Revitalising feminist geographies and geographies of feminism
In political and cultural contexts, interest in and activity around feminist thought and practice is growing,
in what some term a fourth wave. In multiple fora, and with diverse foci, this revitalised feminism
encompasses political, social, economic and cultural concerns. This revitalisation is being played out
in both material and immaterial spaces, and therefore has great potential for geographical explorations
of these reinvigorated sites of feminism, looking at interconnected political movements and moments
reflecting shifting cultural values.
As such we are interested in papers that attend to feminism in both physical spaces and online. Developing
a feminist geography of cyberspace, including new social media, is a challenging task, as these
spaces circumvent and renegotiate traditional spatial dimensions – including scale and place – through
their dynamic networks (McLean and Maalsen 2013). However, by recognising that activity occurring in
such digital spaces is as real and valid as that in more tangible contexts, we see possibilities for understanding
why so much vital and ordinary activity is happening there. Glimpses of the potentials offered by
Rose’s (1993) paradoxical spaces theorising also emerge in this context.
Session organisers: Jess McLean ([log in to unmask]) and Sophia Maalsen ([log in to unmask]).
We invite papers that use feminist methods or examine feminist practices to reflect on this revitalisation,
examining its potential for reinvigorating feminist geographic practice.
Sample themes:
• Feminist methodology and theory
• Geographies of feminism
• Spaces of feminist activity and practice and their production
• Gender in cyberspace
• Specific examples of feminist activity and its role in producing different types of space.
• Feminism in digital spaces
Keywords: feminism, digital spaces, activism, gender
Session format: standard paper session – 4 papers
Please send your abstract to Jess ([log in to unmask]) by 31st March 2014 and also submit your abstract through the conference website, selecting the relevant session when you register (http://iag-nzgs2014.org/).
References
McLean, J. and Maalsen, S. (2013), 'Destroying the Joint and Dying of Shame? A Geography of Revitalised
Feminism in Social Media and Beyond.' Geographical Research, 51: 243–256. doi: 10.1111/1745-5871.12023, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1745-5871.12023/full
Rose, G. (1993). Feminism and geography: The Limits of Geographical Knowledge. Cambridge: Polity Press.
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