Gender Regimes and Divided German History: Rethinking Asymmetry and Entanglement
Dr Jane Freeland is Lecturer in History and Fellow of the Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences. She researches the history of women and gender in modern Germany and Europe with a focus on the history of feminism in the twentieth century, with a particular focus on activism against domestic violence, reproductive rights, and feminism and the media. Her first book, Feminist Transformations and Domestic Violence in Divided Berlin, 1969-2002 (OUP 2022), examines feminist activism against domestic abuse in East and West Germany, focusing particularly on the movement to open women's shelters. Situating domestic violence activism within a broader history of feminism in post-war Germany, it traces the evolution of this movement both across political division and reunification and from grassroots campaign to established, professionalised social service. In doing so, it asks what popular and political support for domestic violence activism has meant for feminism and the advancement of women's rights more broadly. Examining the trajectory of feminism in Germany, Feminist Transformations reveals the limitations of gender equality as advancements in women's rights were often built on the reassertion of patriarchal gender roles. She is currently developing a new project on reproductive rights, and the movement of women across borders to access abortion.
- this seminar is free to attend, but advanced registration is required.
This page was last updated on 29 June 2024
