Events
Details on our past events are here. Many of them have been video-recorded; you will see links to those events on the past events page or visit our video page. If you subscribe to our YouTube channel, you will be notified when new videos are available.
SPRING 2019
January
Monday, January 28 I 4:00-7:00pm
The Feminist Resistance to the Radical Right in Brazil: A Forum of Four Brazilian Feminist Political Leaders
Talíria Petrone, Brazilian Federal Congresswoman from Rio de Janeiro State;
Sâmia Bomfim, Brazilian Federal Congresswoman from São Paulo State;
Fernanda Melchionna, Brazilian Federal Congresswoman from Rio Grande do Sul State;
Jô Cavalcanti, Brazilian Co-State Representative from Pernambuco State
On the eve of entering office, four female politicians are an emboldened, new generation of feminist officials at the forefront of defending and redefining democracy in Brazil. Building their trajectories out of local grassroots struggles, each has developed distinct approaches in their respective states. Ten months following the assassination of city councilwoman Marielle Franco, their collective work demonstrates that Marielle is still present. They will discuss feminism, formal politics, and innovative modes of resistance to the radical right turn in government. We will consider ways we can take action in solidarity.
Co-sponsored by: Departments of Anthropology, Gender & Women's Studies, Graduate School of Education, African American & African Diaspora Studies, Comparative Literature, Spanish & Portuguese; Tianna Paschel (research funds); Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS); Institute of International Studies (IIS); David and Natasha Dolby Fund; Global Metropolitan Studies; Institute for the Study of Societal Issues (ISSI); Center for Race & Gender (CRG); Berkeley Center for Right Wing Studies; Townsend Center for the Humanities and Social Science Matrix.
Rm 175 - Booth Auditorium, Berkeley Law
RSVP: If you’d like to reserve a seat, please register on Eventbrite so we get a sense of numbers. Space may be limited. Information on further events during their visit will be sent in January. You can also visit the Forum facebook page. The event will be largely in Portuguese but simultaneous interpretation will be provided.
Join us in this unprecedented opportunity to hear from and dialogue with four newly elected Brazilian politicians as they begin historic terms in office
February
Friday, February 1 I 12:00-1:30pm
The Devil Really is in the Details: Understanding the Global Radical Right
Brian Porter-Szucs, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of History, University of Michigan
There are obvious similarities between Vladimir Putin, Viktor Orbán, Recep Erdoğan, Jair Bolsonaro, Jarosław Kaczyński, Rodrigo Duterte, Donald Trump, and all the other politicians we have come to call ‘populists.’ Not only is that label misleading, but analyzing them as part of a single ideological movement can lead to confusion. This presentation will use the example of Poland to illustrate the necessity of local expertise in understanding seemingly global trends.
Wildavsky Conference Room, 2538 Channing Way
Co-sponsored by the Institute of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies and the Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies
March
April
Thursday, April 11 I 4-5:30pm
Center for Ethnographic Research Colloquia Series:
How to Do Ethnography When You Dislike Your Research Subjects? Fieldwork Within Right-Wing Groups in Italy
Martina Avanza, Senior Lecturer, Political Sociology, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Ethnography does not seem to be suited for situations in which the ethnographer dislikes the group she or he studies. Some fieldworkers even think that ethnography without empathy is almost impossible to achieve. That is why scholars tend to do ethnography of left-wing or subaltern group mobilizations and to study the right from a distance, with an etic perspective.
Building on my experience as an ethnographer working on right-wing groups in Italy (the Lega Nord party and the “pro-life” movement), I will talk about the challenges of this kind of fieldwork and also about possible contributions not only to the field of right-wing studies, but also to the ethnographic literature. In particular, I will address issues of ethics and reflexivity that are particularly acute in this kind of fieldwork.
Co-sponsored by: Center for Right Wing Studies
Wildavsky Conference Room, 2538 Channing Way
Thursday, April 18 I 4 -5:30pm
Center for Right Wing Studies Colloquia series:
Cynthia Miller-Idriss, Professor of Education and Sociology; Director, International Training and Education Program, American University
Miller-Idriss explores how extremist ideologies have entered mainstream German culture through commercialized products and clothing laced with extremist, anti-Semitic, racist, and nationalist coded symbols and references. Drawing on a unique digital archive of thousands of historical and contemporary images, as well as scores of interviews with young people and their teachers in two German vocational schools with histories of extremist youth presence, Miller-Idriss shows how this commercialization is part of a radical transformation happening today in German far right youth subculture. She describes how these youths have gravitated away from the singular, hard-edged skinhead style in favor of sophisticated and fashionable commercial brands that deploy coded extremist symbols. Virtually indistinguishable in style from other clothing popular with youth, the new brands desensitize far right consumers to extremist ideas and dehumanize victims.
Co-sponsored by: Center for German and European Studies
Wildavsky Conference Room, 2538 Channing Way
Thursday, April 25 - Saturday, April 27
Inaugural Conference on Right-Wing Studies
Sponsored by: Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies
The Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies is pleased to present the Inaugural Conference on Right-Wing Studies. This interdisciplinary conference will feature dozens of new and established scholars from around the world whose work deals with the Right as a social, political, and/or intellectual phenomenon from the 19th century to the present day. Participants will have the rare opportunity to join an expanding network of scholars who focus on right-wing studies, facilitating the development of this interdisciplinary field and future collaborations that emerge from these connections.
Thursday, April 25 | 4:00-6:00 pm | Sibley Auditorium, Bechtel Engineering Center, UC Berkeley
A keynote panel of experts, who will weigh in on the current state of the far right in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America, will open the conference, followed by a reception.
Friday, April 26 | 5:00-7:00pm | 370 Dwinelle Hall
There will be a film screening and discussion of “Documenting Hate: Charlottesville.”
Both of these events are free and open to the public.
Friday, April 26 | 9am-4:30pm
Saturday, April 27 | 9am-4:45pm
Panel presentations. If you plan to attend panel presentations, please check the conference website for locations and registration information.
Registration recommended.
Co-sponsored by: Institute for the Study of Societal Issues, Department of History, Department of Sociology, Department of Gender and Women's Studies, Institute of European Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, Scholars Strategy Network, Southern Poverty Law Center, Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society, Townsend Center for the Humanities.
Institute for the Study of Societal Issues
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-5670
TEL: 510.643.7237
FAX: 510.642.8674
