PGR student travels to the USA for the 18th annual Feminist Theory workshop

Postgraduate research student attended the annual Feminist Theory workshop in the USA, sponsored by the School of Sociology and Social Policy, and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies.

Postgraduate research student Xingyi was sponsored by the School of Sociology and Social Policy, and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies, to attend the 18th annual feminist theory workshop held at Duke University, North Carolina, USA on 21–22 March this year.  

Xingyi shared her experience from attending the workshop:  

“I was very fortunate to have an opportunity to attend the 18th annual feminist theory workshop held at Duke University in North Carolina, USA, this year, 21-22 March. Thanks to the School of Sociology and Social Policy and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies for sponsoring me to visit Duke University, which I never dreamed of before.  

This feminist theory workshop was funded by different intuitions across the USA, and a hundred scholars and students have a space to meet and share knowledge in gender, sexuality, and race and colonial history. This two-day workshop was organised by Professor Jennifer Nash, and four keynote speakers, Nicole Fleetwood, Linda Zerilli, Sophie Lewis, and Farah Jasmine Griffin, were invited to speak on their works on theorising feminism. The key concept of this workshop is to look at feminist history across intersections and the past as a way to remake the present and future. 

The first keynote was Nicole Fleetwood from New York University. She introduced the use of memory in documentary studies as a method to learn from her mother and grandmother’s life in her housing project. Fleetwood talked about her project on the black community and black family life’s history inspired by her grandmother, who portrayed the daily lives of black women. In her talk, she displayed many family photos and shared stories about how black women struggled in domestic space throughout history and how female empowerment transcends generations. Fleetwood used art to challenge inequality in the justice system and provide black marginal groups with a political voice. 

The second speaker was Professor Linda Zerilli from the University of Chicago. Her speech was about what role feminists played in the Past and how women are represented in history. Zerilli expressed the importance of the Past, which provides a model for present action. Zerilli quoted Hartman’s idea of ‘Critical fabulation’ in the article Venus in Two Acts to discuss the experience of women’s absence in the language and history. It is impossible to understand what human history has been or what it is now outside the category of the imaginary. She mentioned the relation between the social imagination and a democratic theory of judgment. Reflecting on the Past could stimulate the creative imagination and judgment we apply to current issues. Zerilli’s judgment theory advocates that feminism in the context of multicultural democracy should use social imagination to transcend identity and culture, cross differences, and connect with the ‘other’. 

One of my most expected presentations was from Sophie Lewis as the third keynote at this workshop. As an independent writer whose books have been extremely popular recently, her previous book, Abolish the Family: A Manifesto for Care and Liberation, explores the definition of the Western family construction and inspired my research. My topic debates the low fertility rate in China based on social, cultural, and political experiences. In one of my thesis chapters discussing childcare responsibility in Chinese families, I analyse the importance of family in the childbirth decision. Lewis defined the idea of the nuclear family and considers that in today’s Western society, with the emergence of homosexual relationships, the younger generation distancing themselves from their parents, no longer assuming the responsibility of caring for older people, and the younger individuals defining intimate relationships beyond legal marriage, it seems that we are continually abandoning the traditional concept of family, thereby weakening the centrality of the family-oriented concept. However, in China, the family plays an essential role in the young generation’s life, carrying on care responsibilities for elders and children. 

I was excited to meet her in person and hear her insights on feminist research. In this workshop, she shared her new work, Enemy Feminism: TERFs, Policemen and Girlbosses Against Liberation, with us. Lewis argued that gynophobia and hatred of feminists emanate from women and even from feminists. She introduced KKK feminism, fascist feminism and TERF feminists in history. Lewis reexamined white feminism history, explored the diversity of enemy feminism, and wanted us to reflect on where feminism should go in the future.  

The final keynote speaker was Professor Farah Jasmine Griffin from Columbia University. In her conversation, she discovered the black female artists’ history in the USA, such as Maya Angelou, Abbey Lincoln and Paule Marshall and noticed a small group of black women as a circle to build a friendship network, highlighting how black women create a culture and stand in front of the stage in the history. Griffin explored how black feminists show their ambitions and struggle to make them available like other groups, crushing the stereotypes of black people created by white people. Black female artists in films, music, and poetry in the history of the USA demonstrate the process of self-creation, black women’s sensibility, and empowerment.  

The closing roundtable summarised key points in these two days’ workshop, which created a space to think about the Past and work on the Past through black feminist performance, anti-racism, anti-colonialism, Transfeminism liberation, challenge the white patriarchal system and look at women’s rights and daily life in history. Past is hunting us, and considering the Past helps us to understand what could happen present and next and how we position ourselves. 

This is my first time attending a workshop outside the UK, and this workshop gave me a precious experience of meeting brilliant scholars from different institutions and discovering the topics in gender research that American academics focus on. Through the workshop’s lectures and meaningful conversations, I have begun re-evaluating my research. This workshop allowed me to consider the importance of the Past, which mentioned the Past is a way to remake the present. Concerning my research on the young generation raised under China’s one-child policy who now face reproductive decisions under the three-child policy, I realise their fertility behaviours are shaped not only by current policies. Rather, the history of population control, traditional marriage and family values and entrenched gender divisions collectively influence their fertility behaviour. I have begun to look outside the present, how the Past policy and Past living experience shape their ideas to find love and have a child. 

This workshop broadened my mind and allowed me to experience the academic atmosphere of the top university in the USA. I went from Chinese University to Leeds as an international student and travelled to Duke University. This time, I experienced different universities' diverse cultures and education systems. This workshop let me reconsider my future career plan, which pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me recognise the distance to the future. Wandering through Duke’s campus during this cherry blossom season, immersed in Duke’s famous basketball culture and trying serious Latin cuisines in Duke’s refectory became my best memories of 2025. I do agree this is a valuable opportunity to visit different universities. I hope we could keep this connection with Duke University, and more PGR students in gender research from our school can attend this fantastic workshop next year and in the future. I believe they will benefit from this and bring back more thoughtful insights from worldwide researchers.”

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