University of Victoria

Potentialities in Feminist Praxis

Using theories, empirical findings and different research approaches, scholars describe diverse case studies of feminist action research and praxis. Presentations include studies of individual girls (using biomythography), a university’s environment (using a bystander initiative), and a project in Tanzania to empower women through the recovery of African history.

Chair: Linda Christiansen-Ruffman, St. Mary's University

Session Organizer: Linda Christiansen Ruffman, Saint Mary's University, lindacruffman@yahoo.ca ; Ann Denis, University of Ottawa, adenis@uottawa.ca

Engaging Adolescent Girls: Feminist Action Based Research

Sarah Woolgar, Government of Alberta - present University of Victoria - MA , swoolgar@gmail.com

Canadian females grow up in a sociocultural environment full of contradictory discourses that rarely reflect the social reality they experience. Adolescent girls face abject forms of objectification, sexualization, unequal power relations and high levels of violence in their communities, yet these experiences remain largely unexamined with adolescent girls themselves. These factors led to the development of a MA thesis project undertaken with a group of adolescent girls in the Victoria, BC area. The research draws from the field of Girls’ Studies and is framed by a feminist praxis. The research was community based and employed a unique methodology, biomythography. Drawing from the research findings, this presentation will highlight the importance of engaging with female youth, and embracing innovative approaches, such as biomythography, in feminist research.

Tuesday June 4, 2013 03:15 PM - 04:45 PM Building: Elliott Building, Room: E-168

Feminist Research at Work: The Case of the University of Windsor’s Bystander Initiative

Anne Forrest, University of Windsor, forrest@uwindsor.ca , Charlene Senn, University of Windsor, csenn@uwindsor.ca

The Bystander Initiative at the University of Windsor is a program of feminist social action research designed to change campus norms and lower the incidence of completed sexual assaults. The rationale for the project is based on previous research finding that informed and empowered bystanders are more likely to see a sexual assault in the making and intervene to protect intended victims. The BI mobilizes and expands feminist and non-feminist research from a variety of fields (e.g., social psychology, organizational behaviour, pedagogy). This paper reflects on the necessary (but not sufficient) first step of this organizational change process: winning upper Administration’s formal support and securing dedicated resources. We theorize the reasons for our success to date with a focus on the role of feminist research and analyze how we intend to overcome the obstacles that remain.

Tuesday June 4, 2013 03:15 PM - 04:45 PM Building: Elliott Building, Room: E-168

‘Recovering Women’s Pre-Colonial Past: Feminist Historical Research in Tanzania’

Katherine McKenna, The University of Western Ontario, kmckenna@uwo.ca

This presentation arises from a Canadian-Tanzanian collaborative project in women’s history. My main partner is Maimuna Kanyamala, founder and Executive Director of Kivulini Women’s Rights Organization, which has as its objective the empowerment of women through economic development, legal support and public education aimed at ending violence against women. A recent World Health Organization survey in Tanzania has shown a high prevalence rate of gender-based violence. Many African feminist historians, starting in the 1980s, have argued that women have lost status since the late 1800s due to European colonialism, which, among other things, excluded them from the new money economy. This disrupted African customs and practices that had previously enacted social sanctions on male abusers. Successive governments since Tanzanian independence have shown little commitment to restoring women’s rights. While it is important not to romanticize or idealize African traditions, the recovery of the knowledge of past practices that were empowering for women will enable a made-in-Africa approach to anti-violence educational work. To this end, Maimuna Kanyamala and I plan not only to undertake historical research (both archival and oral), but also to develop a women’s history museum/cultural centre in her home town of Mwanza, Tanzania.

Tuesday June 4, 2013 03:15 PM - 04:45 PM Building: Elliott Building, Room: E-168