Research Group Gender and Politics
Coordination: Birgit Sauer
Team: Edma Ajanovic, Brigitte Bargetz, Karin Bischof, Claudia Brunner, Alev Cakir, Katja Chmilewski, Anna Durnova, Ayse Dursun, Myriam Gaitsch, Katharina Hajek, Syntia Hasenöhrl, Eva Kreisky, Karin Liebhart, Marion Löffler, Gundula Ludwig, Stefanie Mayer, Gabriele Michalitsch, Otto Penz, Jürgen Portschy, Petra Purkarthofer, Julia Sachseder, Georg Spitaler, Saskia Stachowitsch, Angelika Striedinger, Leda Sutlovic, Verena Kettner, Anna Gius, Daniel Thiele, Benjamin Opratko, Florian Zeller, Dovaine Buschmann, Stella Wolter
The research group aims at a gender-sensitive theorization of politics, society, economy, and culture. Central to this is an intensive engagement with theories of the state, power and democracy, theories of the political, affect theory, queer theory, and postcolonial theory. Furthermore, the research group analyses gender policies like family and migration policies. It also deals with the realms of military and gender, the political regulation of sex work, gender equality policies, and women’s movements.
The research group is driven by an intersectional approach. The research hence proceeds from the assumption that an adequate analysis and theorization of gender relations is only possible when considering the intersection with class and race relations, relations of sexualities, abilities and migration, as well as by looking at gender relations from a global and postcolonial perspective. A crucial theoretical and empirical starting point are emotions and affects. They build a new and specific perspective on recent transformations of states, politics, democracy, and gender relations.
Research projects and scientific co-operations among the research group analyze recent processes of political transformation and the development of statehood, governance and democracy in this context, the regional and global gender dimensions of migration processes, feminist theories of international relations and feminist political economy with a special focus on the gendered dimensions of the present economic crisis and its politics. Beside, the research group encompasses research projects on the visualization of gender relations, the government of subjects, bodies and sexualities, affects or emotions and politics, rights wing populism and racism, epistemic violence and critical masculinity studies focusing on the relation of gender, violence and war.
The research group has established a reading group, is publishing jointly, and has organized several conferences and workshops.
The activities of the research group are closely connected to the research group on “Critical State, Governance and Globalization Studies“.