Latest news

7/09/2023 – Programme update

An updated conference programme can be found here. Please note that there might still be some small changes. If you notice any mistake, please send us an e-mail at femed.conference@ugent.be.

21/08/2023 – Collaboration with DiGeSt

We are pleased to announce that we will be working in collaboration with the editors of DiGeSt for a special issue on the conference. Practical info will follow.

DiGeSt is an open access, bi-annual, peer-reviewed interdisciplinary and international journal hosted by Ghent University. The journal aims to strengthen academic research at the intersection of Gender and Sexuality Studies on the one hand, and Diversity studies on the other, including discussions of ethnicity, race, migration, refugees, multiculturalism, religion or pluralism. It encourages research that focusses on contemporary issues and developments that shape superdiverse societies in all its possible tensions and challenges. Engaging with both scholarly fields – of Diversity and Gender Studies – is by no means a requirement but research that meaningfully does so is particularly welcome.

We accept papers from authors working from several disciplinary backgrounds including (though not limited to) gender studies, sociology, anthropology, education, literary studies, philosophy, empirical ethics, bioethics, psychology, political sciences and history. DiGeSt publishes both empirically based and applied studies as well as theoretical contributions. We welcome contributions from researchers at all stages of their career, from aspiring academics to established scholars.The journal publishes work related to all geographical contexts.

DiGeSt is included in the Flemish Academic Bibliography for the Social Sciences and the Humanities (VABB-SHW) and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), and publishes under a CC-BY license to allow for immediate free access to and use of its manuscripts. It does not charge an author fee, nor does it otherwise require remuneration for any step in the publishing process.

4/05/2023 – Third keynote speaker + programme announced

We are pleased to announce that a third keynote speaker has been added: prof. Henk de Smaele.

In other news: the document with the full programme has now been added to our website. You can find it here.

4/05/2023 – Registration is open

Registration for Feminism(s) in the Media is now open. You can register by using the following link: https://congrezzo.ugent.be/feminismsinthemedia.

The conference fee is either € 100 (normal fee) or € 75 (reduced fee) and includes participation to both days of the conference, inclusive of catering (lunches, coffee breaks and reception). The reduced fee applies to PhD students, independent scholars, emeriti, etc.

Please make sure to register by the 15th of July at the latest. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or require further information.

1/09/2022 – Call for papers (closed)

Feminism(s) in the Media: Public Outreach and Cultural Transformations

Ghent University, Belgium
14 – 15 September 2023
en francais

In partnership with Antwerp University (Belgium), Gothenburg University (Sweden), Leuven University (Belgium) and the Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB) (Belgium)

The history of feminism and the history of feminist literature are often studied in separate disciplines, though in reality they are closely entwined. To explore the connections and intersections between these two disciplines, this conference looks at the development of feminism through the lens of the media, and more specifically, the national, international, and transnational modes of public outreach which women’s rights activists, journalists, editors, and writers have resorted to from the early nineteenth century to the second part of the twentieth century. This conference thus seeks to engage in a discussion about the cultural and ideological transformations of the concept of feminism over time and across geographical and language boundaries.

The conference is organised as part of a Flemish Research Foundation (FWO) funded project on transnational perspectives on feminism affiliated to Ghent University (Belgium). It will take place in Ghent. Although we invite proposals for papers on the full range of topics related to the conference theme, we particularly welcome transnational, cross-cultural, multilingual, and global approaches to encourage a more comprehensive outlook on feminism(s).

Topics can include, but are not limited to:

  • Pioneering feminist activists with careers as journalists and/or literary authors
  • Women’s periodicals, their development and exchanges
  • International women’s rights congresses
  • Programmatic feminist novels linked to political history
  • Feminist/anti-feminist propaganda
  • Campaigning for “difference” feminism, or different interpretations of feminism
  • Morality debates and the development of national feminisms
  • Advertisement campaigns on feminist/anti-feminist themes
  • Feminism and trans-imperialism: India, African colonies…
  • Feminist exhibitions
  • Suffragette movements
  • Women and the film and television industry: feminism and popular culture
  • Theoretical approaches linked to feminism in the media

We are honoured to receive as keynote speakers for the event Prof. Catherine Clay (Nottingham Trent University) and Prof. Lucy Delap (Cambridge University).

The working language of the conference is English. We welcome proposals from researchers at all stages of their careers. The conference will be an in-person event. Travel and accommodation costs will have to be covered by the participants. A small registration fee may be requested.

Proposals of around 250 words (references not included) for 15 to 20-minute papers and a short CV (no more than 200 words) should be sent to Dr. Eloïse Forestier (eloise.forestier@ugent.be) by 15 November 2022. We invite individual case studies as well as comparative, theoretical or methodological approaches. We also welcome proposals for joint panels of three papers. Please include a brief rationale for the panel along with an abstract and CV for each presenter.