[News] CfP Intersectional and Feminist Approaches in Regional Studies: Methodological Frameworks and Practices

[Oechslen, Anna]

Liebe Kolleg*innen,

Wir freuen uns über Einreichungen aus dem AK für unsere Special Session bei der RSA Annual Conference (6.-9. Mai 2025 in Porto)!
Den Call for Papers und Hinweise zur Einreichung (Frist ist der 19. Dezember) findet ihr unten.

Viele Grüße
Anna, Isabella, Micaela und Susann



CfP: Intersectional and Feminist Approaches in Regional Studies: Methodological Frameworks and Practices

Special Session (SS32) at Regional Studies Association Annual Conference<https://www.regionalstudies.org/events/rsa25/> 2025, May 6-9, Porto, Portugal

Submission deadline: December 19, 2024

Session Organizers:
Isabella Stingl, Heidelberg University, Germany
Micaela Lois, University of Bern, Switzerland
Anna Oechslen, Leibniz Institute for Research on Society and Space, Germany
Susann Schäfer, Heidelberg University, Germany

Session Description:
This Special Session explores how intersectional and feminist approaches can be implemented in research practice in the field of Regional Studies.

Regional Studies, as Emma Ormerod (2023) argues, need to engage more deeply with feminist concepts to address issues of inequality effectively and to open up pathways to alternative, more inclusive futures. A crucial concept in this regard is intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1991), which examines how intersecting categories of difference-such as race, gender, class, and geographic location-create unique experiences of privilege and marginalization.

Anne-Laure Amilhat Szary (2020) suggests that Regional Studies can benefit from considering intersectionality, as it allows researchers to grasp how power relations shape the lives of individuals and communities within a region. This perspective deepens our understanding of how regional transformations-such as changes in the labor market, access to housing and services, or migration-affect people differently and can reinforce existing inequalities. In this way, examining how intersecting power dynamics shape regional development can guide more inclusive policies that address the diverse needs of individuals and communities.

Intersectionality also informs how knowledge is produced: doing intersectionality implies critically assessing established methodologies and developing a specifically intersectional research praxis (Collins, 2019). Broadly speaking, an intersectional perspective values diverse voices and promotes participatory and inclusive research methodologies that incorporate the lived experiences of individuals and communities across different social contexts. Maria Rodó-Zárate (2023), for example, has developed the methodology of Relief Maps as a tool to capture, analyze, and visualize the social, geographical, and emotional dimensions of intersectional inequalities.

In this session, we welcome contributions that apply an intersectional perspective to explore various themes within Regional Studies. Submissions should focus on the methodological implementation of this perspective. We particularly welcome contributions that engage with collaborative and creative research practices-such as feminist interviewing, biographical/life story approaches, collective storytelling, drawing/mapping exercises, and other participatory approaches. Submissions are not limited to 'methodological successes'; we also encourage reflections on instances where methodological approaches have not unfolded as expected but which may nonetheless help to refine and improve future intersectional research practices.

To submit your abstract (250-300 words), follow the RSA abstract submission online portal <https://lounge.regionalstudies.org/Meetings/Meeting?ID=529> and select "SS32: Intersectional and Feminist Approaches in Regional Studies: Methodological Frameworks and Practices" in the Gateway field. Abstract submission deadline is December 19, 2024.

References
Collins, P.H. (2019). Intersectionality as critical social theory. Durham: Duke University Press.

Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color", Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241-1299.

Ormerod, E. (2023). Level with us, regional development is still 'man shaped': Feminism, futurity and leadership. Regional Studies, 57(9), 1893-1902.

Rodó-Zárate, M. (2023). Intersectionality and the Spatiality of Emotions in Feminist Research. The Professional Geographer, 75(4), 676-681.

Szary, A.-L. A. (2020). A new research agenda to move beyond (a)gendered regions. Regions & Cohesion, 10(3), 10-29.



Dr. Anna Oechslen
Leibniz-Institut für Raumbezogene Sozialforschung (IRS)
Forschungsschwerpunkt "Ökonomie und Zivilgesellschaft"
Leibniz Institute for Research on Society and Space (IRS)
Research Area "Economy and Civil Society"
Flakenstraße 29-31
15537 Erkner (near Berlin)
Germany
Fon: +49 3362 793-204
Fax: +49 3362 793-111
E-Mail: anna.oechslen at leibniz-irs.de<mailto:anna.oechslen at leibniz-irs.de>
www.leibniz-irs.de<http://www.leibniz-irs.de/>

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