143108 SE Seminar Feminist Africa (2021W)

Feminist thought in Africa is as diverse as the continent itself. What many approaches and analyses have in common is that they combine a critique of patriarchy and the struggle for gender justice with the pursuit of fundamental social transformation that includes other factors of oppression. These include inequalities based on 'race', class, ethnicity and religion, and old and new forms of colonization.
The aim of this seminar is an in-depth examination of feminist trends, debates and concepts in African contexts. It will be based on texts from literature, philosophy, gender studies, literary and cultural studies, which will be discussed and presented in six blocks according to thematic areas of focus.
We will address the following topics based on selected authors and texts:
- Afrofeminist concepts and critique of "Western" feminism.
- Coloniality of Gender
- Gender and development
- Positions on sexuality and desire
- Queer lives, analyses and responses to (post)colonial heteronormativity
- Feminist perspectives on and in religion
In addition to the teaching of basic knowledge by the seminar leader through lectures and powerpoints, important positions will be elaborated in the context of the analysis of texts. The aim of this text analysis is to get to know basic positions, to apply and practice methods of text analysis or interpretation and to deal with a concept in depth. The seminar is a consolidation of the contents of the lecture "Feminist Africa" from the winter semester 2020/21, but can also be attended independently.