siegen)
3rd Reader: Nanna Heidenreich (University of Applied Arts Vienna)
Evaluation: Very good and passed with excellent success

Anna-Christina Kainradl
18 January 2024, University of Graz
Defensio of Intersektionale Diskriminierung von älteren Migrant*innen im österreichischen Gesundheitswesen – eine ethische Analyse von Gerechtigkeitsdimensionen (Intersectional Discrimination Against Older Migrants in the Austrian Healthcare System - an Ethical Analysis of Justice Dimensions)
Supervisor: Klaus Wegleitner (University of Graz)
2nd Reader: Walter Schaupp (University of Graz)
Evaluation: Very good and passed with excellent success


5. Publication
Special Issue: Intersectionality Matters – Age, Care, Power Relations
This special Issue in the International Journal of Ageing and Later Life (IJAL), edited by Anna-Christina Kainradl, Helen Kohlen, Eva-Maria Trinkaus and Stefan Schweigler, is an outcome of the Elisabeth List Fellowship-project which tries to gather both scholars and important perspectives emerged during the project. It aspires to enhance our understanding of the complexities surrounding aging in the context of a caring society. The aim of this issue is to create a space where theories, ideas, and perspectives related to aging and care are brought into conversation by incorporating intersectional and interdisciplinary points of view.
Timeline:
The deadline for abstract submissions is 31 May 2024
The special issue is scheduled for open-access publication in 2025.
Other publications
Published
Balestrini, Nassim Winnie; Julia Hoydis, Anna-Christina Kainradl and Ulla Kriebernegg: Introduction: Time, Relationality, and Fears of Endings: Encounters between Aging Studies and Ecocriticism. In: Balestrini, Nassim Winnie; Julia Hoydis, Anna-Christina Kainradl and Ulla Kriebernegg (Eds.): Aging Studies and Ecocriticism: Interdisciplinary Encounters. Lanham: Lexington 2023, 1–19.
Balestrini, Nassim; Hoydis, Julia; Kainradl Anna-Christina; Kriebernegg, Ulla (Eds.): Aging Studies and Ecocriticism: Interdisciplinary Encounters. Lanham: Lexington 2023.
Kainradl, Anna-Christina, and Kriebernegg, Ulla: Narratives of Old Age and Climate Change: Silver Tsunamis and Rising Tides, in: Sarah Falcus, Heike Hartung, Raquel Medina (Eds.): The Bloomsbury Handbook to Ageing in Contemporary Literature and Film. New York: Bloomsbury 2023, 269–279.
Kainradl, Anna-Christina: Der Intersektionalitätsbegriff als Analysekonzept für die Selbstdarstellungen älterer Migrantinnen, in: Fürholzer, Katharina; Pröll, Julia (Eds.): Fluchtlinien der Sprache(n). Migration und Sprachbewegung im Spiegel der Medical Humanities. Berlin: de Gruyter 2023, 105–125.
Kainradl, Anna-Christina; Kriebernegg, Ulla: Die alten Klimasünder:innen – der Klimawandeldiskurs als Generationenkonflikt. Graz: CPD policy blog 2022.
Schweigler, Stefan: Es knarrt in Lizzie Bordens Closet. Queere Genrereflexivität in Lizzie (2018), in: Robnik, Drehli Robnik; Schätz, Joachim (Eds.): Gewohnte Gewalt. Häusliche Brutalität und heimliche Bedrohung im Spannungskino, Wien: Sonderzahl 2022, 142–147.
Schweigler, Stefan; Ernst, Christina; Vogt, Georg (Eds.): Pride. Mediale Prozesse unter dem Regenbogen. Wien/Groß-Enzersdorf: Lumen-Verein für Lokalgeschichtsschreibung und


Forthcoming
Kainradl, Anna-Christina: Ältere Migrant:innen sichtbar machen: eine intersektionale Ethik-Analyse im Lichte alternswissenschaftlicher Diskurszusammenhänge, in: Keller, Valerie; Trinkaus, Eva-Maria (Eds.): Postkoloniale Perspektiven auf Altern. (forthcoming) 2024.
Kainradl, Anna-Christina: Perspectives on Vulnerability in the Narratives of Older Migrants, in: Gallistl-Kassing, Vera; Kolland, Franz; Kriebernegg, Ulla (Eds.): Vulnerability in Cultural Gerontology. Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie, (forthcoming) 2024.
Schweigler, Stefan (Eds.): The Caring Media. Essays zu medialen Praktiken der Sorge (=tfmlog 15/2022), tfmlog.univie.ac.at/caring-media/.
Schweigler, Stefan: Aging und Queering im postsozialistischen China. Papa Weifeng als digitaler und intergenerationaler Medienaktivismus des Globalen Südens, in: Keller, Valerie; Trinkaus, Eva-Maria (Eds.): Postkoloniale Perspektiven auf Altern. (forthcoming) 2024.
Schweigler, Stefan: Den Domopolitiken entkommen. Von Closets und Etuis zur ,kleinen Pforte‘ queerer Zukünftigkeit, in: Schulte, Christian; Haberpeuntner, Birgit; Konrad, Melanie (Eds.): Gesten des Ephemeren. Anschlüsse an Walter Benjamin, Berlin: Vorwerk 8 (forthcoming) 2024.
Schweigler, Stefan: Im Gefüge von Gender, Queerness und Dis/Ability. T11 Incomplete als filmische Verhandlung von Sorgebegriffen, in: Bee, Julia; Gradinari, Irina; Köppert, Katrin (Eds.): digital gender – de:mapping politics. Spekulieren mit 30 Objekten, (forthcoming) Berlin: Spector 2024.