Feminisms from the Global South

Interventions in gender relations are an essential aspect of global contemporary history. Attempts at transformation often go along with theories, which themselves emerge in specific contexts. This seminar focuses on feminist theories from the Global South, which often reject the universalist claims of “Western” feminism and seek to build global solidarity in the pursuit of gender justice on a new basis. This entails questioning the hegemony of the Western world (economic, political, academic) and acknowledging the contextuality of all thinking. Drawing attention to the plurality of feminist theories from Africa, Asia and Latin America and positioning them as an important component of feminism in general, this seminar introduces the works of various thinkers including Nawal El Saadawi, Chandra Mohanty, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyewùmí, Amina Mama, and Sylvia Tamale. It addresses, among other subjects, postcolonial feminism, feminisms in Islam, womanism, Black feminism, intersectionality, and queer approaches.