On Friday 15 November 2024, NOG member Gohar Parissa Rahimi will defend her PhD project ‘Pop Feminism(s) Against the Grain: Articulations of Agency, Race, and Class’.
Rahimi’s dissertation explores the articulations of popular feminist narratives by analysing their mainstream literary representations, particularly feminist handbooks, guidebooks and manifestos. Focusing on media landscapes in the United Kingdom, Italy and the United States, the research uses an intersectional feminist framework to examine how these literary works address patriarchy, racism and classism.
Central to Rahimi’s analysis are three key themes – agency, race and class – which are fundamental to feminist discourse, but are often reinterpreted through a post-feminist and neoliberal lens in popular literature. While feminist media products, such as television shows and digital content, have been widely studied, Rahimi’s dissertation fills a gap by focusing on feminist literary works that engage with popular culture, particularly those authored by prominent digital influencers and Instagram activists who have shifted to writing feminist guidebooks.
By examining both Anglo-American and less-studied Italian contexts, the dissertation highlights the cross-cultural dimensions of feminist popular literature. While acknowledging the empowering impact of these narratives on young women, Rahimi critiques how they can conform to existing power structures, transforming potential spaces of resistance into mainstream, celebratory and depoliticised forms of feminism.
In addition, Rahimi’s thesis presents a counter-narrative by analysing feminist manifestos from each of the selected regions and contrasting them with the mainstream narratives found in feminist guidebooks. This comparative approach highlights the persistence of intersectional feminism in political demands and calls for a global, collective effort to promote a more inclusive, anti-racist, decolonial, anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist feminism in popular culture.
Details PhD Defense
Date: Friday, November 15, 2024
Time: 12:15-13:15h.
Location: Hybrid. Live: Senate Hall, Utrecht University Hall, or click here to attend online.
Title: Pop Feminism(s) Against the Grain: Articulations of Agency, Race, and Class
Supervisors: Prof. dr. Sandra Ponzanesi and Prof. dr. Rita Monticelli (University of Bologna, Italy)
Co-supervisors: Dr. Domitilla Olivieri and dr. Serena Baiesi (University of Bologna, Italy)
