The Centre for Ethics, Social & Political Philosophy and the Workgroup for Equal Opportunity

of the Higher Institute for Philosophy

and with the support of the Centre for Equal Opportunities and Diversity

of the K.U.Leuven presents:

 A Roundtable Discussion On

 Feminism & Politics:

Gendering the Contemporary Debates in Political Philosophy

 With Judith Squires (Bristol) Etienne Balibar (Nanterre/Irvine) and Margaret Moore (Queens)

Wednesday September 16th at 4pm

Kardinaal Mercierzaal, H.I.W, K.U.Leuven

 In a world of rapid changes and deep transformations with consequences we cannot yet begin to oversee, one thing appears unchanged: deep and persistent inequalities structured around the nexus of gender, race, class and capital. Although there have been some major steps forward in some realms of our lives and some parts of the world, this deep-seated inequality continues to exist on many levels. In this roundtable discussion, three political thinkers who have made it their business to address the political state we are in, will focus on gender, and its multiple intersections with contemporary politics. Each one of them has engaged deeply with feminist thought and practice, considering feminism not only as a useful but as a necessary perspective when discussing politics. However, current debates in political philosophy pay little attention to this perspective, in spite of the work that is being done by feminist academics and activists alike. This discussion does not just aim to put feminism on the map, but rather to demonstrate the urgency and importance of doing so in the face of the political challenges posed to us by globalisation.

 Registration Required: anya.topolski@hiw.kuleuven.be

Judith Squires My research focuses on gender and political theory, (see Gender in Political Theory, 1999). I am also interested in more empirical issues relating to women's political participation (see The New Politics of Gender Equality, 2007), and have produced a report (with Mark Wickham-Jones) on Women in Parliament for the Equal Opportunities Commission (2001). In addition, I have also worked on issues relating to gender and multiculturalism, with a particular focus on debates about group representation, and I have co-edited a collection on Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Minority Rights (2004). My current research explores equality and diversity policies within the UK, and includes a comprehensive analysis of single equality bodies, focusing on strategies for institutionalizing intersectionality.

Margaret Moore is Professor of Political Theory at Queen’s University. She works on issues such as global justice, citizenship, multiculturalism and nationalism. She obtained her PhD at the London School of Economics in 1989. Her publications include Foundations of Liberalism (Oxford UP, 1993) and Ethics of Nationalism (Oxford UP, 2001). She is also the editor of National Self-Determination and Secession (Oxford UP, 1998) and (together with Allen Buchanan) Nations, States and Borders (Cambridge UP, 2003).

Etienne Balibar is the co-author (together with Louis Althusser) of the well-known book Lire le Capital (1965) and is considered to be one of the most influential marxist philosophers in France. His most important work in political philosophy deals with postnational citizenship and the democratization of borders. His publications further include Race, Classe, Nation (together with Immanuel Wallerstein) (1988), Droit de Cité (1998) and Nous, Citoyens d’Europe? (2001). Since 2000 he is Distinguished Professor of Humanities at the University of California, Irvine.