During the fourth phase of the Graduate Research Programme in Gender Studies, from 2012 to 2016, the focus was on processes of normalisation as both a condition and a limitation of social modes of existence, examined from cultural, social and natural science perspectives. These processes constitute specific subjectivities, ways of thinking, feeling and bodily practices, and they imply certain mechanisms of domination, differentiation and discipline. In this way, they determine what is historically conceivable and livable, yet at the same time – not least in their contingent and constantly contested demarcations – they point to the possibility that things could be different, and how: to alternative modes of individual existence and social order.

Against this background, the following three thematic areas have been identified as key fields of analysis for critical examinations of these processes from a multidimensional perspective, encompassing their historical genealogy and their current reproduction and transformation.

The Formation of European/Western Hegemony
The focus here is on investigations into the various aspects of the historical and contemporary formation of European/Western hegemony, in their interconnection with
the (re-)production of gender relations in a global context. In doing so, structural, individual and symbolic dimensions are to be taken into account. To date, theoretical and empirical discourse has tended to focus either on the self-affirmation of Europe or that of the West, and the respective processes of othering. In contrast, the research group aims to place greater emphasis on the intertwining and interplay of these perspectives.

Gender, Sexuality and Sexualisation
The sexuality and sexualisation of society are currently proving to be prime examples of the paradoxical coexistence of change and persistence in gender relations. Thus, on the one hand, a pluralisation can be observed, whilst on the other, there is a marked (re-)traditionalisation of gendered and sexual ways of life. In this regard, research into historical and contemporary representations, imaginations and practices of sexuality as a social and cultural phenomenon is particularly welcome. Of particular interest are also studies that draw on new scientific concepts (e.g. epigenetics) and examine the complex interactions between social contexts and physiological processes.

Feminism, Normativity and Critique
This section addresses current challenges facing feminist theory and critique: How can the global ecological, economic, social and political crises – or the ambivalence of normalisation efforts (such as neoliberal co-optation strategies) – be adequately addressed? Are existing feminist concepts sufficient, or are new methods and terminology required? Do we need to develop new alliance strategies? It is also necessary to clarify to what extent concepts such as multidimensionality, intersectionality, interdependence or self-criticism of hegemony can serve as useful analytical tools in this endeavour. Last but not least, the question currently arises as to how and in what form normativity can be conceived as a criterion for critique within the framework of deconstructivist approaches.

The shared research focus was explored using a variety of methodological and theoretical approaches (e.g. postcolonial and queer theories), incorporating cultural, social and natural science perspectives on gender studies. This inter- and transdisciplinary approach is a key feature of the Graduate Research Programme, with the aim of continually relating the various projects and their findings to one another in order to gain shared insights into both historical and contemporary developments.

Events

2013 

| What is Critique? – Revisited  – Standards, Normativity, Normalisation
Core event with Antke Engel (Institute for Queer Theory, Berlin)

| Normalisation
Workshop with Isabell Lorey (Cologne Academy of Media Arts)

2014

| Affect Studies
Workshop with Mel Y. Chen (University of California, Berkeley)

| Bodies
Workshop with Paula-Irene Villa (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich)

| Sexuality, masculinity and femininity
Workshop with Jessica Benjamin (New York University)

2015 

| Concepts of Intersectionality
Workshop with Katrin Meyer (University of Zurich)

| Empirical and Medial Bodies in (Gender) Research
Workshop with Paula-Irene Villa (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich)

| Human rights – universalism, cultural relativism and neoliberal instrumentalisation, Parts I–III
Workshop with Christa Wichterich (University of Basel) and Andrea Maihofer (University of Basel)

2016

| Gender norms – norm, normativity, normalisation
Public lecture & workshop with Isabell Lorey (Cologne Academy of Media Arts)

| The Trouble with Passion and Politics After the Affective Turn 
Workshop with Kathy Davis (University of Amsterdam

| The Politics of Gender Relations
Workshop with Birgit Sauer (University of Vienna)

| Postcolonial Theory, Memory and Affect 
Workshop with Bilgin Ayata (University of Basel)

| Postcoloniality, Migration and Memory 
Workshop with Mahua Sarkar (Binghamton University) and Bilgin Ayata (University of Graz)