Since its creation in 2008, the Washington Center is hosted by Georgetown University.
Discover in 180 seconds the thesis of Milène LE GOFF, coordinator of the Washington center (2024-2027), PhD student at Université de Lille (ED 473)
PhD dissertation topic : "'Sisterhood is Powerful?' The International Tribunal of Crimes against Women (Brussels, 1976): A study of transatlantic feminist relations between the Americas and Europe through the lens of sisterhood" under the direction of Hélène QUANQUIN and Cécile DIAGRE-VENDERPELEN.
The International Tribunal on Crimes against Women was held in Brussels from 4 to 8 March 1976 and brought together nearly 2,000 women from all over the world, including several delegations from the Americas. This popular tribune, a major event in contemporary feminisms, has nevertheless fallen into oblivion, despite the major themes addressed: sexual violence, systemic racism, economic discrimination.... The aim of this thesis is to fill a major historiographical gap and to include the Tribunal in a genealogy of contemporary transatlantic feminisms in order to analyse the dynamics of interaction. The aim is to move away from the traditional 'second wave' approach and place the Tribunal and its participants within a broader history, and to examine the process of construction of the memory of social movements and their place in the long term. Starting with the Tribunal's slogan, 'Sisterhood is Powerful, International Sisterhood is More Powerful’, this thesis will define who is considered a 'sister' and will examine the symbolic, political and social implications of this appellation in order to highlight the particularities, synergies and divisions within the international feminist movements of the 1970s. The analysis will be carried out through the prism of the U.S. committee, which was heavily involved in organising the Tribunal, with a view to shedding light on the circulation of feminist ideas, issues and practices between Europe, the Americas, and the United States in the second half of the twentieth century.
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