Keynote Speeches
Manuela Boatcă
Occidentalist fantasies, imperial maps. Placing Europe on a continuum
Manuela Boatcă is a Professor of Sociology and Head of School of the Global Studies Programme at the University of Freiburg, Germany. She has a degree in English and German languages and literatures and a PhD in sociology. She was Visiting Professor at IUPERJ, Rio de Janeiro in 2007/08 and Professor of Sociology of Global Inequalities at the Latin American Institute of the Freie Universität Berlin from 2012 to 2015. She has published widely on world-systems analysis, decolonial perspectives on global inequalities, gender and citizenship in modernity/coloniality, and the geopolitics of knowledge in Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. In 2018 she was awarded an ACLS collaborative fellowship alongside literary scholar Anca Parvulescu (Washington University in St. Louis, USA), for a comparative project on inter-imperiality in Transylvania. The resulting co-authored book, titled “Creolizing the Modern. Transylvania Across Empires” is forthcoming in English, German, and Romanian in 2022.
Manuela Boatcă is a Professor of Sociology and Head of School of the Global Studies Programme at the University of Freiburg, Germany. She has a degree in English and German languages and literatures and a PhD in sociology. She was Visiting Professor at IUPERJ, Rio de Janeiro in 2007/08 and Professor of Sociology of Global Inequalities at the Latin American Institute of the Freie Universität Berlin from 2012 to 2015. She has published widely on world-systems analysis, decolonial perspectives on global inequalities, gender and citizenship in modernity/coloniality, and the geopolitics of knowledge in Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. In 2018 she was awarded an ACLS collaborative fellowship alongside literary scholar Anca Parvulescu (Washington University in St. Louis, USA), for a comparative project on inter-imperiality in Transylvania. The resulting co-authored book, titled “Creolizing the Modern. Transylvania Across Empires” is forthcoming in English, German, and Romanian in 2022.
Stefanie Ernst
The “particular problems” of the sexes? Thoughts on analyzing gender dynamics with figurational theory
Stefanie Ernst is a Professor of Sociology of Work and Knowledge at the Institute of Sociology at the University of Münster, Germany. She has a PhD in Sociology from the University of Hamburg. She has published extensively on gender relations, sociology of work and figurational theory. She has been awarded several international research stays, including at Indiana Bloomington University, USA (2009). She was a Professor of Sociology at the University of Hamburg (2005-2011). She has been a Representative of the Equal Opportunity Commissioner and led multiple research projects.
Stefanie Ernst is a Professor of Sociology of Work and Knowledge at the Institute of Sociology at the University of Münster, Germany. She has a PhD in Sociology from the University of Hamburg. She has published extensively on gender relations, sociology of work and figurational theory. She has been awarded several international research stays, including at Indiana Bloomington University, USA (2009). She was a Professor of Sociology at the University of Hamburg (2005-2011). She has been a Representative of the Equal Opportunity Commissioner and led multiple research projects.
Debbie Kasper
Resistance is Fatal: On the ecological, societal, and personal dangers of refusing reality
Debbie Kasper is a sociologist and associate professor of Environmental Studies at Hiram College in northeast Ohio, USA. Working at the intersection of sociological theory, socio-environmental studies, and on-the-ground action, Kasper’s activities focus on elucidating entry points for addressing our interrelated socio-environmental crises and forging pathways to making long-term positive change. Known for her eclectic interests and for balancing theoretical and practical concerns, along with a Ph.D. in Sociology and a doctoral minor in Social Thought from Penn State, Kasper holds a Permaculture Design Certificate, is a certified meditation instructor, and has studied soil biology and compost at Elaine Ingham’s SoilFoodWeb, Inc.
Debbie Kasper is a sociologist and associate professor of Environmental Studies at Hiram College in northeast Ohio, USA. Working at the intersection of sociological theory, socio-environmental studies, and on-the-ground action, Kasper’s activities focus on elucidating entry points for addressing our interrelated socio-environmental crises and forging pathways to making long-term positive change. Known for her eclectic interests and for balancing theoretical and practical concerns, along with a Ph.D. in Sociology and a doctoral minor in Social Thought from Penn State, Kasper holds a Permaculture Design Certificate, is a certified meditation instructor, and has studied soil biology and compost at Elaine Ingham’s SoilFoodWeb, Inc.