Feminist Trouble: Intersectional Politics in Post-Secular Times

Eléonore Lépinard, University of Lausanne, speaker
Donatella Della Porta, Scuola Normale Superiore, chair
Anastasia Barone, Scuola Normale Superiore, discussant
Giada Bonu, Scuola Normale Superiore, discussant

Eléonore Lépinard is Associate Professor in gender studies at the Institute of Social Sciences at the University of Lausanne.Her main areas of research are in the fields of feminist movements and theory, gender and law, intersectionality and gender and political representation. 

Book abstract:

Intersectionality, in particular with respect to race and religion, has become a focal point of discussions and tensions within feminist movements in many Western countries, especially in Europe, and feminists have been actively engaged in promoting, and in resisting, intersectional claims, in particular, but not only when they concern Islamic practices. This presentation will draw on my newly released monograph, Feminist Trouble, which investigates intersectional politics in women’s organizations in France and Quebec. Giving voice to women of color and white women, the book analyzes hierarchies of privilege, in particular whiteness, in feminist politics, grappling with Islam and Islamic veiling debates to understand how these changes have transformed contemporary feminist movements, intersectional politics, and the feminist collective subject. Drawing on the analysis of empirical intersectional politics in both contexts, I propose a theoretical reformulation of feminism which argues that feminism should not be centered around an identity—women—but should instead focus on a feminist ethic of responsibility which reckons with power asymmetries and requires women to prioritize their ethical responsibility to the feminist project.

The talk will be held on G-Meet on Tuesday 23rd June, 14.30-16.00 CET Time and streamed on Facebook and Youtube Channel shortly after.

For info: eventiculturali.firenze@sns.it