Gender Studies Now
Gender Studies Now is one of the core courses of the Netherlands Research School of Gender Studies and it invites faculty from participating universities in NOG. It presents current scholarship undertaken in the research school in interactive workshops with RMA (and PhD) students. It takes place throughout block 3 of the academic year at Utrecht University. This course invites faculty from the Netherlands Research School of Genderstudies (NOG) to present current research and have interactive workshops with the students. The sessions will be workshops that follow thematic streams such as e.g. ‘sexualities today’, ‘homonationalism’, ‘posthumanist interventions’, ‘transitional justice’, ‘the affective turn’, ‘beyond the gender binary’ or ‘feminist techno-science’.
The course works always in close cooperation with all partner programs present in NOG in order to connect the work and research done in Gender Studies in the Netherlands. The workshops will be prepared by readings related to the session’s topic.
This year’s edition features three workshops focused on understanding the roles of women and gender-nonconforming bodies in conflict zones, as well as on gender-based and sexualized violence as key to exploring power and resistance from anti-colonial movements to contemporary social movements across different geopolitical contexts. Drawing on feminist, queer, postcolonial, and decolonial scholarship, this series asks: how to understand female agency in the context of war and violence? Do structures of violence against women, queer and trans people persist—and how are they resisted? What forms do feminist social movements take in contexts of repression, crisis, and conflict? How are these movements articulated and conveyed across contexts, disciplines, and media?
Through a combination of theoretical interventions, case studies, and interactive workshops, the series aims to foster critical dialogue across disciplines and regions, bridging empirical insight with normative reflection and praxis. Key thematic threads will include the intersections of gender, race, class, and coloniality in patterns of violence; contested notions of agency, survival, and subjectivity under violence; movement building, memory, and reparative justice; and feminist visions for futures beyond violence.
Previous teachers: Dr. Liesbeth Minnaard (Leiden University), Dr. Layal Ftouni (Utrecht University), Dr. Maria Boletsi (Leiden University), Dr. Marie-Louise Janssen (UvA), Dr. Niels Spierings (Radboud University Nijmegen), Dr. Louis van den Hengel (Maastricht University), Dr. Magda Gorska (Utrecht University), Prof. Liedeke Plate (Radboud University Nijmegen), Dr. Eva Midden (Utrecht University), Prof. Lies Wesseling (Maastricht University), Prof. Marieke van den Brink (Radboud University Nijmegen), Anne-Louise Schotel (University of Amsterdam), Dr. Katrine Smiet (Radboud University Nijmegen), Dr. Alex Thinius (University of Amsterdam), Dr. Nishant Shah (ArtEZ University of the Arts), Dr. Koen Leurs (Utrecht University), Dr. Christine Quinan (Utrecht University), Dr. Diego Semerene Guimaraes Semerene Costa (University of Amsterdam), Prof. Misha Kavka (University of Amsterdam), Dr. Lieks Hettinga (Leiden University).
The coordinator of Gender Studies Now in 2026 are Prof. dr. Sandra Ponzanesi (UU) and Dr. Ana Miranda Mora (UU).
- Dates: February 4, 2026 (11:00-12:45), February 11, 2026, (11:00-16:00), March 11, 2026 (11:00-16:00), March 18, 2026 (11:00-16:00)
- Location: NOG – Utrecht University
- Credits: 5 ECTS (credits will only be awarded after an accepted written paper. Students not requiring any credits will receive a certificate of attendance)
- Details: open to NOG RMA students, as well as Research Master students enrolled in LOGOS Research Schools.
- Registration: please email nog@uu.nl. The registration period follows the Utrecht University schedule. Late registration is possible between 19-20 January 2026. Please email for details about the application process.