Authoritarianism and Patriarchy, or why Belarusian #Evalution has a Female Face

About the Talk

In my presentation I propose to analyse the current political situation in Belarus through the lens of relationship between authoritarianism and patriarchy. The focus on the gender aspects of Belarusian authoritarianism allows for better understanding of why do women (of different ages, social groups and professional occupations) play such an important role in the current Belarusian protest movement, and what are the prerequisites and reasons for their awakening to the political life. I argue that massive involvement of Belarusian women into the protest movement in 2020-2021 has to do with their growing awareness of themselves as political subjects and, thus, with the claims for recognition as the agents for political and social change.

About the Lecturer

Almira Ousmanova (Ph.D. in Philosophy) is Professor of the Department of Social Sciences and the Head of the Laboratory for Studies of Visual Culture and Contemporary Art at the European Humanities University (Vilnius, Lithuania).

Research interests: Feminist Philosophy, Gender Representations in Visual Arts, Genealogy and Methodology of Visual Studies, Soviet visual culture, Art and Politics.

She is author of Umberto Eco: paradoxes of interpretation (2000); and editor of several collective volumes, including: Anthology of Gender Theory (ed., with Elena Gapova, 2000); Gender Histories from Eastern Europe (co-edited with Elena Gapova and Andrea Peto), Bi-Textuality and Cinema (ed., 2003); Gender and Transgression in Visual Arts (ed., 2007), Feminism and Philosophy (ed., special volume of journal Topos, 3/2010), Roland Barthes’ Time (with Veronika Furs, Topos, 1-2/2019). Currently she is working on the book project Fluid Publicness.

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