The inaugural meeting of a new Gender Studies Association in Sweden (ÄG) was held at the g19 research conference in Gothenburg in October. The Sveriges genusforskarförbund (Swedish Gender Research Confederation - SGF) met during the g19 conference and elected a new Board.
The ÄG’s aims as stated in the association by-laws are to promote gender studies as a higher education subject and be a platform for its the subject area environments of its members. The by-laws were adopted during the meeting at g19 and were drafted by Hillevi Ganetz, Stockholm University, Gabrielle Griffin, Uppsala University, Liisa Husu, Örebro University and Lena Karlsson, Lund University.
The association will bring together all fora, centres or departments around Sweden with gender studies as a subject in any form, with one aim being to help strengthen cooperation on the development of the subject area.
“We want to create better opportunities for exchanging experience and coordinating courses and developing third-cycle and first-cycle education,” says Janet Ganetz.
On 6 December, a first annual meeting was held as an extraordinary annual meeting to elect the Executive Committee, with representatives from all the research environments that wish to join the association. Elected as president for the Executive Committee was Helena Wahlström Henriksson, Uppsala University. The association’s annual meetings will continue to be held in the autumn, around the time of the g-conference. Hillevi Ganetz highlights the importance of the g-conferences for the inception of ÄG.
“The g-conferences have been extremely important in gathering together gender studies specialists from all over Sweden and even international stars, for meeting each other and networking. They have been fundamental to us having formed ÄG at all,” she says.
During this year, Swedish Gender Research Confederation (SGF) has been focused on hate speech and threats against gender research, organising a number of events on the theme in cooperation with other higher education institutions.
In December, the SGF in collaboration with Gender Studies at the University of Gothenburg will hold a workshop entitled “Anti-gender: manifesto for power and resistance” addressed to its members in the first instance. The workshop is a continuation of the work of the SGF on issues related to hate speech and threats against gender researchers. Where SGF previously focused on the local work environment of gender researchers, the aim now is to come together around issues of global and local anti-feminism and anti-genderism.
At SGF’s meeting at the g19 conference “Rethinking Knowledge Regimes – Solidarities and Contestations”, a new Board was elected:
Diana Mulinari, chair, Lund University, May-Britt Öhman, vice-chair, Uppsala University, Linnéa Bruno, Stockholm University, Johanna Jers, Umeå University, Amund Hoffart, Örebro University, Anna Olovsdotter Lööv, Lund University, Fredrik Sjögren, Luleå University of Technology and Sofia Strid, Örebro University.
In the spring of 2020, SGF is planning a seminar on the indigenous perspective and gender studies. No details have been set yet but more information will follow on SGF’s website.
SGF, Sveriges genusforskarförbund.
Text by Inga-Bodil Ekselius