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The Symco proudly presents the annual UHSK symposium! Current events, like the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan and the tightened abortion laws in Texas and Poland, inspired us to take a closer look at the historical position of women. This year's symposium will therefore shine a light on various aspects within women’s history from a global and diverse perspective. Speakers will be Dr. Sophie van den Elzen, Dr. Willemijn Ruberg & Maninder Järleberg.

Dr. Sophie van den Elzen, who works as a postdoc at Utrecht University, will take a look at how women’s rights advocates utilized the cultural memory of antislavery to redefine the meaning of 1848, the year of revolutions in Europe, for their own purposes. She will do so by looking at different case studies of 19th-century activists from Germany, France and Britain.

Dr. Willemijn Ruberg, associate professor in Cultural History at Utrecht University, will present her current research on the topic of the right to bodily integrity. She will examine the originating moments and different definitions of this right, and will thus showcase how gender and race are entangled in the human rights discourse. The presentation will address both very recent examples and a broad history regarding this topic.

The PhD candidate Maninder Järleberg examines the various ways in which the memory of the abolition of sati (the Indian practice of widow-burning) in 1829 shaped various cultural and political debates in Britain. In her presentation she will focus on how this played an integral part in the shaping of a number of different British feminist discourses.

The symposium will be held on Monday, February 28th 2022, from 11:00-17:00 h, in De Kargadoor (Oudegracht 36, Utrecht). In addition to the insightful presentations provided by our guest speakers, we are also happy to offer you a delicious (free) lunch, as well as coffee, tea, and more. The event will end with drinks at the Kargadoor bar. So sign up quickly for this exciting first event of the Diesweek!