Lunchtime Seminar
co-organised by the Faculty of Social Sciences Athena Working Group and the Centre for the Study of Women and Gender

Discussion of the article
“Moderate feminism within or against the neoliberal university? The example of Athena SWAN”
featuring the authors, Ruth Pearce (University of Leeds) and Charikleia Tzanakou (University of Warwick – TBC)

At this lunchtime seminar, we will be discussing a recently published article by two current and former Warwick colleagues, offering a critical and empirical analysis of Athena SWAN. Attendees will be asked to read, or skim through, the article beforehand, and the session time will be dedicated to discussing the findings, and the questions they raise, with the authors of the article and other colleagues from a range of Faculties involved in Athena Swan.

The article can be downloaded for free here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gwao.12336
(If you’re having difficulties accessing the article, please email m.d.m.pereira@warwick.ac.uk)

We welcome all academic and administrative colleagues from all Faculties and Services throughout the University, and hope you will enjoy this chance to debate important and topical questions about Athena SWAN, whether you’re very familiar with it, or just becoming acquainted with it.

This event is free and open to all, and lunch will be provided.
We ask that participants book in advance to make sure we order the right amount of food and drink. You can book here.

Useful Information:

• The venue is wheelchair accessible with accessible, gender-neutral toilets nearby. If you face other access barriers or require more detailed accessibility information, please let us know so we can support your full participation.
• We are unfortunately not able to offer childcare for this event, but babies and children are fully and warmly welcomed, and we will do our best to provide any amenities and adjustments necessary to support colleagues bringing babies or children. To discuss this, please contact Laura Elwyn (L.Elwyn@warwick.ac.uk)
• If you have any questions or need special assistance, please do not hesitate to contact Laura Elwyn (L.Elwyn@warwick.ac.uk)

“The Politics of Cultural Work: Inequality, Entrepreneurialism and Precarity”
Christina Scharff (King’s College London)

Abstract:
Work in the cultural and creative industries is often described as fulfilling and deeply satisfying, but research has demonstrated that it’s also precarious and marked by ongoing inequalities along the lines of gender, race, and class. This presentation will draw on research on the classical music profession in Berlin and London to discuss and problematise three features of contemporary, creative labour: 1) the underpinning entrepreneurial work ethos, 2) ongoing inequalities, 3) and precariousness. In focusing on these dynamics, special attention will be paid to the dimensions of gender and subjectivity.

Speaker Bio:
Christina Scharff is Senior Lecturer in Culture, Media and Creative Industries at King’s College London. Her research interests are in gender, media, and culture with a focus on engagements with feminism and the politics of creative work. Christina is author of Repudiating Feminism: Young Women in a Neoliberal World (Ashgate, 2012) and, most recently, Gender, Subjectivity, and Cultural Work: The Classical Music Profession (Routledge, 2018). She co-edited (with Rosalind Gill) the books New Femininities: Postfeminism, Neoliberalism and Subjectivity (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011); Aesthetic Labour: Rethinking Beauty Politics in Neoliberalism (with Ana Sofia Elias and Rosalind Gill) (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017); and Digital Feminisms: Transnational activism in German protest cultures (with Carrie Smith-Prei and Maria Stehle).

This event is free and open to all, with no advance registration required. It will be followed by a reception.

Useful Information:

• For information on getting to the University of Warwick, see here.
• You can find a map of campus here. The lecture will take place in the Ramphal building, which appears at the centre of the map.
• The venue is wheelchair accessible with accessible, gender-neutral toilets nearby. If you face other access barriers or require more detailed accessibility information, please let us know so we can support your full participation.
• We are unfortunately not able to offer childcare for this event, but babies and children are fully and warmly welcomed, and we will do our best to provide any amenities and adjustments necessary to support colleagues bringing babies or children.
• If you have any questions or need special assistance, please do not hesitate to contact Laura Elwyn (L.Elwyn@warwick.ac.uk)

This workshop will bring staff and students together to reflect on how we might rethink and redo feminist pedagogy in the present, in light of old dilemmas and new challenges, including the working/studying conditions of the neoliberal university, changing student activist cultures, an epidemic of mental health issues among staff and students, or calls for a more intersectional, liberated curriculum.

It features the following speakers (in alphabetical order):

Janine Francois (University of Bedfordshire): Moving from Safe Spaces to Brave Spaces: How ‘Intersectionality’ can Facilitate Difficult Conversation within Teaching and Learning

Radhika Govinda (University of Edinburgh): 'Mirror Mirror on the Wall..." The Promise and Perils of Decolonising Feminist Classrooms

Awino Okech (SOAS): Reflections on Inclusive Pedagogy

Nicola Rivers (University of Gloucestershire): Resisting Resilience: The Role of Vulnerability in the Neoliberal Academy

This event is free and open to all, including staff, students (of all levels) and visitors from outside the University of Warwick.

All participants must book in advance. You can book here.

You are welcome to drop in throughout the afternoon, and attend only part of the event.

Useful Information:

• For information on getting to the University of Warwick, see here.
• You can find a map of campus here. The lecture will take place in the Library building, which appears at the centre of the map.
• The venue is wheelchair accessible and has accessible, gender-neutral toilets nearby. If you face other access barriers or require more detailed accessibility information, please let us know so we can support your full participation.
• We are unfortunately not able to offer childcare for this event, but babies and children are fully and warmly welcomed, and we will do our best to provide any amenities and adjustments necessary to support colleagues bringing babies or children.
• If you have any questions, need special assistance or want to discuss adjustments we can make for babies and children, please do not hesitate to contact Laura Elwyn (L.Elwyn@warwick.ac.uk)