Call for Resistance? – Conflicts of Identity and Sexes in the Context of Right-Wing Populism and Christian Fundamentalism in Today’s Europe

The current expansion of right-wing populist policies and ideological attitudes that aim at transforming modern democracies into illiberal, identitarian and closed societies has been accompanied by anti-gender-movements and campaigns against gender justice and anti-discrimination over the last few years. Especially in several countries of East-Central Europe, we are witnessing aggressive attacks on sexual minorities, emancipatory and human rights-oriented movements as well as academic gender studies.

The project "Call for Resistance? – Conflicts of Identity and Sexes in the Context of Right-Wing Populism and Christian Fundamentalism in Today’s Europe" reacts to said tendencies by organizing an symposium. Said symposium deals with the phenomenon of anti-genderism by illuminating its background, by consolidating international and interdisciplinary networks between scholars from East and Central Europe as well as between scholars and activists, and by ultimately identifying and harnessing perspectives for openings and new approaches to transformation processes.

Scholars from various fields such as political science, sociology, social psychology, political philosophy and feminist theology, as well as activists and politicians will come together in panel discussions, public lectures and five different panels in order to discuss the central subjects of the symposium. Graz is particularly suitable as a host city to bring together gender researchers from Germany, Austria and the neighboring countries of Eastern Central Europe (Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina) on an interdisciplinary basis. A resulting publication is also planned, which is to be published in spring 2021.