WO-NAM research project; Ca’ Foscari Univ. of Venice; Chiara Bonfiglioli, Giulio Fugazzotto, Shivangi Jaiswal, Albert Manke, Sarah Nagaty, and Bruno W. R. Toscano (Web)

Time: 08.-10.03.2027
Venue: Ca’ Foscari Univ. of Venice, Italy
Proposals: 31.07.2026

The conference will examine how women’s and gender history can be located, interpreted, and reimagined through the archives of the Global South in the twentieth century. Archives are shaped by power, access, censorship, preservation practices, and historical silences. In this context, the conference seeks to foreground women’s histories as documented, contested, and reconfigured across regions and languages historically underrepresented in dominant archival narratives.
We welcome contributions on, but not limited to, the following themes:
– finding women’s history in state archives;
– histories of women’s and feminist grassroots archives;
– archives of women’s anti-colonial struggles;
– archives of transnationalism and cross-border solidarity;
– Cold War polarizations and their impact on archiving;
– archiving women’s left feminism in the Global South;
– women’s archives under authoritarianism;
– archival silences, fragmented histories, and censorship;
– archives of feminist campaigns, including health, education, and labor;
– oral histories, storytelling, and generations;
– feminist archival practices, methodologies, and epistemologies;
– decolonial, postcolonial, and intersectional knowledge production;
– emotions and affective responses to the archive;
– digital humanities, digitization, and access in resource-constrained contexts.

We strongly encourage submissions from early-career researchers and independent scholars, particularly those based in the Global South. Contributions from or on countries affiliated with the Non-Aligned Movement during the Cold War are especially welcome, including work on sub-Saharan Africa.
Limited funding is available to cover travel expenses and accommodation for scholars without institutional support or with limited funds. The conference will take place in person in Venice, Italy. An online panel may also be organized depending on the number of requests for online participation.
A selection of papers will be considered for publication in a special issue of a peer-reviewed journal edited by the WO-NAM team. Conference participants will be asked to submit a draft of their paper before the conference.

Submission requirements: Applicants should submit a 500-word abstract, specifying its connection with one or two of the conference themes, and a short bio of no more than 200 words.

CfP in a PDF-form (PDF)

Application form (Web)

Important dates: Submission deadline: 31 July 2026 | Notification of acceptance: 30 September 2026 | Circulation of preliminary papers: 15 February 2027

Organizing Committee: Chiara Bonfiglioli, Giulio Fugazzotto, Shivangi Jaiswal, Albert Manke, Sarah Nagaty, Bruno Walter Renato Toscano

Source: H-Net Notifications (Web)