Feminist scholarships have developed on the premise that producing knowledge on/by women is a necessary first step towards feminist emancipation. Even though Gender Studies have now spread within academia, there is still little to no translation of these scholarships to primary and secondary education. Based on this observation, a group of French historians produced a textbook whose purpose is to broadcast Women/Gender History as what they consider an act of academic activism.

The talk presents a study which traces the “social life” of this textbook. Through this ethnographic case study, the research explores the practice of academic activism, notably with regards to institutional contexts and material concerns.

Massilia Ourabah is a Doctoral Researcher and Teaching Assistant at Université Libre de Bruxelles. Her research focuses mainly on gender and mundane forms of activism, as well as social theory. She has written on gender and family norms in family migration policies in an upcoming edited book (Rutgers University Press) and will publish a book on academic activism in education, institutionalism and actor-network theory (Palgrave Macmillan).

Friday 6 December 2019, 14:00 – 15:30; Paddenhoek 1, 9000 Ghent