Projects
The ZtG and its members participated and continue to participate in various research and teaching projects. At present, noteworthy cooperations include those with Gender and Sexuality Studies at Princeton University and the network RINGS – The International Research Association of Institutions of Advanced Gender Studies, as well as with the gender library in the umbrella organization of the German-speaking women/lesbian archives, -libraries and -documentation centres, i.d.a., and the Women’s Information Network of Europe (WINE). A number of smaller teaching and research projects have resulted from our collaborations with various partners, for example the Comparative Women’s and Gender Studies in Europe program (Carleton College) and the Law and Critical Social Justice summer school (College of Law, DePaul University).
Princeton University
The Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin encourages the strategic development of collaborations for research and teaching. The selected partner institutions include the renowned Princeton University. In this context, the ZtG cooperates with Princeton’s Gender and Sexuality Studies program.
Ulrike Auga initiated and conceptually prepared the joint symposium Gender, Sexuality, Queer and Trans Studies Write Back, which was held on 15 and 16 June 2017 at HU. The collaboration was continued from 17 to 19 October 2017, when a delegation from the ZtG visited Princeton.
Fortunately, we were again provided with funds for the further development of the cooperation. Under the direction of Elahe Haschemi and Silvy Chakkalakal, the cooperation continued in 2020 with the focus on the theme of Re-Imagining the Archive: Sexual Politics and Postcolonial (counter)Archiving.
Summer School Carleton
Carleton's annual Comparative Women’s and Gender Studies in Europe (WGSE) program has been bringing groups of American college students to the ZtG since 1997.
The program, run by Carleton College, Minnesota, USA, is a U.S.-model study abroad program, in which students and scholars (serving as program TAs—teaching assistants) from a number of universities and a variety of disciplinary backgrounds participate every year. Students take part in special English-language classes during their “study week” at the ZtG.
Through these courses, teachers and students have the opportunity to discuss the latest international developments in gender and queer studies. This interchange is not only the heart of the exchange program; it is also an invaluable opportunity for students and teachers at the ZtG.
Over the course of the WGSE program, students also spend time visiting gender studies departments in Utrecht (the Netherlands), Prague (Czech Republic), and Krakow (Poland).
Summer School dePaul
The Chair of Public Law and Gender Studies, the Humboldt Law Clinic Grund- und Menschenrechte (HLCMR), and the ZtG cooperate with the College of Law of DePaul University. Since summer 2015 they have been organizing a Summer School together at the HU. These programs usually offer two courses: Intersectionality & Human Rights and History, Memory & Law.
Eight students from the Law Clinic and Gender Studies are able to participate for free in the courses offered. In addition, lecturers at the HU hold guest lectures. Please note that HU students receive a certificate for successful participation, but the course cannot be used for
Some past programs of the summer school have included the following.
2018
Law and Critical Social Justice Interdisciplinary Summer School
The Summer School, which took place in English in Berlin, consisted of two two-week cycles:
1. Intersectionality & Human Rights, 16–27 July
2. History, Memory & Law, 30 July–10 August
The summer school was a mixture of reading, lectures, discussion, field trips and visits to NGOs. In addition to classroom study, the goal was to work on a paper that supported one of the participating NGOs.
Since the ZtG and HLCMR are cooperating partners, two times four students of both Gender Studies and Legal Studies respectively, had the opportunity to participate in one of the two cycles free of charge.
2017
Law and Critical Social Justice Interdisciplinary Summer School
The Summer School consisted of two two-week cycles and took place in Berlin in English:
1. Intersectionality & Human Rights, 17–28 July
2. History, Memory & Law, 30 July–10 August
Since the ZtG and HLCMR are cooperating partners, four students of both Gender Studies and Legal Studies respectively, received the opportunity to participate in one of the two cycles free of charge.
2016
Law and Critical Social Justice Interdisciplinary Summer School
In 2016, the Summer School consisted of two cycles of 10 days each:
1. Intersectionality & Human Rights, 18–28 July, plus a compulsory final group work assignment
2. History, Memory & Law, 1–10 August, plus a compulsory final group work assignment
Since the ZtG and HLCMR are cooperating partners, six places per cycle were offered to students of MA Gender Studies. After the successful completion, students received a certificate. The students were thrilled by the atmosphere and the imparted theoretical and practical knowledge, as outlined on the HLCMR Blog (post in German).
WINE - Women's Information Network of Europe
The European Network for Archive, Library, and Documentation Centers of the Women’s, Lesbian, and Gender Research Movement (WINE) was founded together with ATHENA and AOIFE in 1996. At the heart of WINE lies the belief that behind every successful women’s and gender research project is a successful women’s and gender research library (or archive, or documentation center). WINE’s goal is to meet the challenge of supporting excellence in research by fostering excellence in women’s and gender specific information services. Currently, our network consists of over 50 institutions who have contributed to the resources available via WINE. These resources, such as library catalogues, databases and much more, are available through the WINE Homepage.
Participating institutions regularly send representatives to WINE meetings that take place at ATHENA/AtGender conferences. Additionally, they work together on a number of research projects and stay in close contact through the WINE List Server and Blog.
29 member institutions launched the project, FRAGEN, in 2011 which was funded with the generous help of the EU and the Atria Institute for Women's History in Amsterdam. The goal of the project is to compile a digital database of the most important documents relating to the second feminist movement in Europe.
In 2013 five members - among them the Gender Library at ZtG - together with the Resource and Documentation Centre (RDC) at the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) in Vilnius realized a common database of gender recources.
i.d.a. — inform. document. archive
i.d.a is the umbrella organization of German-language women’s and lesbian archives, libraries, and documentation centers. It was founded in 1994, and brings together institutions from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Italy. These organizations had already been meeting on a regular basis as early as 1983.
The ZtG’s Gender Library has been a part of i.d.a. since its founding. To date, the most successful project has been the Gender Library’s participation in the database of academic journals, in which 21 institutions have entered over 2,800 journal titles relating to the women’s and lesbian movement.
Furthermore, the Gender Library has been a part of the Berlin Network of Women’s and Lesbian Archives, Libraries and Documentation Centers since 1993. Currently, nine institutions work with the Berlin Network. They meet monthly to discuss shared problems and exchange information.