Education and knowledge production on the semi- periphery: A feminist/gender perspective

Abstract

Education and research in the field of feminism and gender theory and practice remain marginal in academia in the countries on the semi-periphery, another indicator of the measure of gender inequality across the different segments of society. This implies that university professors and researchers, male and female alike, are confronted with a patriarchal power structure before they are given the right to act and select freely themes for their research projects. These are only the first obstacles in their path that need to be overcome, while the difficulty with which academic courses are organised and administered and research is done, if one is to fully adhere to the feminist/gender perspective, is indicative of how deeply rooted such obstructive behaviour is. The first part of the paper examines the situation in regard to gender education at universities by focusing on two issues: determining the purpose and source of learning in courses, and the relationship between the traditional discipline classification framework and interdisciplinarity. The second part of the paper addresses the problems researchers are faced with when their application of classical feminist theories crosses paths with a peculiar experience of how gender and gender relations are understood/constructed locally. Adhering to standpoint epistemology, the paper briefly attempts to point out the specificity of the approach to gender in the academic context in the countries on the semi-periphery, equally distant from both the Western and the postcolonial understading of gender.