Is resistance necessary? - Identity and gender struggles in the context of right-wing populism and Christian fundamentalism in Europe today
Cooperation partner in Graz: MMag. Dr. Rita Perintfalvi, Institute for Old Testament Biblical Studies
Junior Fellow: Raphaela Hemet, MA
Incoming Senior Fellow: PD Dr. Sonja Strube, Institute for Catholic Theology, University of Osnabrück
Incoming Junior Fellows: Cicek Sahbaz Wemmer, MA (University of Vienna), Miriam Metze, MA (University of Vienna)
Period: October 2019 to September 2020
Symposium: 14-16.10.2020
Content:
The current proliferation of right-wing populist attitudes and policies aimed at transforming human rights-based democracies into illiberal or ethnic-identitarian closed societies has been accompanied for several years by what has been termed "anti-genderism" (Hark/Villa), an activism against gender equality and anti-discrimination. Particularly in some countries in Eastern Central Europe, we have observed aggressive attacks on sexual minorities, emancipatory human rights movements and academic gender studies.
The project "Is resistance necessary? - Identity and Gender Struggles in the Horizon of Right-Wing Populism and Christian Fundamentalism in Europe Today" sees itself as a reaction to these tendencies by aiming to shed light on the background of anti-genderism by organizing an interdisciplinary and international symposium, to promote international and interdisciplinary networking between academics from Eastern and Central Europe as well as between academics and activists, and thus ultimately to identify and develop spaces of openness and starting points for transformation processes within the problem area.
The symposium:
In panel discussions, public lectures and five different panels, researchers in the field of gender studies from various disciplines such as political science, sociology, social psychology, political philosophy and feminist theology as well as activists and politicians will come together to discuss the central themes of the symposium. As the host city, Graz is particularly suitable for bringing together gender researchers from Germany, Austria and the neighboring countries of Eastern Central Europe (Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina) in an interdisciplinary manner. A resulting publication is also planned, which is due to appear in spring 2021.
Within the research project the following anthology was published:
Sonja A. Strube, Rita Perintfalvi, Raphaela Hemet, Miriam Metze & Cicek Sahbaz (Hg.) (2021): Anti-Genderismus in Europa. Allianzen von Rechtspopulismus und religiösem Fundamentalismus. Mobilisierung - Vernetzung - Transformation. Bielefeld: transcript.