Teaching with the third wave new feminists - MailChimp

European Women’s/Gender Studies vis-à-vis the Bologna processPositive aspectsThe positive influences of the Bologna process on European Women’s/GenderStudies can be summarized as two main points: a) increase of the institutionalpower of the field, and b) foregrounding issues of European diversity.The first point is related with European benchmarking. According toHemmings, European benchmarks “might (…) allow the field visibility andcredibility in institutional fights for survival”. 8 The recognition of Women’s/Gender Studies as a distinct research and teaching category at a European levelwill increase institutional ‘security’ and recognition in national contexts wherethe field has already achieved a certain degree of institutional autonomy (e.g.UK, The Netherlands, the Nordic countries) and this recognition will alsofacilitate acceptance of the field in national contexts where it has been onlyintegrated into existing disciplines (e.g. Greece, Italy, Spain or France). Consideringthe lack or absence of national support for the institutionalizationof Women’s/Gender Studies in certain local contexts, European tuning 9 willprovide feminist academics with enormous help. This becomes pretty clear inthe Greek context where I am presently located. As Pavlidou has pointed out,in spite of numerous proposals and the serious efforts of feminist academics toachieve more permanent forms of institutionalization of Women’s Studies inthe Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the Greek Ministry of Education wasonly forced to change its policy towards Women’s Studies after the EU suggestedthat 10% of the education budget from the 3 rd Community Support Frameworkshould be spent on measures promoting gender and equality. 10 What theGreek experience shows is that ‘external’ mediations (the EU in our case) maybe a catalyst in certain inflexible and conservative local contexts.The discussion about the increase in the field’s institutional power bringsthe Second Wave feminist integration/mainstreaming vs. autonomy debate to the8Clare Hemmings, “Tuning Problems? Notes on Women’s and Gender Studies and the Bologna Process”, 120.9For an overview of what tuning is and for its use in European Women’s/Gender Studies see Berteke Waaldijk,“What is ‘Tuning’ and what is it at stake for Women’s/Gender Studies”, in the Making of European Women’s Studies,Vol. VIII, ed. Berteke Waaldijk, Mischa Peters and Else van der Tuin (ATHENA/Utrecht University, 2008), 123-127; Clare Hemmings, “Discussing Tuning”, in the Making of European Women’s Studies, Vol. VIII, ed. BertekeWaaldijk, Mischa Peters and Else van der Tuin (ATHENA/Utrecht University, 2008), 128-130.10Theodossia-Soula Pavlidou, “Women’s Studies in Greece: An Update,” in The Making of European Women’sStudies, Vol. VII, ed. Rosi Braidotti and Berteke Waaldijk (ATHENA/Utrecht University, 2006), 179; and Theodossia-SoulaPavlidou, “Gender Studies at Greek Universities: Assessment and Perspectives,” [in Greek] in GenderStudies: Trends/Tensions in Greece and Other European Countries, ed. Pavlidou (Thessaloniki: Zitis, 2006), 16.41