The study of gender relations in colonial societies and how colonialism impacted the rights and roles of women.
Colonialism: A historical overview of colonization and its lasting impact on societies around the world. This can cover topics such as imperialism, economic exploitation, and cultural imperialism.
Gender: The social, cultural, and biological constructs associated with being male, female, or non-binary. Gender often influences power dynamics within societies.
Intersectionality: The idea that individuals experience oppression and privilege based on multiple identities, such as race, class, gender, and sexuality. This concept is important when examining the impact of colonialism on gender.
European Colonialism: A focus on European countries' colonization efforts from the 15th to 20th centuries.
Gender and Power: The ways in which colonialism reinforced gender-based power imbalances that continue to exist today.
Postcolonial Feminism: A critical approach to feminist thought that argues for the importance of addressing issues of colonialism and imperialism in feminist theory and practice.
Indigenous Feminisms: The unique experiences and perspectives of Indigenous women in relation to colonialism, and the ways in which they have resisted, adapted or acculturated/inherited colonialism from their point of view.
Gender-Based Violence: The systemic violence experienced by women during colonialism, which continues to be perpetuated in contemporary societies.
Decolonizing Gender: Efforts to dismantle colonial legacies still existing in present day societies, with recognition of the roles of Indigenous feminist, queer, and trans activists in struggles against colonialism and for justice.
Queering Colonialism: Examining the impact of colonialism on LGBTQ+ folks through a critical lens.
Nationalism and Patriarchy: The ways that colonialism reinforced patriarchal, nationalist ideologies.
Women's Resistance to Colonialism: Historic and contemporary examples of women resisting and subverting colonial oppression, such as spaces for collective action, instances of rebellion, influencing government policies, among others.
Postcoloniality and Gender: The shifting power dynamics and cultural implications of the postcolonial era, and its impact on gender.
State Building and Gender: The role in which states have integrated or excluded women, queer, trans people and other marginalized groups: Be it institutional, legal, or cultural.
Gender and Development: A focus on development initiatives and how they have been critiqued or supported regarding their goals around gender equality.
Feminist Anthropology and Ethnography: The importance of ethnographic fieldwork and observation to feminist understanding of gender and colonialism.
Diasporic Feminism: Discussing the ways in which colonialism and globalization have contributed to the creation of diasporas.
Transnational Feminism: Examine the connections and differences between feminist movements in various nationalities and ethnicities to develop local-global solidarities.
Gender and Labor: The gendered dimensions of labor in colonial and postcolonial societies.
Anti-Colonial Struggles: Overview of resistance movements against colonialism, and how these movements have influenced gender and feminist thought.
Territorial colonialism: This involves the physical occupation and control of a foreign territory by an outside power. Examples include the colonization of the Americas by European powers.
Cultural colonialism: This involves the imposition of the cultural norms and values of the colonizing power on the colonized peoples. An example of this is the forced adoption of Christianity and European cultural practices in many parts of the world during the colonial period.
Economic colonialism: This involves the exploitation of the natural resources and labor of the colonized territory for the benefit of the colonizing power. This can include practices such as forced labor, trade imbalances, and resource extraction.
Settler colonialism: This involves the permanent settlement of colonizers in a foreign territory, often with the intention of displacing the existing population. This has been a common practice throughout history, including in the Americas and in Australia.