Bringing together an interdisciplinary group of scholars in the humanities and social sciences, this workshop will establish, consolidate and sustain a network of academics who share an interest in women’s and gender studies with regard to the Ottoman world and modern Türkiye. Leading scholars across several major fields – including history, literature, and interdisciplinary studies – will examine recent theoretical discourses and challenges in the area of women’s and gender studies and contribute to steering the field in innovative directions.

This workshop is designed to address two problems in women’s and gender studies: the lack of transnational and comparative scholarship, as well as the dearth of interdisciplinary collaboration. This workshop responds to the fact that the scholarly literatures in women’s and gender studies in the Ottoman-Turkish milieu and in the Arab and Balkan world have been, on the whole, kept tightly segregated from each other. Consequently, the four panels of the workshop are centered around key approaches that would benefit from being in dialogue. By doing so, they will allow leading scholars in the field to appraise the current state of research across national boundaries and academic disciplines and to bring forth new conversations and inter-regional dialogue about improving our approaches in the future development of the field. These interactions will help stimulate and guide future research efforts by delineating critical paths for subsequent research. The presentations will address key aspects such as:

1. The development of scholarship in women’s and gender studies over the past decade, and the future directions the field might take.
2. The comparative state of the field of women’s and gender studies in Türkiye and its neighboring countries.
3. The evolving position of women and gender in the contemporary societies of the region.
4. Policy changes, both past and present, that have shaped the status quo of women and gender.

There will be four roundtable panels:

1. Mapping the Field: Literary Approaches to Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies in Türkiye and the Near East.
2. Mapping the Field: Historicizing Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies in Türkiye and the Near East.
3. Mapping the Field: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies on the Region.
4. New Directions: The Academy, Solidarity, and Public Outreach.

For the full workshop program visit event’s website.

The workshop will be in English and held online via Zoom. To attend this online workshop, prior registration is necessary. Please fill out the registration form or send an email specifying your name and academic affiliation to info@mappinggenderneareast.org by December 7, 2020 (Monday) at the latest.