Programme de bourses "Echanges Universitaires"

The politics of care, welfare and social cohesion: Consultations with South African partners

As part of ongoing efforts to intensify exchange and research collaboration between the Zentrum Gender Studies at the University of Basel and partners in South Africa, the Zentrum will be hosting a Joint Research Seminar in Basel from 3 – 5 May 2010. The seminar on the politics of care, welfare and social cohesion, will focus on the relations between gender, the care economy, concepts of care, liberal as opposed to redistributive welfare regimes and gender-related factors that enhance or impede social cohesion. In preparation of this forthcoming event consultations were held with our partners at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the University of the Western Cape, the University of Cape Town, the University of Johannesburg and the University of the Witwatersrand. These preparatory consultations focussed on gender and different notions of care; on various welfare interventions; and on current work on social cohesion.

In addition, details were arranged for research visits by South African academics to Switzerland in 2010 and 2011. These include a visit to Basel by Prof Judith Lütge Coullie (University of KwaZulu-Natal) to conduct a seminar on postapartheid narratives and Prof Tamara Shefer (University of the Western Cape) to do research on sexualities. Initial plans were also made for a symposium in South Africa in 2011 on gender and the transformation of families. The visit further included research in databases at South African Libraries as part of a project on the field of cultural production of life narrative in South Africa and a lecture at the University of KwaZulu-Natal on the multidisciplinary study of narrative: ‘Narrative identity practices : where disciplines meet … to disagree’.

For details about South African and Swiss exchanges and the symposium ‘The politics of care, welfare and social cohesion: intersectional perspectives on redistributive and liberal welfare regimes in a global context’, contact Prof Andrea Maihofer andrea.maihofer@unibas.ch or Stephan Meyer stephan.meyer@unibas.ch

For the Centre Gender Studies and its partners, see:

Zentrum Gender Studies, University of Basel
http://genderstudies.unibas.ch/

Gender Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal
http://genderstudies.ukzn.ac.za/HomePage710.aspx

Women’s and Gender Studies University of the Western Cape
see their Homepage

Human Sciences Research Council
http://www.hsrc.ac.za/Staff-2260.phtml