IGU Commission on gender and geography Conference
“Post-socialism, neo-liberalism – old and new gendered societies and policies”
*22^nd –24^th May 2009*
*Szeged–Timisoara*
*Hungary–Romania*

This conference will be held in the year marking the 20th anniversary of the East Central European political changes of 1989. In the past two decades the region has hosted international conferences on the post-socialist transition that were organised by and for feminist scholars of different disciplines. Reflecting the marginal position of gender studies within human geography in the post-socialist countries, Eastern and Central European feminist geographers had very low visibility in these discussions. For them (us) the most helpful supporters are feminist sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists etc. and feminist geographers living outside of post-socialist Europe. The former groups of social scientists are dealing already with the question whether post-socialism is still a relevant category for research, partly because of the strengthening process of neo-liberalisation that is also attracting the interest of geographers. Thus, it is time to put on the agenda comparing the similarities and differences in the systems of post-socialism and neo-liberalism through the prism of ‘gender’.

The primary *_aim_* of this interdisciplinary conference is

i) to provide a platform for critical evaluation of post-socialism and neo-liberalism from feminist perspectives;
ii) understanding women’s and men’s everyday experiences;
iii) revealing the particular geographies of the gender dimensions of these ‘models’.

Papers are invited on the following basic *_themes_*: Continue reading →