Feminist Research Seminar 2016
This article was originally featured in the Fall 2016 issue of Genderscapes, IRWG's annual newsletter.
Over a sunny weekend in March 2016, a group of scholars from around the U.S. and Canada communed in downtown Ann Arbor for an IRWG Feminist Research Seminar entitled Talmud Interrupted: Queering the Study of An Ancient Jewish “Classic.” Brought together by their shared interest in Judaic Studies, the group represented a broad range of academic disciplines including History, Religion, Rabbinic Literature, and Transgender Studies.
Rachel Neis (University of Michigan), Max Strassfeld (University of Arizona), and Julia Watts Belser (Georgetown University) organized the seminar – the fourth of its kind since the Feminist Research Seminar program began in 2014. Their vision was to invite a variety of scholars for thoughtful examination and queer feminist engagement with the Talmud, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism.
Participants arrived ready to engage in close and creative working time with one another. Over three days, the group used theoretical introductions, text studies, and discussions of works-in-progress to examine the knots and interruptions within the field of Talmudic Studies.
Some defining features of IRWG’s Feminist Research Seminars (FRS) are accessibility, logistical support, and organizational flexibility. Because all meals, lodging and travel were arranged by IRWG, Talmud Interrupted scholars were able to spend their time and energy on deep intellectual inquiry. One seminar organizer praised the program saying:
It was the best thing I have participated in as an academic to date. I feel more hopeful about my field, more connected to other marginalized people in the field. It has renewed my energy and commitment to changing our discipline. The fact that we as organizers of the seminar could just focus on the intellectual work and the logistics were all taken care of was incredible - it made for incredibly productive time together.
Feminist Research Seminars are awarded through a national application process, offering small groups of feminist scholars from around the country the opportunity to work together in an intimate and supportive setting in Ann Arbor. Past FRS themes have included: postcolonial feminist science studies, disability and environmental activism, and feminist filmmaking. A unique feature of Feminist Research Seminars is that they provide space and time for creative collaboration with few constraints. This has been well-received by participants and organizers alike.
This is an incredible program...it is an added bonus that there is no pressure for conference papers or a ‘‘product”-- in this case the connections, intellectual and collegial, were a part of the work product. I cannot wait to continue the work with our group. -2016 FRS Participant, Talmud Interrupted
Prospective organizers should know that funding is available for seminar expenses including transportation, meals, and lodging. Junior and senior tenure-track faculty from across disciplines and institutions (University of Michigan and beyond) are eligible to apply.
The next call for applications will be announced in Fall 2016. For more information, visit irwg.umich.edu/funding.
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2016-17 Feminist Research Seminars
Radical Transnationalism: Reimagining Solidarities, Violence, Empire
Organizers: Karen J. Leong (Women and Gender Studies, Asian Pacific American Studies, Arizona State University); Laura Briggs (Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies, University of Massachusetts – Amherst); Judy Tzu-Chun Wu (Asian American Studies, University of California, Irvine)
Meat: A Transnational Exploration
Organizers: Sushmita Chatterjee (Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies, Appalachian State University); Banu Subramaniam (Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies, University of Massachusetts – Amherst)
