The creation of contemporary knowledge about gender is a revolution in thought that has been closely connected with political struggles for gender justice. In the last generation a major problem about this field of knowledge has been recognized, its constitution within a worldwide economy of knowledge shaped by the power and wealth of the global North. This lecture will explore recent attempts to overcome this problem, in feminist re-thinking of imperialism, coloniality and Southern perspectives. The lecture will consider connections of knowledge with feminist politics in the neoliberal era, when new forms of patriarchy have emerged; and will ask if we can have a fully decolonized global feminism that is both politically effective and socially radical.
Raewyn Connell () is Professor Emerita at the University of Sydney, and one of Australia's leading social scientists. Her most recent books are Southern Theory (2007), about social thought beyond the global metropole; Confronting Equality (2011), about social science and politics; and Gender: In World Perspective(3rd edn, with Rebecca Pearse, 2015). Her other books includeMasculinities, Schools & Social Justice, Ruling Class Ruling Culture, Gender & Power, and Making the Difference. Her work has been translated into eighteen languages. She has taught at universities in Australia, Canada and the USA, in departments of sociology, political science, and education, and is a long-term participant in the labour movement and peace movement.
() was established in 1993 to address the major intellectual challenges posed by contemporary changes in gender relations. This remains a central aim of the Institute today, which is the largest research and teaching unit of its kind in Europe.
() is an international peer reviewed journal that provides a forum for critical analysis and constructive debate within feminism. Feminist Theory is genuinely interdisciplinary and reflects the diversity of feminism, incorporating perspectives from across the broad spectrum of the humanities and social sciences and the full range of feminist political and theoretical stances.
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