Women in the Caribbean: Fragmentations – Crossroads – Interconnections

Over the last two decades, feminist studies from the Global South have drawn attention to the fact that the concerns of indigenous women and women of African descent differ significantly from those of the Global North. The congress will examine this evidence in relation to the Caribbean as a region that is characterized by ethnic, social, cultural and linguistic differences. It focuses on the position of women, their changing political, social, and cultural interventions, their relationship to gender roles, feminist- and LGTBQ-Movements, and the communication with the Caribbean diaspora.

Since the 1950s, historical events and movements such as emancipation, decolonization, gender politics and migration as well as the internet have had a significant impact on the position of Caribbean women. For example, in Afro-Caribbean populations, migration is no longer exclusively a male privilege and the relationships with the homeland as well as within the family have changed due to the development of communication media, financial means, and education. Caribbean Women have achieved powerful positions in politics (Barrow-Giles 2011), business (Esnard 2023) the educational system, literature, arts (Snodgrass 2020), music as well as theatre and performance (Sahakian 2017). At the same time, domestic violence and crime against women have increased significantly and women have proven to be especially vulnerable when it comes to natural disasters, which are particularly frequent in the Caribbean. Yet, the myth of women’s strength (Rodriguez 2017), which developed in the English-speaking Caribbean based on Edith Clarke’s studies of family patterns and kinship organization in urban Jamaican communities (1957), persists. It is being related to the opinion that women have no choice other than to survive in a patriarchal community characterized by its social, cultural, ethnic and gender stereotypes and institutionalized multiple forms of discrimination and oppression. As feminist studies of the 21st century from the Caribbean have shown, women of this region are particularly affected by intersections of gender, race and class.

Against this background, the planned congress sets out to explore aspects of the interweaving of femininity with social, political, cultural and linguistic dynamics in the Caribbean, pursuing three goals in particular:

1. To analyze the social, political and economic challenges women have faced/are facing in the Caribbean and how they have delt /are dealing with them.
2. To discuss the variety of female activities and gender roles in contemporary societies as expressed in cultural manifestations, institutional protection, political interventions, and educational practices.
3. To explore the intersection of women’s multiple identities and positionalities, including their international networks.

Contributions from all humanities and social sciences are appreciated, provided that they cover the topic of women in the Caribbean with respect to the questions outlined above and that they allow for transdisciplinary discussions. Studies on Suriname, the ABC-islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao), and St. Eustatius, St. Maarten and Saba are especially welcome.

Please submit your abstract (up to 400 words in English, French or Spanish) before September 15, 2024, to socare-conference@caribbeanstudies.net

Notification of acceptance or rejection of proposals will be made by October 15, 2024.

The congress will take place at the Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut in Berlin. The organizers will provide informations on the programme, venue, accommodation and travel at http://caribbeanresearch.net/de/socare-conference-2025/

Conference fees

75,- Euro for employees non-members SOCARE
60,- Euro for employees Members SOCARE

Participation is free of charge for students and unemployed researchers.

Organizers:

Asma Hussein (Al-Ahliyya Amman University AAU/ Jordan)
Miriam Lay-Brander (Katholische Universität Eichstätt / Germany)
Ulrike Mühlschlegel (Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut, Berlin / Germany)
Ineke Phaf-Rheinberger (Universität Gießen / Germany)