IDEAS Podcast

The meaning of freedom, as the final significant element, the final piece in constructing this mosaic of the political, is offered through a set of reminders as to the meaning that is personal, but the focus is on its political implications. For example, the issues addressed are the limitations of „negative“ freedom and the potential of positive freedom, freedom of the will, freedom from necessity, self-determination, and self-actualization.

The author of the text is Jelisaveta Blagojević.

The text is read by Daša Duhaček

References:

Jelisaveta Blagojević, Politics of the Unthinkable/ Politike nemislivog, Beograd: Centar za medije i komunikacije, FMK, Unverzitet Singidunum, 2014.

In order to restore the meaning of political activism and the importance of political engagement, this episode differentiates between politics and political. As opposed to politics, which is restricted to the institutionalized sphere and, albeit insisting on the necessity of both, the episode introduces the concept of the political, it is predicated on contingency, conflict,

negotiations and uncertainty, in short – the space of freedom.

The author of the text is Jelisaveta Blagojević.

The text is read by Daša Duhaček

References:

Hannah Arendt, The Promise of Politics, New York: Schocken Books, 2005.

This episode also covers a full range of relevant issues, but from the outset suggests that any

representation of love, its manifestation is public, or more specifically, it is political. It is connected to power (of love), but, importantly, „the true revovlutionary power of love should not reaffirm any fixed identity, but should be open to change, to constant becoming...thus giving it political potential for growth“

The author of the text is Jelisaveta Blagojević.

The text is read by Daša Duhaček

References:

Jelisaveta Blagojević, The Community of those without a Community/Zajednica onih koji nemaju zajednicu, Beograd: fmk, 2008.

This episode raises many different issues, ranging from questioning what would one think of one’s own friendship(s) to the political aspect of building a friendship, such as connections of brotherhoods, fraternities, and the like. This leads to the question, is friendship gendered? Is it male - dominated? What about sisterhoods? What about friendships between women?

The author of the text is Jelisaveta Blagojević.

The text is read by Daša Duhaček

References:

Jacques Derrida, Politics of Friendship, London, New York: Verso, 1997.

The episode is constructed as an interview, and, unfolds the significant issue of political responsibility. In the interview, led by Jelisaveta Blagojević, Daša Duhaček responds by drawing on the political theory of Hannah Arendt.

References:

Hannah Arendt, „Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship“ in Responsibility and Judgment, Jerome Kohn ed., New York: Schocken Books, 2003.

Hannah Arendt, „Collective Responsibility“ in Responsibility and Judgment, Jerome Kohn ed., New York: Schocken Books, 2003.

Interview with Joni Seager, Professor of Global Studies at Bentley University in Boston based on her book Earth Follies: Coming To Feminist Terms With The Global Environmental Crisis, as well as her other research areas, such as masculinity and climate crisis.

Interview with Stella Tereka, a researcher on gender dimension of climate change, or more specifically, effective strategies on gender transformative climate proofing, also exemplified by looking at agriculture and natural resources sectors in Uganda.

Interview with Hildur Knútsdóttir, Icelandic author, feminist and climate change activist. The episode is on the gendering of climate change politics and the tensions and limitations of direct action versus the compromising world of government reform.

Reference

Joanna Wilson & Eric Chu (2020) The embodied politics of climate change:

analyzing the gendered division of environmental labor in the UK, Environmental Politics, 29:6,

https://rsa.tandfonline.com/loi/fenp20

Interview with Hafdís Hanna Ægisdóttir (Hafdís Hanna Aegisdottir), who was the Director of the UN University Land Restoration Training Programme, and, is now a research manager at the Institute for Sustainability Studies at the University of Iceland.

Interview with Dr. Auður H. Ingólfsdóttir (Audur Ingolfsdottir), researcher and university lecturer in International politics as social responsibility and sustainability, who explains, from a gender perspective, what is understood when we speak of climate change, as well as how serious are the consequences of climate change.

This episode would have us engage with „humanity’s biggest driving force – hope” albeit from a feminist perspective and it is, therefore, focusing on the right and the imagination of women who look toward a better future. The topic is addressed first from a historical view and takes into account important utopian thinkers such as Thomas More, Fourier, and Saint-Simon, but then shifts to women’s contributions bringing hope, and presents a “brilliant feminist writer” such as Ursula le Guin, draws on poetry so as to address the critics of utopian thought and re-establish its value, especially with a view to women and courageous utopian outlook.

The episode is read by the author, Ana Maskalan.

References

Despot Blaženka. 1987. Žensko pitanje i socijalističko samoupravljanje. Zagreb: Cekade.

Eddo-Lodge, Reni. 2019. Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing.

Le Guin, Ursula K. 1997. Dancing at the Edge of the World: Thoughts on Words, Women, Places. Newburyport: Grove/Atlantic, Incorporated.

The final episode of this module takes on a global perspective, using as a point of departure de-colonial theorists Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Maria Lugones, and others. The key malady, the main disorder, on a global scale, is extreme inequality, its diagnosis is capitalism in its current neoliberal format. International „...institutions ... that should act to reduce inequality, do not have real power to act properly“, moreover, „they are themselves part of the problem, and not the solution.“ However, the episode offers gender analyses through concrete examples and, while looking at the future, points toward a women’s resolve not to give up.

The episode is read by the author, Biljana Kašić.

References

Barbara Ehrenreich, Barbara & Arlie Russell Hochschild, R. Arlie. (eds.).2002. Global Woman: Nannies, Maids, Sex Workers in the New Economy. New York: Metropolitan Books.

Ferguson, Susan. 2020. Women and work: feminism, labor, and social reproduction. London: Pluto Press.

Website & Online Resources:

Bhattacharya, Tithi. 2017. What is Social Reproduction Theory?.

This opening episode of the module on feminist political economy and social reproduction is based on qualitative ethnographic research of an illustrative example, namely the Croatian economic system in the transition time of the early 1990s. How, if at all, and at whose expense, one is expected to balance everyday life „ while coping with changes in the diminished and restructured formal labor market, and the crises...“? „In what way have long-term formal unemployed women, dominant caregivers, and their activities in the informal sector, affected their lives, and lives of other family members, many of them also unemployed in the 1990s“?

The episode is read by the author, Tihana Rubić.

References

Burcar, Lilijana. 2020. Restauracija kapitalizma: repatrijarhalizacija društva. Zagreb: Centar za ženske studije - Institut za etnologiju i folkloristiku.

Hann, Chris, Keith Hart. 2011. Economic anthropology. History, Ethnography, Critique.Cambridge: Polity Press.

Kürti, László, Peter Skalnik, eds. 2009. Postsocialist Europe. Anthropological Perspectives from Home. New York – Oxford: Berghahn Books.

All the questions addressed in this episode constitute the most important issues of sex education which is indispensable in our contemporary society, especially where young people are concerned:

What is sex? Is there only one kind of sex? Are sexual practices gendered?  How is sexual health related to all of these? How many forms of relationships are out there? How can I choose? How can I practice safe sex but keep the pleasure? Is a condom the only way to protect me and others? How are all these related to the queer community, etc., etc.

Authors of the dialogues in all episodes are members of the Colour Youth group, from Athens, here led by Christiana Gennata. The text was read by Daša Duhaček and Aleksandra Janićijević.

This episode traces how a professor of Law, Kimberle Cranshaw introduced the term intersectionality, first to strengthen the arguments in feminist theory and, following that, how it was deployed in legal processes and expanded into other antidiscriminatory practices.

The episode also addresses other relevant issues, such as identity and discrimination against homophobia, racism, xenophobia, and ablism – all in the dynamic dialogue which uses the Greek context, but as this episode unfolds, the issues addressed refer far beyond the borders of Greece.

Authors of the dialogues in all episodes are members of the Colour Youth group, from Athens, here led by Christiana Gennata. The text was read by Daša Duhaček and Aleksandra Janićijević.

The team from Colour Youth has offered beyond any obligations to present the IDEAS program with a special podcast that addresses the problems arising from the Covid 19 Pandemic. This episode offers insights into peoples' lives during Covid 19 Pandemic and sheds light on many different faces/facets at the intersection of Covid and LGBTQ experiences. How is a queer identity being connected with the Greek system during Covid 19 restrictions? Are there disparities for trans and nonbinary people during quarantines?

Authors of the dialogues in all episodes are members of the Colour Youth group, from Athens, here led by Christiana Gennata. The text was read by Daša Duhaček and Aleksandra Janićijević.

This episode tells a story also by using the format of the dialogue. The story is based on personal experiences of discrimination against a transgender person, whose narrative we follow. And, again, although personal, and in the Greek context, this story is deeply relevant politically.

Authors of the dialogues in all episodes are members of the Colour Youth group, from Athens, here led by Christiana Gennata. The text was read by Daša Duhaček and Aleksandra Janićijević.

This episode is an introduction to LGBTQI+ rights. It is focused on the terminology and on clarifying the meanings of the keywords within the topic. It also covers the issues, such as gender, sex, heteronormativity, and transgender, and, of course, explains the words behind the abbreviation LGBTQI+.

Authors of the dialogues in all episodes are members of the Colour Youth group, from Athens, here led by Christiana Gennata. The text was read by Daša Duhaček and Aleksandra Janićijević.

This episode first clarifies relevant terminology (such as disability) and then proceeds to explain the experiences of disabled LGBTQI+ femininities: including very important issues, otherwise not often recognized. The episode is also based on the form of a dialogue and is based on personal experiences. However, the Greek context raises the matter much further.

Authors of the dialogues in all episodes are members of the Colour Youth group, from Athens, here led by Christiana Gennata. The text was read by Daša Duhaček and Aleksandra Janićijević.

Interview with Ms. Lidija Mračević, who emigrated from Sarajevo and through Belgrade came to Prague.

This module is devoted to giving a voice to women who belong to vulnerable groups. All the episodes within this module are interviews with women from groups who are under multiple discrimination, first as women, and then also as members of groups who are discriminated against.

All the interviews are conceptualized and led by Selma Muhič- Dizdarević and are a result of her long-term engagement and in-depth academic research of migrant, Roma, and homeless women in the Czech society. However, what is addressed here are the issues of discriminatory practices which are very much present in many other societies. Importantly, the interviews, following the life trajectories of these women, are also focused on how to resist and overcome discrimination.

All the interviews were conducted in Czech, transcribed, and translated in order to be recorded in English. Interviews in English were read by Daša Duhaček and Jovana Tougeron Tripunović.

Interview with Ms Emilia Horáčková, a prominent Czech Roma activist and entrepreneur.

This module is devoted to giving a voice to women who belong to vulnerable groups. All the episodes within this module are interviews with women from groups who are under multiple discrimination, first as women, and then also as members of groups who are discriminated against.

All the interviews are conceptualized and led by Selma Muhič- Dizdarević and are a result of her long-term engagement and in-depth academic research of migrant, Roma, and homeless women in the Czech society. However, what is addressed here are the issues of discriminatory practices which are very much present in many other societies. Importantly, the interviews, following the life trajectories of these women, are also focused on how to resist and overcome discrimination.

All the interviews were conducted in Czech, transcribed, and translated in order to be recorded in English. Interviews in English were read by Daša Duhaček and Jovana Tougeron Tripunović.

Interview with Ms. Lucie Vítková , a community activist and organizer in the Czech NGO Homelike

This module is devoted to giving a voice to women who belong to vulnerable groups. All the episodes within this module are interviews with women from groups who are under multiple discrimination, first as women, and then also as members of groups who are discriminated against.

All the interviews are conceptualized and led by Selma Muhič- Dizdarević and are a result of her long-term engagement and in-depth academic research of migrant, Roma, and homeless women in the Czech society. However, what is addressed here are the issues of discriminatory practices which are very much present in many other societies. Importantly, the interviews, following the life trajectories of these women, are also focused on how to resist and overcome discrimination.

All the interviews were conducted in Czech, transcribed, and translated in order to be recorded in English. Interviews in English were read by Daša Duhaček and Jovana Tougeron Tripunović.

Interview with Ms. Katarina (Katka) Gamal Richterová, an activist from the government program, Hate Free Culture (HFC).

This module is devoted to giving a voice to women who belong to vulnerable groups. All the episodes within this module are interviews with women from groups who are under multiple discrimination, first as women, and then also as members of groups who are discriminated against.

All the interviews are conceptualized and led by Selma Muhič- Dizdarević and are a result of her long-term engagement and in-depth academic research of migrant, Roma, and homeless women in the Czech society. However, what is addressed here are the issues of discriminatory practices which are very much present in many other societies. Importantly, the interviews, following the life trajectories of these women, are also focused on how to resist and overcome discrimination.

All the interviews were conducted in Czech, transcribed, and translated in order to be recorded in English. Interviews in English were read by Daša Duhaček and Jovana Tougeron Tripunović.

Interview with Ms. Ina Avramioti who works in integration services and NGOs, La Strada, Caritas.

This module is devoted to giving a voice to women who belong to vulnerable groups. All the episodes within this module are interviews with women from groups who are under multiple discrimination, first as women, and then also as members of groups who are discriminated against.

All the interviews are conceptualized and led by Selma Muhič- Dizdarević and are a result of her long-term engagement and in-depth academic research of migrant, Roma, and homeless women in the Czech society. However, what is addressed here are the issues of discriminatory practices which are very much present in many other societies. Importantly, the interviews, following the life trajectories of these women, are also focused on how to resist and overcome discrimination.

All the interviews were conducted in Czech, transcribed, and translated in order to be recorded in English. Interviews in English were read by Daša Duhaček and Jovana Tougeron Tripunović.

The second episode is about Women’s Studies. This episode gives a brief explanation of the discipline, which is at the same time an exciting field of interdisciplinary research and is now, for half a century,  a challenging study program in the international academic community.

Women’s Studies is best explained by telling the story of its beginnings, which takes us back to the politically turbulent, but intellectually stimulating times of the late sixties and seventies of the last century, to the times of student protests and women’s liberation movement.

The episode reminds us that many issues of establishing Women’s Studies are still topics of debate, such as how do theories translate into political practices. One of the issues is, the institutionalization of Women’s Studies programs, and how this process relates to teaching and educational projects alternative to mainstream systems of higher education. On that topic, in this episode, we introduce a text by Jelisaveta Blagojević who shares both her experiences from within and from without the system.

The episode is written and read by Daša Duhaček

For further reading:

Inderpal Grewal and Caren Kaplan, An Introduction to Women’s Studies. Gender in a transitional world. McGraw Hill, New York, 2002.

Dragana Popović, ed. Center for Women’s Studies 1992-2012. Center for Women’s Studies, Belgrade, 2012.

The first episode introduces the program entitled Inclusive Digital Educational Anti-discriminatory AlternativeS (IDEAS). It takes us through the key elements of the whole program, and announces what it will offer, and, that is 36 podcasts structured within 7 modules. The first two modules serve as points of departure and are the basis of the program. They are Gender and feminisms and on Women’s herstories including presenting different Political and Theoretical standpoints. What follows, within module three, are individual stories of Women’s minorities - Roma, homeless, and migrant women. Module four addresses issues of Body, sexuality, and LGBTQI issues. Module five presents Lessons from political economy, albeit from the feminist perspective of analyzing Social reproduction. Next comes another burning issue of our times, the challenges and warnings about Climate changes. Can a look from a gender lenses propose some solutions? Finally, to summarize these debates the program tackles The Political, as a concept which can serve as a venue for change.

The episode also names the organizations which conceptualized the program, as well as the authors of the podcasts.

The IDEAS project is supported by the Erasmus + program and the Tempus Foundation.

This podcast, a presentation of the IDEAS program is, on behalf the Center for Women’s Studies from Belgrade, given by Daša Duhaček, the coordinator of the project, with an intervention by Nadja Duhaček.