Center for Gender and Politics of the Belgrade Univ.: Faculty of Political Sciences, The Department of Women’s and Gender Studies at Rutgers, the State Univ. of New Jersey, The Program in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Washington Univ. in St Louis

Venue: Inter-University Center (IUC), Dubrovnik
Time: May 25th to May 29th, 2015
Final deadline for applications is December 19th, 2015

Following Jack Halberstam’s notion of queer, not as a particular body-centered identity position, but as a relational positionality, this year’s course in Feminist Critical Analysis seeks interdisciplinary approaches that examine the possibility of queer concepts of knowledge and queer paradigms of knowledge production and circulation. In particular, we are interested in discussing the ways in which different normative orders are reflected in the power/knowledge paradigms that produce “queer subjects” with “strange temporalities, imaginative life schedules, and eccentric economics”. We will consider alternative modes of intimacy, alliances, forms of embodiment, and representation and how these can contribute to a new understanding of knowledge production and transmission, with very concrete ethical implications and, more importantly, political potential. Is there such a thing as “queer knowledge” at all? Following Lacan, one of the questions we intend to pose would be – is the true desire for knowledge always paranoid, i.e. a desire not to know, as it necessarily confronts the Real? Can there be power in ignorance, as Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick notes in Epistemology of the Closet?

In 2015, the annual course Feminist Critical Analysis will examine these recent theoretical moves and consider their consequences for feminist scholarship and activism. We encourage active participation and debates that will bring together disciplines from across the humanities, social sciences, art, political theory, cultural studies, philosophy, etc.

The course will be held at the Inter-University Centre, Dubrovnik from May 25th to May 29th (2015).

The course is co-directed by Professor Dasa Duhacek, University of Belgrade, Professor Ethel Brooks, Rutgers University and Distinguished Professor Linda Nicholson, Washington University.

The course is built on the intellectual dialogue among a diverse body of scholars from different geographical locations and the participating faculty is drawn from different universities.

ELIGIBILITY AND FEES

IUC courses are conducted at a postgraduate level. Candidates with a graduate degree and/or current postgraduate students interested in the topic may apply for participation.

There is no course fee. However, participants are expected to cover their own expenses of travel and accommodation. While the organizing institutions are not in the position to offer any financial assistance, we can refer you to the Inter-University Center in Dubrovnik, which has a small number of scholarships available for applicants from Central and Eastern Europe. For conditions and eligibility for IUC scholarships, please consult the IUC website: http://www.iuc.hr/hesp-osi.php. For those who are not eligible, we suggest that you seek funds from your home institution.

All meetings are conducted in English.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

A short narrative (up to 250 words) explaining your interest in the topic and your CV with your current complete contact information should be submitted by e-mail;

Please send your applications to the Center for Gender and Politics University of Belgrade, Faculty of Political Sciences, at studijeroda@fpn.bg.ac.rs with Dubrovnik 2014 in the subject line (attn: Nenad Knezevic and Milica Mirazic).

Source: ladyfestwien@mur.at