Arab Feminisms: A Critical Perspective, International Conference, Beirut, 4-7 October 2009
The Lebanese Association of Women Researchers is planning an international conference on Arab Feminisms: A Critical Perspective , in collaboration with the Women and Memory Forum, Cairo, The Department of Women’s Studies at Bir Zeit University, and the Anis Makdisi Program in Literature at the American University of Beirut and The Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World, a consortium of the Universities of Edinburgh, Manchester and Durham. The conference will be held in Beirut on 4-7 October 2009.
Why this conference?
Feminism is today undergoing a worldwide re-assessment: What have been its achievements? Where has it failed? Has it remained necessary to the development of society, or has it outlived its usefulness?
As much as anywhere else these questions and others like them are being raised in the Arab world, which – together with feminism and other currents of thought—is today facing a major crisis brought about by attempts to fragment Arab countries, the rule of undemocratic regimes, the presence of religious and ideological fundamentalism, as well as by a rapid increase in poverty, exploitation and armed conflict, all of which inhibit free thought and expression and hinder the ability of individuals to communicate openly and honestly with one another. In addition, Arab feminism has also to deal with the complex social impact of economic globalization, as well as dramatic developments in the fields of science, technology, information and communication, which present it with new and difficult challenges.
