“Junges Forum” Thinking about violence in Africa through women’s experiences: vulnerability & subversion

June 29th-30th, 2020, Centre Marc Bloch, Berlin

Zusammenfassung

Beschreibung

The two-day conference “Junges Forum 2020” seeks to reflect on women’s experiences of violence in Africa from an interdisciplinary perspective. The aim is not to discuss passive experience in the context of violence (if it exists at all) but to attempt to outline different experiences of violence (symbolic, social, domestic, epistemic, political or sexual) as well as to explore how they can be transformed, appropriated and reversed.

The “Junges Forum” explicitly invites young researchers (PhD students, postdoctoral scholars) to share their ideas from various disciplines (anthropology, film studies, gender studies, history, literary studies, psychology, sociology, etc.) in order to encourage an interdisciplinary exchange and open debates related to the topic. The main focus is to be on African countries and regions only.

The submitted proposals should follow one or more of the following sections:

  • Violence & vulnerability. The first section seeks to examine factors or categories that are connected with experiences of violence and the “vulnerability” of women in order to contextualise those experiences. The concept of vulnerability is interesting, as it can become a vector for processes of subjectivation. Papers may range from informative case studies and historical classifications to critical discussions of the concept of vulnerability (or other established concepts) viewed in this particular research context. How is gender-based violence experienced? What types of violence can be identified? Which factors encourage violence against women?
  • Violence & subversion. The second section deals with resistance against gender-based violence. We invite contributions that emphasise the agency of women and/or subversive ways of dealing with violence. Proposals may, for example, approach this topic via an ethics of care perspective that is of particular interest when it comes to women’s everyday experiences which, until now, have been neglected in scientific research. How is gender-based violence being negotiated, discussed or undermined? Which kinds of subversive strategies can be identified and what is their impact? Contributions might examine contemporary case studies or make use of historical perspectives as well.
  • Violence & narrative representation. The third section focuses on the representation of those experiences in African literature as well as in films and theatre performances. Rarely, violence is simply “explained” in those representations, but staged, transformed, questioned or subverted. How can we think about violence “in between” languages in literature? Do the writers make use of a specific language for violence? What is the particular function of stylistic and artistic means in this regard? Do certain settings serve as symbols or metaphors for experiences of violence? How do texts, films or performances contribute to an intercultural understanding of experienced violence?
  •  Violence & globalised communication. The communication and mediation of violence and experiences of violence in a globalised world is at the centre of the fourth section. New technologies and social media like What’s app, Twitter or Instagram have created new spaces to discuss experiences of violence. What is their contribution to reveal and accuse violence or to process violent experiences? In how far do they contribute to a wider understanding of phenomena of violence? Can we find interfaces between traditional, such as oral forms, and means of globalised communication?

Terms of participation:

Paper proposals may be written in French or English and should comprise 150-250 words. They should be sent to the following address before the 15th of February 2020: jungesforum2020@cmb.hu-berlin.de. Applicants may add information (3-5 phrases) about their academic background and their language skills. Comprehensive knowledge of French is desirable. The paper (for a presentation of about 20 minutes) should be submitted two weeks before the conference.

Travel and accommodation expenses can be covered according to the available budget.

Organisers: Isabel Schröder (Humboldt-Universität) and Jérémie Therond (Centre Marc Bloch)

Scientific advisors: Prof. Dr. Susanne Gehrmann (Humboldt-Universität), Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Hahn (Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt a.M.) and Dr. Johara Berriane (Centre Marc Bloch)

Kontakt

Nähere Informationen

jungesforum2020[ at ]cmb.hu-berlin.de

Dokumente senden an

jungesforum2020[ at ]cmb.hu-berlin.de