Women’s Studies North and South International Conference Bellagio Center, Italy, 13-17 September 2011 Valentine M. Moghadam Professor of Sociology & Women’s Studies, Purdue University Conference Organizer 2 Women’s Studies North and South: Addressing Global Gender and Social Justice Issues Introduction Valentine M. Moghadam Professor of Sociology Director of Women’s Studies Purdue University In the wake of the global economic crisis – which has adversely affected women’s work opportunities and access to healthcare, increased instances of violence against women, and slowed down progress toward achievement of the Millennium Development Goals – it is appropriate to ask how Women’s Studies programs and departments address the issues and inspire students toward theoretically-informed action for social and gender justice. It should be noted that Women’s Studies as an academic sub-field was established in the wake of the women’s movement of the 1970s; some feminist scholars wrote women back into history or documented the diversity of sex roles across time and space while others engaged with legal and policy inequalities and discrimination.1 In the 1980s, feminist studies began to move in a more conceptual direction, especially in the United States; by the 1990s there was, in general, less attention to legal, policy, and social justice issues than to matters of theory. Meanwhile, the academic study of women and gender began to spread across the globe; in many countries, the study of women’s participation and rights, as well as broader issues of development and justice, have been flourishing. More recently, the global economic crisis has galvanized some feminist scholars in the U.S. – where the crisis originated – to reflect on how the production of knowledge at universities, and especially in Women’s Studies programs and departments, might critically address such crises, with a view toward cultivating knowledge and action for progressive social change. Preliminary research finds that while many Women’s Studies programs in the Global South address grassroots activism, legal and policy issues, the programs in the Global North often focus on cultural processes to unpack gender inequalities. Even so, there are differences in the Global North, with more attention to issues of the welfare state and economic opportunity in the Nordic countries and the U.K. than is the case in the U.S. At the same time, an activist trend may be observed among students within U.S.-based women’s studies programs, with a focus on reproductive and sexual rights. Moreover, the study of “global feminism” and “transnational feminist networks” has introduced students and scholars to the important role of feminist advocacy and lobbying at the global level.2 Dialogue is needed, then, to elucidate the educational 1 Cynthia F. Epstein, “Reflections on Women and the Law in the USA,” International Social Science Journal 191 (2008): 17-26. [Special issue on The Rights of Women: Activism, Research and Policy, guest edited by V. M. Moghadam.] 2 See V. M. Moghadam, Globalizing Women: Transnational Feminist Networks (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005); and Susan Shaw and Janet Lee (eds.), Women Worldwide: Transnational Feminist Perspectives on Women (NY: McGraw Hill, 2010). 3 objectives, policy-oriented research, and theoretically-informed activism in and around Women’s Studies programs worldwide. The papers in this collection were prepared for the international conference Women’s Studies North and South: Addressing Global Gender and Social Justice Issues. The purpose of the conference was to share information on how we integrate contemporary gender justice and social justice issues into our teaching as well as our research, with a view toward recommending appropriate curricular revisions. The meeting also would identify areas of collaborative action research that could include students. The goal is to demonstrate the continued relevance of Women’s Studies in knowledge-building for social justice and ethical leadership, and the ways by which we navigate boundaries and borders across theory, policy, and activism. Participants are scholars or directors of women/gender studies programs; staff members of professional associations or international organizations; and representatives of transnational feminist networks. Many of the contributors are members of the Global Women’s Studies/Gender Research Network, established in 2005 when the present author was a UNESCO staff member. This informal network includes feminist scholars/professors and women’s studies programs/departments at universities in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, Europe, and Oceania. To date, participants have initiated or taken part in collaborative activities such as small meetings and two book projects.3 Given its scope, the network has the potential to raise awareness and to educate large constituencies – both university- and community-based – in the 16 countries across the globe within which it operates. Preparations for the Bellagio conference provided us with the opportunity to reflect on the kinds of relationships that exist between Women’s Studies programs and feminist scholars, on the one hand, and activist groups and coalitions on the other; the social justice and gender justice issues that are addressed, whether at local, national or global levels; and the extent to which the academic programs integrate feminist activism and policy work into the curriculum, thus fostering a new generation of graduates who can bring critical, ethical, and informed perspectives to bear on such local/global matters as the economic crisis and pathways to social justice; democratization with women’s participation and rights; and attaining human rights and women’s full citizenship. 3 Graciela Di Marco and Costanza Tabbush (eds.), Feminisms, Democratization and Radical Democracy (San Martin, Argentina: UNSAMEDITA Press, 2011); and Valentine M. Moghadam, Mary Margaret Fonow and Suzanne Franzway (eds.), Making Globalization Work for Women: The Role of Trade Unions and Women’s Social Rights (Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2012). 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Africa 1. The Women and Gender Studies Programme at Makerere University…………………….Pg. 6 Consolata Kabonesa, School of Women and Gender Studies, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda Middle East and North Africa 2. Gender Studies Programs/degrees in the Arab Region…………………………...............Pg. 17 Dima Dabbous-Sensenig, Lebanese American University 3. A Genesis of Gender and Women Studies in Morocco…………………………...............Pg. 26 Fatima Sadiqii, Mohamad Ben Abdallah University, Fez 4. The Syllabus of Gender and Women Studies in Morocco…………………………………Pg. 31 Moha Ennaji, University of Fez, Morocco 5. Women and Education in Tunisia: From independence to the Jasmine Revolution...……Pg. 37 Khadija Arfaoui, AFTURD, and Researcher in Gender Studies Asia and the Pacific 6. Centres and Programs: Women’s Studies, Research Policy and Activism……………….Pg. 47 Suzanne Franzway, University of South Australia 7. Teaching Gender and Social Justice at the University of Malaya, Malaysia….................Pg. 56 Shanthi Thambiah, Maimuna Hamid Merican & Ruhana Padzil, University of Malaya 8. Institutionalizing Feminist Knowledge and the Emergence of ‘Asian’ Women’s Studies in South Korea………………………………………………………………………………….Pg. 70 Eun-Shil Kim, Ewha Womans University, South Korea Europe and North America 9. Studies in Women and Gender at the University of Virginia, “Mr. Jefferson’s University”…...............................................................................................Pg. 81 Rae Lesser Blumberg, University of Virginia 10. Women and Gender Studies School of Social Transformation………………...………...Pg. 87 Mary Margaret Fonow, Arizona State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences 11. Purdue University Women’s Studies Program…………………………………………..Pg. 96 Valentine M. Moghadam, Purdue University 5 12. National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA)……………………………………….Pg. 109 Patti Provance, Deputy Director of NWSA 13. Troubled Times, Privileging Agency and Women’s Studies in Canada………………..Pg. 121 Linda Briskin, York University Latin America and Caribbean 14. MA Degree in Human Rights and Social Policy, CEDEHU- UNSAM…………………Pg. 147 Graciela Di Marco, Center of Studies on Democratization and Human Rights (CEDEHU), Universidad Nacional de San Martin 15. Gender, Society and Policies Area - FLACSO Argentina (Latin American School of Social Sciences)……………………………………………………………………………………Pg. 157 Gloria Bonder, Latin American School of Social Sciences 16. The University for Peace (UPEACE)…………………………………………………..Pg. 165 Dina Rodríguez, Head of Department, Gender and Peace Education 17. Teaching, Research and Outreach at Institute for Gender and Development Studies....Pg. 175 Piya Pangsapa, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago International Organizations and Transnational Advocacy 18. Globalising Gender Equality and Social Justice – WIDE……………………………...Pg. 188 Patricia Muñoz Cabrera, WIDE – Women in Development Europe 19. Gender studies and UNESCO……………………………………………………..……Pg. 199 Darryl Macer, Ph.D., Regional Adviser in Social and Human Sciences for Asia and the Pacific 6 1. The Women and Gender Studies Programme at Makerere University Consolata Kabonesa School of Women and Gender Studies, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda FROM A HUMBLE BEGINNING The School of Women and Gender Studies (SWGS) is a multidisciplinary academic unit and the first of its kind in Eastern and