Conference on "Transnational Feminist Resistance(s) Against Contemporary Violence(s) | Women & Gender in Global Perspectives Program

Joint conference hosted by the Women and Gender and Global Perspectives with the Gender & Women's Studies Department

Conference organized by graduate students from WGGP and GWS: Amaury J. Rijo Sánchez (Sociology), Nehal Elmeligy (Sociology), Marina Moscoso-Arabía (Geography), and Mahbubeh Moqadam (Sociology).

April 4-5, 2024
Illini Union, Room A

This conference is free, but pre-registration is appreciated to provide conference materials and luncheon.

Register at https://go.illinois.edu/CommonDifferences2024

FULL CONFERENCE PROGRAM (opens pdf file)

Wednesday, April 3

4:00pm Film Screening & Discussion with Filmmaker Rasha Azab, “Trapped”

Thursday, April 4

8:00-8:30 Registration /Coffee

8:30-8:40 Welcome Remarks

Colleen Murphy, Women & Gender in Global Perspectives Program
Mimi Nguyen, Gender & Women’s Studies

8:40-9:05              Common Differences Then and Now: Geographies of Feminist Journeys
                              Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Syracuse University
                              Ann Russo, DePaul University

9:10-10:40 Session One: Voicing the Invisibles
Moderator: Daniela Morales

Evelyne Accad, Professor Emerita, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Lebanese American University
Healing Cultures in War Times

Hayriye Kara, Kaos GL Refugee Rights Program Coordinator/Lawyer
Solidarity Knows No Border Just Like the Rainbow

Raiza Kolia, Reaching Across Borders
When looking away and not doing anything is not an option!

Amaury J. Rijo Sánchez, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
“Podemos ser otro tipo de hombre”: Deconstructing Toxic Masculinities Through Feminist Media Activism

10:50-12:20 Session Two: Role of Academia, Alt. Forms of Research & Ethics
Moderator: Amaury J. Rijo Sánchez

Jessica Greenberg, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Feminist Mentoring: Institutionalizing Best Practices

Annah Moyo, Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation
Transitional Justice and Gendered Dimensions of Violence and Harm: African Perspectives on How Far We Have Come in Incorporating Feminist Approaches to TJ

Marina Moscoso-Arabía, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Ni pías ni putas: A tale of imaginaries and omissions

Shimaa Tantawy, Feminist writer and researcher, Co- Founder of Barah Aman Foundation
The importance of monitoring and documentation in advocacy efforts for legislative reform and societal change, and the impact of language and discourse on public awareness in Egypt regarding gender-based violence in private spaces.

12:30-1:15 Lunch and networking (Illini Room B)

1:15-2:45 Session Three: Formal Politics & Changes from Within
Moderator: Andrea Pimentel Rivera

Rep. Mariana Nogales Molinelli, House of Representatives of Puerto Rico
Women activists, the fight to protect the environment, affirm the public access to beaches and the consequences we face

Tania Rosario Méndez, MPH (she/her) , Taller Salud
Taller Salud: a multilevel political advocacy model to achieve health equity and end all forms of violence in Puerto Rico.

Nayereh Tohidi (she/her), Professor Emeritus, California State University, Northridge
Transnational Solidarity through glocal feminisms'

3:00-4:30 Session Four: Artivisms & Media
Moderator: Mahbubeh Moqadam

Rasha Azab (she/her), Writer/Script-writer and journalist (freelancing)
Modern Forms of Violence Against Women in Egypt

Christine Choy (she/her), Full Professor, NYU Tisch School of the Arts
Dare to Challenge: A talk with Christine Choy, Pioneer of Asian American Filmmaking

Nehal Elmeligy (she/her), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Re-Mapping #MeToo’s Global Timeline: Orientalist Discursive Violence and #MeToo in Egypt

Maryam Kashani (she/her), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Mobile Responsibilities: Care-full Strategies of Palestinian Solidarity and Image-Making

6:00-7:15 Keynote Lecture: Dr. Amina Mama, UC Davis

Common Differences II. Keynote Lecture by Dr. Amina Mama (University of California, Davis). Link to the lecture recording: Transnational Feminist Resistance(s) Against Contemporary Violence(s) - Transnational Feminist Praxis in an Age of Genocide - Illinois Media Space .

7:30-8:30              Networking Reception (Afterparty)
                                Latzer Hall, University YMCA
                                1001 S. Wright Street

Friday, April 5

8:30-9:00 Registration /Coffee

9:00-10:30 Session Five: Diaspora, Exile & International Solidarity
Moderator: Nehal Elmeligy

Damian Vergara Bracamontes (he/him), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Abolish or Adapt: Pinkwashing ICE through Transgender “Care”

Nadine Naber, University of Illinois Chicago
Decolonial Abolitionist Feminist Solidarities: From Turtle Island to Palestine

Mahbubeh Moqadam, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Solidarity in Action: A Global Response to Invisible Violence

10:40-12:10 Session Six: Memory & Reparations
Moderator: Marina Moscoso-Arabía

Juanita Díaz-Cotto, Binghamton University
Chicanas, Latinas, Latin American Women Prisoners’ Agency and Resistance

Mayki Gorosito, ESMA Museum and Site of Memory
MEMORIA Y MUJERES. 40 años de luchas y conquistas. Preguntas y experiencias sobre el pasado, el presente y el futuro desde el Museo Sitio de Memoria ESMA

Daniela Morales, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Mar Brava: women's struggles against climate injustice

Magdalena Novoa, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
What land & planning has to do with memory and reparations in post-authoritarian contexts?

12:15-1:00 Lunch and networking (Illini Room B)

1:00-2:20 Film Screening of “Period. End of Sentence” with Director Rayka Zehtabchi
Moderator: Dr. Kate Clancy, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

2:30-3:15           Reflection Panel
                            Common Differences 1983-2024: Further Weaving of a Transnational Feminist Agenda in the
                            Face of New and Enduring Challenges

3:15-3:30 Closing Remarks by Student Organizers