Apr

Gender and Politics Seminars: Workshop - Gendering Militarization in Europe: technologies, borders & resistance

28 April 2025 12:00 to 29 April 2025 12:00 | Research group meeting

Welcome to our workshop: Gendering Militarization in Europe: technologies, borders & resistance. During two days we meet with colleagues in Lund and from other universities to discuss current work on various trends related to militarization in Europe.
Supported by the Centre for European Studies.

Call for papers

This two-day workshop aims to explore the gendered dimensions of the current militarization of European politics. Participants will examine the gender dimension of the political rhetoric of making borders strong and secure; the appeals to safeguarding traditional family values; the masculine notions of protecting the nation through policies of total defense; and the role of LGBTQ+ rights in defense discourses.

150 word abstracts due Feb 14

Email the organizers to submit:

Bibi: bibi [dot] imre-millei [at] svet [dot] lu [dot] se (bibi[dot]imre-millei[at]svet[dot]lu[dot]se)

Markus: markus [dot] holdo [at] svet [dot] lu [dot] se (markus[dot]holdo[at]svet[dot]lu[dot]se)

Gendering Militarization in Europe Technologies, borders & resistance

Europe is facing important challenges related to its role in the global politics of security, immigration, and climate change. Several European governments are proposing and developing new border policies, security technologies, and discourses of protecting national values. This militarization has also generated critique and resistance from scholars, citizens, and human rights groups.

Purpose of workshop

This two-day workshop aims to explore the gendered dimensions of the current militarization of European politics. Participants will examine the gender dimension of the political rhetoric of making borders strong and secure; the appeals to safeguarding of traditional family values; the masculine notions of protecting the nation through policies of total defense; and the role of LGBTQ+ rights in defense discourses.

The purpose of the workshop is two-fold. First, to bring together scholars with shared research interests and thereby build and expand networks, and second, to facilitate discussions that may lead to further research collaborations. Specifically, we see significant potential in initiating research projects that could contribute to Lund University’s leading role in scholarship on European politics, security, and gender. In addition, members of the research group on Gender and Politics aim to use this occasion to encourage planning joint publications and special issues in academic journals.

We will welcome papers from scholars from diverse disciplines with an explicit focus on the workshop theme.

Theoretically, methodologically and/or empirically innovative contributions to the study of gender and militarization in Europe are all encouraged.

The workshop will be organized by the Research Group on Gender and Politics, based at the Department of Political Science at Lund University, with members from the Department of Gender Studies, the Centre for European Studies, and the Department of Political Science. The Department of Political Science will host the workshop. The organizers include Markus Holdo, Bibi Imre-Millei, Elsa Hedling, Ov Cristian Norocel, Katharina Kehl and Agnese Pacciardi. Funding was obtained from the Centre for European Studies at Lund University.

Practical information

The workshop format envisages work with papers-in-progress. We expect this to be a small workshop in which participants present advanced drafts of papers in need of discussion and feedback. The workshop will consist of a keynote (an internationally renowned scholar) and a series of panels with paper presentations and discussants. Most participants will serve formally as discussants, but everyone is expected to have read and to be able to engage with all the papers. A special session will be dedicated to brainstorming collectively to develop publication strategies, either joint strategies (as special issues or edited volumes) or individual ones.

The workshop begins at 12:00 April 28 and ends at 12:00 April 29. A paper abstract (max 150 words), will be requested of those interested in attending. Send your abstract to the main organizers, Bibi Imre-Millei and Markus Holdo (contact details below).

The workshop is supported by the Centre for European Studies at Lund University.

The grant we have received from the center allows us to cover a conference dinner for all participants, lunch, and coffee. We also have a small amount of funding for train tickets and one hotel night for participants who cannot cover these expenses through research project grants.

Please contact Bibi or Markus for any questions:

Bibi: bibi [dot] imre-millei [at] svet [dot] lu [dot] se (bibi[dot]imre-millei[at]svet[dot]lu[dot]se)

Markus: markus [dot] holdo [at] svet [dot] lu [dot] se (markus[dot]holdo[at]svet[dot]lu[dot]se)