Page 159 - Šolsko polje, XXXI, 2020, 5-6: Teaching Feminism, ed. Valerija Vendramin
P. 159
tracts ■ Povzetki
Nina Perger, Metka Mencin and Veronika Tašner
TEACHING FEMINISM: BETWEEN MARGINALISATION
AND FEMINIST PERSISTENCE
The aim of this article is to gain insights into how feminist principles, con-
tent and practices persist in higher education in times of neoliberal ideol-
ogy, post-feminism and the intensification of extreme-right wing politics.
The main issue the article seeks to address is the state of gender-related and
feminist topics in higher education. Their state should be addressed at the
intersections of: 1) social context; 2) institutional settings (formalised and
officialised gender-related curricula); and 3) intra-institutional practices,
such as backlashes to and sanctions against feminist practices. In order to
achieve this, we start by briefly sketching the beginnings of women’s stud-
ies worldwide, and the ambivalences of institutionalising feminist knowl-
edge. We proceed by focusing our discussion on the contemporary social
situation, significantly marked by right-wing politics and neoliberal ideol-
ogy, aiming to constitute feminism as irrelevant on the grounds of an in-
dividualised “brave new world”, where everything seems possible, achiev-
able and accessible. We continue by focusing our attention on the state of
feminist topics in the context of Slovenian higher education. This part is
based on document analysis of curricula of various universities in Slovenia
(a description of their study courses and programmes: the research shows
that gender-related topics are still marginalised within higher education
as feminist topics remain rare and optional rather than obligatory. After
discussing the barriers and obstacles facing feminism, we conclude with a
discussion on feminist persistence and resistance in higher education: it is
Izvirni znanstveni članek ◆ Original Research Paper 157
https://doi.org/10.32320/1581-6044.31(5-6)157-stran
Nina Perger, Metka Mencin and Veronika Tašner
TEACHING FEMINISM: BETWEEN MARGINALISATION
AND FEMINIST PERSISTENCE
The aim of this article is to gain insights into how feminist principles, con-
tent and practices persist in higher education in times of neoliberal ideol-
ogy, post-feminism and the intensification of extreme-right wing politics.
The main issue the article seeks to address is the state of gender-related and
feminist topics in higher education. Their state should be addressed at the
intersections of: 1) social context; 2) institutional settings (formalised and
officialised gender-related curricula); and 3) intra-institutional practices,
such as backlashes to and sanctions against feminist practices. In order to
achieve this, we start by briefly sketching the beginnings of women’s stud-
ies worldwide, and the ambivalences of institutionalising feminist knowl-
edge. We proceed by focusing our discussion on the contemporary social
situation, significantly marked by right-wing politics and neoliberal ideol-
ogy, aiming to constitute feminism as irrelevant on the grounds of an in-
dividualised “brave new world”, where everything seems possible, achiev-
able and accessible. We continue by focusing our attention on the state of
feminist topics in the context of Slovenian higher education. This part is
based on document analysis of curricula of various universities in Slovenia
(a description of their study courses and programmes: the research shows
that gender-related topics are still marginalised within higher education
as feminist topics remain rare and optional rather than obligatory. After
discussing the barriers and obstacles facing feminism, we conclude with a
discussion on feminist persistence and resistance in higher education: it is
Izvirni znanstveni članek ◆ Original Research Paper 157
https://doi.org/10.32320/1581-6044.31(5-6)157-stran
