300451 Women's and feminist social movements (S) (SoSe 2023)

In recent years, waves of women’s and feminist protest mobilizations have been spurred all over the globe. These movements are particularly interesting because they are highly multifaceted and carry a wide range of potentials. This heterogeneity, however, also entails different challenges and obstacles for their mobilization. Understanding what fosters or hinders mobilization is of crucial importance for social movements and social movement research. A closer look into current women’s and feminist mobilizations thus offers important insights into these questions.
In this seminar, we will address women’s and feminist movements and their internal mobilization processes. For this purpose, we will draw on central concepts and findings from social movement research. In particular, we will examine how women’s and feminist movements negotiate salient issues (e.g., gender-based violence; reproductive rights), as well as their forms and scales of action. Moreover, we will look at particular case studies of women’s and feminist movements (e.g., from Latin America) and discuss their developments.