Funding Gender Research – Institutionalizing Gender Studies

This roundtable will discuss historical developments of the institutionalization and funding of gender research as well as the current situation and its future prospects from different national as well as European perspectives. Gender Studies has developed enormously during the last decades. It has become increasingly important and shows a tremendous breadth and depth. Nevertheless, it remains a marginal and contested research area, and is often difficult to fund or embed in institutions (especially in contexts where the field is not named as such). Furthermore, gender studies currently faces particular pressures as a result of the current success of rightwing populist parties across Europe. In addition to other forms of aggression (racism, homophobia and disablism), such movements also question the right to academic freedom and target gender research (among other areas) as ideological rather than as an valuable area of scientific knowledge production. What are the particular challenges that arise from trying to fund or institutionalise gender research in Europe within this context? How are these challenges similar or different from other periods in Europe? How might we best learn from one another how to resist such right-wing movements and protect gender studies at the same time?

Speakers