Consent, Ethics and Activism: Re-thinking Historical Practice Post-MeToo

Due to the Covid-19-situation, we postpone this event till May 2022. The exact date will be communicated as soon as possible.

The Forum for Belgian Research in the History of Women, Gender and Sexualities (AVG-Carhif) invites you on the 23th of December 2021 to the plenary activity that launches their new 2021-2023 programme titled ‘Consent, Ethics and Activism: Re-thinking Historical Practice Post-MeToo’.

In the wake of the MeToo movement, a growing number of survivors has publicly spoken out against perpetuators of sexual violence, which has drawn attention to the structural and persistent character of past silences. Taking these social developments as a starting point, the Forum’s plenary activity will reflect on consent and ethics in and as a historical practice, paying special attention to the ways in which historians approach their historical subjects and source material. The first panel ‘consent in historical perspective’ will reflect upon the recent history of the concept itself and the ways in which attention for historical actors’ consent (or lack thereof) can shed light on potential blind spots within historical research. The second panel ‘Consent in historical practice’ will place the consent of the subjects of historical research centre stage as well as the challenge of ensuring such consent in research practice on individual and collective levels. The panel will examine issues of silence, (social) memory and heritage by reflecting on the concept of informed consent in oral history practice, as well as on the challenges of ethical and power dilemmas regarding the access to private archives. The Forum’s start activity will also lend itself to broader reflection on social responsibility within academia and the ways in which this relates to research communication.

Program

12:30-13:00u: Welcome & Coffee

13:00-13:30u: Keynote by Amy Stanley (Northwestern University) – Rewriting the History of Sexual Assault After #MeToo

13:30-15:00u: Round Table 1 – Consent in historical perspective

1) Chanelle Delameillieure (KULeuven) – Understanding consent in a medieval context

2) Juliette Masquelier (Université Libre de Bruxelles) – Marital duty and harmonious relations: A Catholic concern in the 1950’s

3) Jolien Gijbels (KULeuven) – Changing doctor-patient dialogues: (informed) consent and surgery in the 19th and 20th centuries

15:00-15:30u: Coffee Break

15:30-17:00u: Round Table 2 Consent in historical practice

1) Marjolein Van Bavel (UAntwerpen) – The oral histories of Playboy models

2) Sarah Barthélemy (Université Saint-Louis Bruxelles and Durham University) – Historians and private archive funds

3) Laura Di Spurio – The Deaths and Lives of Girls. Murders, Emotions, and Gender Vulnerability in European Cities at the Turn of the Twentieth Century (1880-1914)

17:00-18:00u: Christmas drinks

Event Address: Amazone, Rue du Méridien 10, 1210 Bruxelles

For more information: marjolein.vanbavel@uantwerpen.be

Nieuws