In May 2014 I had the pleasure of taking part in a workshop organised at the University of British Columbia by Professor Susan B. Boyd entitled “Men’s Groups: Challenging Feminism”. The main aim of the workshop was to gather international scholars working on issues such as antifeminism, men’s social movements, mothers’ and fathers’ rights in child custody, domestic violence etcetera. During this two-day event, academics from Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, the United Kingdom, Poland, Sweden, and Taiwan analysed contemporary activism and debates and discourses on the resistance to feminism and discussed how to support the advancement of feminist theories and strategies with regard to preventing the development of antifeminist practices, discourses and legislation all around the world.
European studies
International Workshop on Men and Migration in Contemporary Europe
Together with my colleagues from CERGU I am very pleased to invite you to take part in the International Workshop on Men and Migration in Contemporary Europe founded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, to be held at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, 9-10 June 2016. The the main aim of the workshop is to strengthen interdisciplinary discussion of men and migration issues centred on the multidimensional and intersectional aspects of male experiences and identities, migrant men’s practices, their roles in their host societies and encounters between varied migrant and non-migrant masculinities. During the workshop, we will particularly address the issues of migrant men’s vulnerability, discrimination (in the labor market, state institutions and in the public sphere), fatherhood models and the issues connected to masculinities models and sexuality.
New article on European perpetrator programmes outcome monitoring strategies and evaluation models
Over three years ago I had the pleasure of coordinating one the most interesting and exciting projects funded under the European Commission programme Daphne III entitled “IMPACT: Evaluation of European Perpetrator Programmes”. The main aim of the IMPACT project was to enhance and harmonise the outcome monitoring of European programmes for male perpetrators of domestic violence. As knowledge about the evaluation of such initiatives in Europe was not deep enough, IMPACT’s project team, consisting of seven organisations from five European countries, strived to fill this knowledge gap and offer solutions towards a harmonisation of perpetrator programme monitoring.
Im Westen nichts Neues: reflections on the Council for European Studies Europeanists Conference(s)
Time flies and it’s already been two weeks since I came back from the 23rd International Conference of Europeanists organised by the Council for European Studies (which I’m a member of) in Philadelphia, PA. Before I summarise my reflections on this year’s conference, let me share some thoughts about the previous year’s event held in Paris, France.
A workshop in Berlin and its outcomes
Several weeks ago I had the pleasure of taking part in a student workshop on “Gender Equality in Eastern Europe (and beyond) – laws and practices” organised by Justyna Stypinska and her students at the Department of Sociology of the Institute for East European Studies, Free University of Berlin. Together with Irina Catrinel Craciun, Majda Hrzenjak, Marc Gärtner and Alexander Kondakov, I participated in expert panels, but the real heroines and heroes of the day were the students who presented the results of their work during a course on gender equality and law conducted by Justyna. During the workshop, one of my tasks was to give a feedback on the student papers gathered in Panel I, Gender equality and policymaking. As I usually like to comment on other people’s work (sometimes more than do my own), I was glad to accept the offer and, to my delight, I was rewarded with really good presentations.
Play it again, Sam or let’s talk about masculinities
In the last several weeks Göteborgs – Posten, one of the most popular daily newspapers in my city, has become a platform where the issue of the increasing number of male refugees coming to/staying in Sweden has been raised. As a feminist scholar researching men and masculinity issues for almost a decade, I couldn’t be happier to observe this type of gender-sensitive discussion being conducted in one of the leading Gothenburg newspapers. However, as the problem analysed is extremely complex, and the intersections between masculinities, migration processes and violence play a crucial role in it, further discussion should be elaborated and it cannot be limited to the presentation of contradictory statements from social researchers, which is happening at the moment. Continue reading
War’s manly face: comments on the Cologne attacks
In the 1950s an anonymous author published her book A Woman in Berlin, in which the history of mass rapes perpetrated at the end of the Second World War by Red Army soldiers (white men) against German (white) women is described. Grbavica, directed by Jasmila Žbanić, tells the story of rapes perpetrated by Serbian men (white Christians) against Bosnian women (white Muslims) during the war in the former Yugoslavia. Stories of women from Vietnam, Bangladesh, Uganda, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Peru, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Darfur and most recently Libya, Iraq and Syria (Henry 2016), victims of mass rapes perpetrated by men (white, black, Asian, catholic, orthodox, Muslim, atheist, old, young, unemployed, educated etc.) during armed conflicts, still wait to be told. Continue reading
Dr. K & THE men 