WUNRN
Network of East-West Women
POST COMMUNIST GENDER STUDIES
RESEARCH GROUP
Social,
political and economic transformations which occurred in Central Europe in the
end of the 80ties and the beginning of the 90ties changed not only the way of
governing and the economic system in those countries. They contributed to broad
changes in the cultural and social spheres, including the hierarchy of values,
objectives and aspirations of all walks of society.
Post-communist
societies were freed from the principles of egalitarianism and equality, which
had been imposed on them. They started to evolve toward diversity and tried to
define their own identities. These changes were a reaction to socialistic
methods of governing, but were also brought about by the general cultural
tendencies occurring in the industrial world by the end of the 20th century.
One
of the basic effects of those transitions of the turn of the 20th and 21st
centuries is the intensification of cultural processes and the growth of
studies pertaining to them. Culture became a new notion and a key word, which
is supposed to explain those changes, both on the local and global levels.
One
of important, but rarely discusses areas in the post-communist countries are
gender studies dealing with the social role of gender in an interdisciplinary
and multi-faceted way.
Gender
studies analyze the issues of gender in the social and cultural context and
examine models and roles assigned to gender. These studies combine research in
sociology, psychology, geography, law, history, anthropology, literature and
other areas of humanities.
Countries
of Central and Eastern Europe, ex- Soviet Union, some countries in Asia and
Africa bear the brand of the socialist system, which dominated there in the
second half of the 20th century. Common spatial and historical context, similar
or identical processes and general circumstances make the former East Block
countries a unique group, diverse but still sharing a common denominator for
the research of social and cultural processes.
The
objective of our group is to organize and conduct research projects in gender
studies focusing on the ex-communist countries. The totalitarian experience
they share creates a common base for research, enables synthesizing and makes
it easier to understand processes occurring there now in spite of local
differences.
The
research of our group comprised:
- analysis of roles ascribed to women and sexual
minorities in post-socialist countries
- feminism and masculinity
- biological gender, cultural gender and identity
- transformations of the social role of gender after
joining the EU by Central European countries
- factors influencing the evolving of gender role models
- processes of the social construction of gender
- images, myths and stereotypes of gender and their
changes in post-communist countries
The
results of our research will be available through publications, conferences, workshops
and a series of seminars.
The group includes representatives of different fields: sociology, law,
geography and organizations working to improve the situation of women in
post-communist countries. The group is open and invites all willing to participate
to join in our efforts.
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