Notizie: Gender Campus

16 maggio 2025 Laufbahnberatung für Frauen ab 40 - Online-WorkshopsCultura e società, Scienze sociali, Scienze umane, Scienze della salute, MINT, Economia e Giurisprudenza

16 maggio 2025 Expertinnen-Workshops "Fit for Media"Studi di Genere, Scienze sociali, Economia e Giurisprudenza, MINT, Scienze della salute, Scienze umane

16 maggio 2025 Schweizweite Befragung zum Thema Wechseljahre am ArbeitsplatzStudi di Genere, Scienze della salute, Economia e Giurisprudenza, MINT, Scienze umane, Scienze sociali

16 maggio 2025 Overcoming (in)visible Barriers: Gender, Work and DiscriminationStudi di Genere, Scienze sociali, Scienze umane Background The persistence of gender discrimination in today's workplace remains an important area of concern for sociologists. A growing body of scholarship indicates a shift from overt to subtler, more ambiguous forms of discrimination that permeate modern work environments. Recent social media campaigns like #MeToo have amplified how these platforms enable collective action against workplace discrimination and inequality. In response, there has been a visible rise in corporate diversity policies, including quota systems, governance frameworks, and more transparent reporting practices, providing pathways to mitigate workplace bias. However, subtle discrimination remains prevalent as organizational structures often fail to address it comprehensively. These practices contribute to barriers like the glass ceiling, concrete ceiling, and maternal wall, impeding the career progression of women and mothers. The goal of this Research Topic is to investigate interconnected aspects of discrimination. Firstly, we are interested in the persistence of organizational discrimination in contemporary work settings, with a dual focus on its subtle and overt manifestations. While discriminatory practices in workplaces have become less visible and more ambiguous, these, alongside continuing blatant forms of discrimination, critically impact the health and potential career outcomes of those affected. Secondly, we aim to broaden the scholarly understanding of how forms of subtle discrimination manifest within organizational settings. Even if these subtly discriminatory events and interactions differ from more overt forms in terms of shape, intent, visibility, frequency and (dis)empowerment, these still tend to take place in similar contexts, including biased performance evaluations, occupational segregation and a perceived "lack of fit" for certain positions. Finally, we welcome investigations into the role of contemporary organizational structures. This includes (but is not limited to) corporate diversity policies, and their transformative impact on a range of discriminatory practices, as well as possibly actionable insights into achievable means to foster equitable organizational practices. We encourage critical feminist approaches that take a transdisciplinary perspective on the topic. We welcome empirical contributions that employ qualitative or quantitative methodologies, as well as papers that are theoretical in nature (theoretical work). Issues that we suggest papers address can include but are not restricted to the following topics: Everyday experiences of subtle and overt discrimination at work Effects of subtle and overt discrimination on individuals’ work experience Manifestations of forms of subtle discrimination Subtle discrimination at work and motherhood Implications of subtle discrimination for women’s careers Social media discourses and workplace discrimination Subtle discrimination and health Actionable changes in organizations advancing egalitarian practices

15 maggio 2025 Vernissage mit Apéro zur Onlineschaltung der Fraue-Zitig FRAZStudi di Genere, Scienze sociali, Scienze umane

08 maggio 2025 Neue Podcast-Folge «GeschlechterDifferenzen» : Dr. phil. Philipp Hofstetter, GeschichteStudi di Genere, Scienze umane, Scienze sociali

08 maggio 2025 PhD-Stelle Swiss LGBTIQ+ Panel, Universität ZürichScienze sociali, Scienze della salute Job Advertisement: PhD Position for the Swiss LGBTIQ+ Panel About the Position: The Department of Psychology at the University of Zurich invites applications for a PhD position in Social Psychology, supervised by Dr. Tabea Hässler. The successful candidate will engage in research utilizing the comprehensive data set of the Swiss LGBTIQ+ Panel, a longitudinal project led by Dr. Tabea Hässler and Dr. Léïla Eisner that examines the experiences of LGBTIQ+ people in Switzerland This position offers an excellent opportunity for motivated early-career researchers interested in exploring issues related to the LGBTIQ+ community. The PhD candidate will become part of an active research team led by Dr. Tabea Hässler and Dr. Léïla Eisner engaged in innovative projects alongside both Swiss and international scholars. The PhD project aims to produce three peer-reviewed papers: one examining palliative and end-of-life care needs among LGBTIQ+ people in collaboration with researchers from CHUV and HEIG-VD; a second investigating health disparities within the LGBTIQ+ population, and a third using longitudinal data. Key Responsibilities: Conduct independent research within the scope of the Swiss LGBTIQ+ Panel. Contribute to the research activities (such as setting up and pretesting our annual surveys, data preparation) and outreach efforts (including a descriptive report and social media posts) for the Swiss LGBTIQ+ Panel. Prepare and submit research publications and conference presentations. Contribute to the academic and wider community through seminars and workshops. Assist with student supervision. Qualifications: Master’s degree or equivalent in (Social) Psychology or a related field Strong interest in social psychology research and LGBTIQ+ research Experience with quantitative research methods and statistical analysis (e.g., R) Knowledge of qualitative research methods are a plus Very good written and spoken English; fluent in German, French, or Italian (ideally as your primary working language). Ability to work independently and as part of a team Good written and verbal communication skills Why Join Us? Impactful Experience: Contribute to meaningful research and outreach activities that supports LGBTIQ+ rights and well-being in Switzerland and beyond. Supportive Environment: Work in a collaborative and inclusive team that values diverse perspectives. International Experience: We collaborate with established scholars from around the world and attend international conferences. How to Apply: If you are enthusiastic about research and LGBTIQ+ issues, as well as bridging science and the wider public, and meet the qualifications listed, we would love to hear from you! Please send your CV, a cover letter, any relevant work samples (e.g., master’s theses, scientific publication), and the names as well as contact details of two to three referees as one PDF-file to tabea.haessler@uzh.ch and leila.eisner2@uzh.ch by 31.05.2025. If you have any questions about the position, you can contact Dr. Tabea Hässler and Dr. Léïla Eisner.

02 maggio 2025 Publikation: "Gegen die blendende Evidenz der Gegenwart" von Francesca FalkStudi di Genere, Scienze umane

02 maggio 2025 La Confederazione lancia un bando di concorso per l’istituzione di una rete nazionale sullCultura e società, Scienze umane

01 maggio 2025 Publication - K. Adomako: "Ghana’s 2024 elections of politicians on LGBT* rights"Studi di Genere, Scienze sociali, Scienze umane

01 maggio 2025 Publikation: "Unerhört - Die ersten Politikerinnen im Bundeshaus" von Fabienne AmlingerCultura e società, Studi di Genere, Scienze sociali, Scienze umane

17 aprile 2025 Publication - S. Boulila: "Beyond homonormativity versus anti-normativity"Studi di Genere, Scienze sociali

17 aprile 2025 Challenging Patriarchy, Facing Backlash: Transnational Health Feminism and AntifeministStudi di Genere, Scienze sociali, Scienze umane Challenging Patriarchy, Facing Backlash: Transnational Health Feminism and Antifeminist (Re)Actions, 1970s through 2000s When women across Europe and the United States started to question male dominated health care and patriarchal power – both in the family and in the realm of politics – their feminist activism soon developed into a transnational movement. The health books written ‘by women for women’, the practice of self-examination and the concept of women’s health centers stimulated demands for better and women-centered health care also in other parts of the world, namely the socialist countries and the Near and Far East. However, what started as a powerful critique of antifeminist and patriarchal conditions in healthcare in Western democracies soon fueled further antifeminist reasoning and blaming of activist women as either “communist agents” or “reckless man-hating” feminists in these same countries. Whereas we have first accounts of how antifeminist campaigns sought to undermine women’s health feminism and of how activists themselves worked to counter such attacks in Western democracies, we need more information on how women in Eastern Europe and the NFE dealt with patriarchal health care systems and health knowledge on the one hand side and antifeminist attacks on women’s (health) movements on the other. This is where our international conference sets in. We ask: How did women in Western Europe and the US, but also Eastern Europe and the Near and Far East react to patriarchal structures and predominantly male-centered healthcare and health knowledge? What alternative knowledge techniques, body practices and organizational structures did they built? How important were international networks and which persons created them? How did medical authorities but also political bodies or the churches and religious movements react to women’s quest for health knowledge and adequate health care? Which topics (contraception, abortion, fertility treatments, trans-gender health) did provoke the most violent antifeminist reactions? How did the global success of right-wing populism and conservative religious movements stimulate antifeminists actions and reasoning in the field of women’s health throughout the different countries? Which counterstrategies did feminist activists invent and how important were transnational women’s networks? We are interested in papers that deal with or discuss one or more of the following topics: Antifeminism in theory and practice Feminist health knowledge and how it changed Tools and methods of healthcare developed and propagated by women Self-help and feminist health clinics Health feminist movements and individual (women) actors Health feminism across the Iron Curtain and/or across national boundaries (Anti)feminism and religious movements We invite presentations of original research from different disciplines such as history, political sciences, sociology, anthropology, religious studies, history of medicine and medical ethics. Researchers at all academic stages are encouraged to apply. Network members of COST 23149 will be reimbursed due to annotated rules. Non-network members are encouraged to apply for membership via e-cost@eu in order to apply for reimbursement. We kindly ask for abstracts (500 words max) and a short CV of your intended contribution by May 15, 2025 to neueste.geschichte@uni-bayreuth.de. Successful applicants will be notified by the end of May 2025.

17 aprile 2025 Féministes, queer et mainstream : politiques des succès populaires contemporainsStudi di Genere, Scienze sociali, Scienze umane Féministes, queer et mainstream : politiques des succès populaires contemporains Université de Bourgogne (Dijon) - 20 et 21 novembre 2025 En 1997, l’autrice expérimentale punk féministe américaine Kathy Acker interroge le groupe des Spice Girls pour le magazine Vogue peu de temps avant leur première apparition à la télévision américaine sur Saturday Night Life. Valérie Rauzier dans sa thèse sur Kathy Acker et Diamada Galàs écrit dans une note de bas de page : Si Acker reconnaît les stéréotypes nourris par le groupe, elle n’en est pas moins charmée de trouver de jeunes femmes lucides et téméraires, en révolte contre le mépris des classes privilégiées : « The Spices, though they deny it, are babes - the blonde, the redhead, the dark sultry fashion model - and they’re more. They both are and represent a voice that has too long been repressed. The voices, not really the voice, of young women and, just as important, of women not from the educated classes ». Acker offre ainsi une analyse politique du Girl Power et montre que malgré une certaine récupération commerciale, leurs voix ne peuvent être ignorées : ces jeunes femmes lancent un réel défi à un mouvement d’émancipation féministe souvent encore trop ancré dans la différence des classes. (RAUZIER 2016 : 129). Le geste de Kathy Acker est original au regard d'une certaine méfiance de la critique universitaire quand il s’agit d'interpréter en termes politiques des œuvres populaires, ces dernières étant notamment produites depuis des centres (économiques, sociaux, symboliques) dont elles reproduisent les normes et valeurs – blanches, hétérocispatriarcales, capitalistes. Si on pense récemment à la réception partagée du film Barbie (SELLIER 2023), ou aux nombreux questionnements et prises de positions dans les milieux drag, on voit bien qu’il existe une tension d’ordre politique quand des pratiques ou des idées féministes et queer, originellement marginales, se retrouvent dans des productions gros budget distribuées à grande échelle, alimentant alors l’industrie capitaliste. Notre premier réflexe de pensée consiste à opposer la sphère de production mainstream, c’est-à-dire la grande distribution, et la potentialité politique d’une œuvre. Nous optons alors pour une lecture généalogique (JAUDON, 2024 : 45-60) visant à prendre en compte les conditions de production d’une œuvre pour en faire son analyse, lui donner un sens et lui accorder une portée politique. Une œuvre produite depuis les marges n’aurait donc pas la même valeur politique qu’une œuvre produite depuis des centres. De la standardisation des normes de beauté hétéropatriarcales en passant par le rejet de l’américanisation des arts, très présent dans la culture française (SELLIER 2024), ainsi que par la critique plus générale de la massification de pratiques artistiques originellement plus confidentielles parce que marginales, tout semblerait nous pousser à ne pas analyser ces œuvres pour leurs prétentions politiques. Néanmoins, faire de cette lecture un cadre d’analyse unique des phénomènes culturels populaires associés au féminisme et aux luttes queer nous semble reproduire des réflexes de pensée consolidant des oppositions que la sociologie des subcultures féministes comme queer tendent pourtant à remettre en cause (LABRY 2011 ; BARRIÈRE et MARULL 2022). Nombreux sont les éléments qui pourraient compléter le prisme de lecture généalogique d’une œuvre et venir ainsi enrichir son analyse : les discours et positions mouvantes des auteur·ices, les esthétiques et contenus même des œuvres, l’étude des différents contextes de réception que les pratiques actives de réception et de réinvestissement des cultures populaires au sein de ces arts, autant d’éléments pouvant faire l’objet d’analyses. Plutôt que de réfléchir à qualifier une œuvre de politique ou non, nous pouvons en outre nous poser la question de l’image qui est donnée du féminisme et des luttes queer dans les œuvres populaires : quelles images et critiques féministes/du féminisme peut-on lire dans une grosse production telle que Barbie (2023), reproduisant de façon visible des logiques commerciales, capitalistes et une vision du monde très cishétéronormative ? Qu’en est-il d’autres productions hollywoodiennes à l’exemple de Thelma and Louise (1991), pourtant aujourd’hui film culte des études féministes ? Plus qu’en simple opposition, la culture populaire semble aussi pouvoir se situer en articulation avec les milieux et les idées féministes et queer. Organisé à l’Université de Bourgogne (Dijon), ce colloque est donc l’occasion d’ouvrir le questionnement sur les échanges et intersections des cultures tant féministes que queer et du mainstream, et ce dans la perspective de croiser études de genre et études culturelles. Dans cette perspective, nous indiquons les pistes suivantes (non exhaustives) pour orienter les recherches des futur·es participant·es : Axe 1 : Trajectoires, fluidité et inter-actions des marges aux centres (et vice versa) Les femmes et minorités de genre ont jusqu’à peu été exclu·es des institutions de production et de reconnaissance légitimes, ou ont été cantonné·es à certains rôles secondaires. Dans le champ de la bande dessinée, par exemple, les « maîtres du neuvième art » ont longtemps occulté l’apport essentiel des créatrices (RENNÉ HERTIMAN et DE SINGLY 2024). Il en va de même dans d’autres champs artistiques tels que le cinéma ou la littérature où il est encore difficile pour des créateur·ices marginalisé·es du fait de leurs idées ou identités, d’accéder à la notoriété en dehors de certains standards (de genre, de race, de classe). Le colloque invite justement à réfléchir à des cas où des personnes, à l’engagement queer ou féministe revendiqué, « percent », et dont les œuvres rencontrent le succès. Quelles sont leurs postures énonciatives ? Quelle(s) posture(s) auctoriale(s) sont adoptées ? De façon générale, que se passe-t-il pour les acteur·ices des milieux artistiques féministes et queer avec la massification de leur art, autrement dit le passage à la culture populaire ? Est-il possible d’occuper une place de l'entre-deux ? Comment les acteur·ices féministes se positionnent-iels au sein de leur champ, notamment quand celleux-ci bénéficient d’un large public et d’une forte audience ? Nous aimerions en outre réfléchir à la manière dont des personnalités artistiques publiques, à l’engagement revendiqué, agissent au sein même de leur champ pour en critiquer les logiques, voire pour en modifier le fonctionnement. Peut-on observer différentes logiques propres aux champs artistiques concernés ? Axe 2 : La ou les réception(s) accordé(es) aux oeuvres mainstream féministes et queer Du rejet et de la distance critique, en passant par la célébration, la réappropriation ou la mise en débat, de multiples postures à l’égard de la culture populaire queer et féministe apparaissent. On pourra ainsi se demander comment réagissent les différents publics. Quelles sont les positions des publics concerné·es et militant·es ? Qu’en est-il aussi de la réception populaire de ces œuvres populaires et de celle de la critique et des universitaires ? Nous invitons par ailleurs à réfléchir aux procédés de citation et de référencement des « icônes » féministes et queer au sein même de la production artistique contemporaine. On pourrait dans cette perspective relever une volonté commune de faire matrimoine autour d’œuvres ou de figures populaires ayant marqué l’histoire collective et individuelle des femmes et minorités de genre. Les grandes personnalités de l’histoire artistique des femmes et minorités de genre, ce qu’on appelle la « HERstory » dans les milieux queer, nourrissent les imaginaires et les récits, de multiples façons (parodies, relectures au miroir d’une conscience féministe…). La construction d’un matrimoine semble en outre se passer des frontières artistiques, comme peut en témoigner la fluidité des interactions entre différents médias. Le colloque souhaite à ce titre réunir des réflexions sur les déplacements d’une pratique artistique à une autre. Des artistes créent des effets de filiation et de sororité (sisterhood) au sein même des œuvres, sans se soucier des frontières établies entre les arts (citation, hommage à des artistes et des œuvres féministes au sein d’autres médias…). Notons enfin qu’au-delà de la posture critique, les acteur·ices des milieux culturels queer et féministes, s’emploient aussi parfois à se réapproprier les œuvres de la culture populaire, pour les détourner dans un esprit comique ou politique. Les œuvres populaires offrent des images partagées qui circulent et font l’objet de détournements, parfois grotesques, et de ce fait laissent alors la possibilité au rire et à la joie d’émerger comme ciment de ces communautés (BERGAM et MONTGOMERY 2021). Axe 3 : Questions d’esthétique Réfléchir aux succès populaires féministes et queer invite également à se poser des questions d’ordre formel (esthétiques, narratives, génériques) relatives à ce que l’œuvre propose en elle-même. Ces dernières années les théories réfléchissant à l’existence d’un style proprement queer ou féministe se sont multipliées : on pense évidemment aux concepts de female gaze, feminist gaze, queer gaze, utilisés autant dans l’analyse de l’image que de l’écrit (BREY 2020 ; FAYOLLE 2023 ; DESSY et FAYOLLE 2024). Quand on croise la perspective esthétique féministe ou queer et la culture populaire, survient alors une série de questions : quels genres, récits, personnages sont privilégiés dans les grands succès populaires ? Peut-on noter des tendances ? Nous pouvons en somme réfléchir à ce que le choix de formes accessibles et populaires engage comme politique dans le monde des arts et de la théorie queer et féministe. Au sein et hors du champ académique, de nombreux·euses auteur·rices cherchent à vulgariser et à donner accès à ces théories. Il importe d’étudier l’implication de certain·es personnalités dans la vulgarisation de la théorie féministe et queer pour le grand public, ainsi que ses apports. Il pourrait alors s’agir d’étudier différentes stratégies discursives : choix de la simplification et de l’analyse globale (Mona Chollet), émergence de postures d'entre-deux révélant l’existence de frontières poreuses entre le militant, le scientifique, l’intime (Liv Strömquist, Virginie Despentes…).

10 aprile 2025 Praktikant*in, 80%, humanrights.ch (Bern)Studi di Genere, Scienze sociali, Scienze umane Praktikum Beratungsnetz für Rassismusopfer & Kommunikation Der Verein «humanrights.ch - Menschenrechte Schweiz» sucht (80%) ab August 2025 eine*n Praktikant*in für die Dauer von 6 Monaten mit der Möglichkeit auf Verlängerung. Bewerbungsfrist ist der 30. April 2025. Seit 2004 stellt humanrights.ch fundiert recherchierte Artikel zur ganzen Bandbreite der Menschenrechte und der Umsetzung der Menschenrechtspolitik in der Schweiz unentgeltlich auf der Website zur Verfügung und verbreitet diese über Newsletter sowie Social Media. Die Website umfasst bald 8'000 Seiten, dies u.a. dank dem unermüdlichen Einsatz von vielen Freiwilligen und unseren Praktikant*innen. Zum Praktikum Wir suchen eine*n Praktikant*in (80%) ab AUGUST 2025 für die Dauer von 6 Monaten mit der Möglichkeit auf Verlängerung. Anforderungen Bachelor, mit Präferenz in Geistes-, Sozial- oder Rechtswissenschaften Gute Kenntnisse im Bereich Antirassismus und Diskriminierungsschutz Kenntnisse des internationalen Menschenrechtsschutzes und der schweizerischen (Menschenrechts-) Politik Stilsicheres Deutsch, sehr gute Französischkenntnisse Selbstständige, strukturierte und digitalaffine Arbeitsweise Erfahrung in Kommunikation und Redaktion von Vorteil Aufgaben Zum Aufgabenbereich des/der Praktikant*in gehören einerseits die Betreuung der Weiterbildungsplattform Antirassismus und des Fall-Dokumentationsystems DoSyRa, die Mitarbeit beim jährlichen Rassismusbericht und beim Vernetzungstreffen mit Mitgliedstellen. Andererseits unterstützt die/der Praktikant*in die Redaktion und Kommunikation mit folgenden Tätigkeiten: Verfassen und technisches Umsetzen von Newslettern und Newsartikeln zu Menschenrechtsthemen, besonders Rassismus, Betreuung der Website und Social-Media-Kanäle sowie Routine-Arbeiten. Bewerbung Die Bewerbung mit den üblichen Unterlagen richten Sie bis am 30. April 2025 an marianne.aeberhard@humanrights.ch. Bewerbungen von Menschen mit Rassismuserfahrung und/oder Bewerber*innen mit eigenen oder familiären Migrationserfahrung sind besonders erwünscht. Die Gesprächstermine sind am 12. Mai 2025 nachmittags und am 15. Mai 2025 vormittags. Entschädigung mit CHF 1‘500.- pro Monat (brutto).

10 aprile 2025 Forschungsbericht: "Menstruationsbeschwerden am Arbeitsplatz"Studi di Genere, Scienze sociali, Scienze umane

10 aprile 2025 MOOC UNIGE: «Se former à l’égalité»Uguaglianza, Studi di Genere, Scienze umane, Scienze sociali

28 marzo 2025 Neue Podcast-Folge «GeschlechterDifferenzen» : Silvia Schroer, TheologieStudi di Genere, Scienze umane, Scienze sociali

28 marzo 2025 Evaluating Gender Bias in German Machine Translation Evaluating Gender Bias in German Machine Translation (6 LP) - Let’s explore the Future of Fair AI together! Machine translation systems (MT) have become an indispensable part of our daily lives – they translate texts, subtitles, and even spoken language in real time. While they help us overcome language barriers, critical questions arise: Do these systems perpetuate harmful stereotypes? Do they reinforce biases instead of reducing them? And consequently: How can we even measure this? In this interdisciplinary research project, we are tackling these very questions! What's it about? Our goal is to develop an improved Gender Bias Evaluation Testset (GBET) that systematically evaluates gender bias in machine translations. We build upon an existing method and expand it through new data and approaches. We examine various translation models - from Google Translate to DeepL to large language models like ChatGPT - and evaluate the extent to which they exhibit gender bias in different ways. What will you learn and do? Critical analysis of machine translation Development of a testset for systematic bias measurement Optimization of an automatic evaluation pipeline using Python Work with popular machine translation models Scientific work with the opportunity to contribute to a publication and present this work at a conference Who is this module suitable for? The project, funded by the Berlin University Alliance, is aimed at students from the fields of Computer Science, Linguistics, Social Sciences, or related disciplines. You don't need extensive prior knowledge in machine translation, but interest in language, AI, and fairness is important. Knowledge of Python is helpful but not required. Important: Students from all Berlin universities (TU, FU, HU, Charité) can participate and get ECTS - no need to apply for guest membership! Why should you join? This module offers you a unique opportunity to work on current research, deepen your knowledge in AI and language technology, and make a real contribution to fairness in machine translation. Your work could help make future translation systems more equitable! Join ISIS course now: https://isis.tu-berlin.de/course/view.php?id=42828 (Note: The link is initially only accessible to TU students, all other students will get access later!)

28 marzo 2025 Publikation: Auf den Spuren der ehemaligen Xenias / den Räumen feministischer PornografieStudi di Genere, Scienze umane, Scienze sociali

28 marzo 2025 On the contestations of feminist knowledges and minoritarian politics in current timesStudi di Genere, Scienze sociali, Scienze umane On our own terms? On the contestations of feminist knowledges and minoritarian politics in current times RINGS Conference 2025 October 30-November 1, 2025 at Utrecht University Hosted by the Graduate Gender Programme (GGeP) at Utrecht University and the Netherlands Research School of Gender Studies (NOG) We are at a time when critical knowledges and minoritarian politics are contested by a variety of actors, ranging from social movements to political parties and institutions. Think of the – by now (in)famous – anti-gender and anti-feminist discourses that pervade the global landscape, casting sexual and gender education as well as reproductive and LGBTQIA+ rights as a threat for children, the ‘natural order’ of society, and the national community at large. At the same time, supra-national institutions like the EU, the UN, or the IMF operationalize reproductive and LGBTQIA+ rights or environmental discourses as developmental benchmarks that the peripheries need to catch up to. Not coincidentally, we are witnessing in many countries of the Global South, such as India, Uganda, and Colombia, not just the rise of anti-feminist and anti-gender discourses, but the articulation between them and new nationalist narratives featuring the critique of colonialism and of Western imperialism. All this is happening while imperialist Russia conducts political and ideological wars under the banner of fighting Western hegemony and defending the ‘traditional family’. Adding to such a complex landscape, postcolonial perspectives and expressions of solidarity with Palestine after October 2023 have been harshly condemned in most of Europe as well as the United States. In universities particularly, concerns have been related to questions of ‘safety’ and ‘antisemitism’, thus raising questions about the meaning – as well as the current status – of academic freedom. Highlighted here are but a few conspicuous cases operating in a vast and differentiated landscape that is underpinned by the workings of global capitalism. What we see in all these instances is that many of the political signifiers that ‘we’ as critical scholars and politically engaged actors deploy reappear in sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, Islamophobic, antisemitic and other discourses for exclusionary, oppressive, and ideological purposes. ‘Safety’ and ‘antisemitism’ themselves are cast against those same minority groups in which these signifiers are habitually mobilized. ‘Gender’ – the analytical tool at the core of Gender Studies and other critical fields – is mystified as a spectre aimed at destroying and perverting children, families, and society at large. Anti-colonial and anti-imperialist struggles and practices enter nationalist rhetoric and function as tools, not just for further marginalizing gender, sexual, or indigenous minorities, but for denying the responsibilities of (neo)colonial entities. Similar reversals happen with many other (more or less dubious) signifiers, such as ‘critical race theory’, ‘social justice’, and ‘woke’, to name a few. While attempting to trace these discursive developments on a global scale, it is also crucial to consider the specificity and thus the complexity of this type of politics across geopolitical contexts. In this conference, we aim at exploring these processes of (re-)appropriation, resignification, thwarting, co-optation, and hijacking of critical knowledges and minority claims. Our concerns are not with mere semantics, but with discursive practices and politics. In doing this, we seek to better understand the current historical conjuncture, also to be able to conceive of political alternatives and strategies for resistance and change. We also highlight the importance of and invite reflections on transnational collaborations in countering oppressive narratives. Aside from 20-minute paper presentations, we encourage a variety of other presentation formats in the conference, including roundtable discussions, conversations, interviews, visuals, multi-media and performance. We invite contributors to reflect on questions related to the conference topic, including: How do we understand and define these processes of ‘(re-)appropriation, resignification, thwarting, co-optation and hijacking’ by (far-)right populists, religious conservatives, authoritarian populists, (neo-)fascists, liberals, conspiracists, and other political and institutional actors? Is there something in ‘our’ (feminist, queer, antiracist, anticolonial) discourses that makes signifiers such as ‘gender’, ‘colonialism’, ‘safety’, and others vulnerable to such processes? What are the genealogies and (longer) histories of these processes, and how do we trace and narrate them in connection to the current political moment across the globe? What are the strategies implemented by critical scholars and feminist, queer, antiracist, and anticolonial political actors to ‘speak back’ to their detractors and conceive of political alternatives? What practices of solidarity are possible, especially in light of the current mediascape that invisibilizes and erases those conflicts that are happening in such locations as Sudan, Congo, or India? All too often we focus on how the attacks on critical knowledges and minority politics unfold in Northern American and European settings, but what about similar discourses and practices that play out beyond the Global North and the European West? How do digital and social media platforms transmit both the spread and suppression of (appropriated) feminist and minoritarian discourses? How does environmental justice inform (the appropriation of) feminist and minoritarian discourses? How do institutional policies affect academic freedom, and how might these be challenged? Abstracts (400 words max.) must be sent to ringsutrecht@uu.nl, before May 1, 2025. At the end of the abstract, in the same document, please add a short bio (100 words max.). The conference is planned to be held on location at the city centre campus of Utrecht University. Asonline participation where it is needed. The RINGS General Assembly will take place on November 1, 2025, at Utrecht University, online participation is possible. Additional information about registration fees, conference program, and keynote speakers can be found on the conference website. [https://rings.sites.uu.nl].