Gender and the Politics of Fear

Judith Butler, one of the most internationally influential feminist theorists, has invited two other thinkers to a panel discussion. Together with Sonia Corrêa and Adriana Zaharijevic, she will discuss «troubles», in other words the unrest or disorder caused by feminism and gender theory. Above all, however, it will be about the backlash from the right-wing political spectrum and from transphobic activists. The panel discussion is in cooperation with the University of Bern Interdisciplinary Centre for Gender Studies (IZFG).

Sonia Corrêa is a Brazilian feminist activist and researcher, working primarily on issues of gender equality, health and sexuality. she has been the research coordinator for sexual and reproductive health and rights at DAWN – Development Alternatives with Women for a new Era – a Southern Hemisphere feminist network. Since 2002, she has co-chaired Sexuality Policy Watch (SPW), a global policy forum analyzing global trends in sexuality related policies and projects.

Adriana Zaharijević is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for philosophy and social theory (University of Belgrade), and an Assistant Professor of gender studies at the University of Novi Sad. Zaharijević’s research interests have developed along two axes: first, the history and theories of women’s movements both in the West and in the East, especially Yugoslavia and contemporary Serbia, with a special stress on anti-militarism, anti-nationalism and, of recent, anti-capitalism; second, theoretical and historical underpinnings of the contemporary neoliberalism. She publishes on different topics within political philosophy (critique of liberalism, feminist philosophy, and critique of violence), and engagement studies (agency, translation, and critique as engagement).