Call for Papers – Gosteli Talks 2026

"Connected Across Borders: Swiss Women’s Movements and their Transnational Entanglements"

Conference by the Gosteli Archive, History of women’s movements in Switzerland, in cooperation with the Swiss Social Archives 4–5 June 2026, University of Zurich

Feminist movements in Switzerland have never been purely national phenomena. From the outset, struggles for rights, education, and labour were influenced by and connected to transnational debates. Swiss activists took part in international conferences, founded organisations that operated across borders, and aligned themselves with feminist struggles in other regions. These processes involved not only the reception of transnational knowledge, but also the active contribution of original impulses to international discourses and the sustained exchange of experiences, ideas, and strategies.

We invite scholars – especially early-career researchers – as well as activists to explore in greater depth the entanglements, processes of translation, and tensions between Swiss women’s movements and transnational feminisms. We welcome contributions that examine both historical and contemporary aspects, highlighting the role of actors, networks, ideas, and places. We are interested in how Switzerland served both as a space of resonance and a point of departure for feminist transformations – and how feminist concerns were situated within global contexts. The aim is to make the transnational dimensions of feminist histories and presents in the Swiss context more visible and to reflect on them critically.

We welcome proposals from the fields of history, social and cultural studies, law, and related disciplines. Contributions from artistic or activist perspectives are also expressly encouraged.

Suggested Topics

• Networks, Circulations, and Translations
• Issues – Struggles – Biographies
• Solidarity, Critique, Intersectionality
• Sites of Transnational Feminism

Submission Guidelines

Please submit an abstract (max. 300 words) and a short biography (max. 150 words). Abstracts may be submitted in German, French, or English. Submission deadline: 31 January 2026. Please send proposals to: fabienne.amlinger gosteli-archiv ch