Towards a Red Feminist Horizon

The seminar has been funded by the Sociological Review Foundation, CERIC and Leeds Social Sciences Institute

For the last two decades feminist praxis has been washed in a particular shade of pink, telling us to ‘lean in’ (Sandberg 2013), to get ahead in the corporate world and be ‘the next Bill Gates in the making’ (Beyoncé 2016). The success of feminism is consciously limited to notions of ‘equality and diversity’ and specifically to the number of women in positions of power both within the state and capitalist corporations.

In contrast, this symposium offers a provocation: that to be able to develop the theoretical and conceptual tools necessary to confront contemporary forms of globalised gender oppression and exploitation, it is necessary to re-orientate feminist theory towards a ‘red horizon’. Moving towards the ‘red feminist horizon’ requires beginning from working class women’s experiences of labour and life, making visible how structural and systemic violence against women and people of colour is central to capitalist accumulation and developing a multi-generational praxis.

The symposium both draws inspiration from and is orientated towards developing ideas that will contribute to the emerging international women’s strike movement, linking ideas developed both within and between the academy and the street. It will foster an intergenerational conversation and participants experiences and involvement in women’s struggles. It will bring feminist theorists, activists and artists into dialogue to analyse the conditions and politics of women’s waged and unwaged reproductive work.

Speakers

  • Veronica Gago (Ni Una Menos / University of Buenos Aires)
  • Camille Barbagallo (University of Leeds)
  • Kate Hardy (University of Leeds)
  • Aviah Sarah (Postdoc, University of Essex and SistersUncut)
  • Sigrid Vertommen (The University of Cambridge)
  • Dalia Gebrial (LSE)
  • Alessandra Mezzadri, (SOAS)
  • Joni Cohen (Trans Liberation)
  • Lydia Caradonna (DecrimNow)
  • Xanthe Whittaker (University of Leeds)
  • Becka Hudson (UCL / Birkbeck)
  • Neha Shah (The University of Oxford)

Registration

This conference is free and places will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Places are limited, so registration essential. Register here.

Delegates are responsible for their own travel, accommodation and dinner expenses unless they are bursary awardees. Details on how to apply for a bursary are below.

Eligibility for Bursaries

As with all of our events, we are making a number of bursaries available on a competitive basis to facilitate the attendance of those who might otherwise struggle to meet the costs of attending. 

Bursaries are available for unfunded postgraduate research students and early career research in precarious positions as well as others on the grounds of need. Bursary support available to apply for include; travel funds (limited to £100.00), 1-night overnight accommodation the day before the event (organised by SRF), and support with childcare (£50.00 per day).

Please note, bursary awardees will be expected to attend the whole day of the event.

Application for bursaries are available via this form. Deadline for bursary application is 13th September 2019, 17.00 BST. Decisions will be communicated by the end of September.

Accessibility

The room will be fully accessible. University of Leeds access guide to their spaces and buildings can be found here https://students.leeds.ac.uk/info/10420/finding_your_way_around/728/accessible_facilities_on_campus

For any questions of the event accessibility please contact SRF’s events manager Jenny Thatcher events@thesociologicalreview.com

Visa

If you require a visa to enter the UK for this event, it is your responsibility to check visa requirements and organise one within sufficient time to attend the event. If you require a letter of proof of event registration and/or bursary awarded, please allow a minimum of two weeks’ notice for SRF to produce this. For more information on UK visas, please see here: https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa

Contact Details

For any enquiries about registration, waiting lists, bursaries and venue information please contact events manager Jenny Thatcher events@thesociologicalreview.com. All academic enquiries related to the event to be directed to Dr Kate Hardy (k.r.hardy@leeds.ac.uk)  and Dr Camille Barbagallo (C.Barbagallo@leeds.ac.uk)