By Florence Binard and Alexandrine Guyard-Nedelec
The ‘Société Anglophone sur le Genre et les Femmes’ (SAGEF) was founded in 2011 at the initiative of Françoise Barret-Ducrocq (University Paris Diderot-Sorbonne Paris Cité), Florence Binard (University Paris Diderot-Sorbonne Paris Cité) and Guyonne Leduc (University Charles de Gaulle, Lille 3). It is an official association affiliated to the ‘Société des Anglicistes de l’Enseignement Supérieur’ (SAES) – the largest society of academics in English as a discipline in France – itself a member of the European Society for the Study of English (ESSE).
The pluridisciplinary make-up of English studies in France has meant that English as a discipline is divided into three main fields: literature, area studies and linguistics. Literature and area studies are subdivided into British and Commonwealth studies on the one hand and American studies on the other. This, in turn, has meant that although gender research had its place within each of the categories, it remained rather invisible despite its importance. To remedy the situation, a society for gender studies has been created within the discipline of English. This new dynamic society has enabled researchers to exchange and develop interdisciplinary projects around gender.
SAGEF aims at providing a platform for French researchers in English studies, developing and promoting their research within French academia, and fostering cooperation between women and gender specialists in France and abroad. It is keen to establish friendly and cooperative ties between senior academics and young researchers so as to pass on expertise. Since its creation, SAGEF has attracted a high percentage of young colleagues. It has regularly organised seminars at the SAES and ESSE congresses, exploring for instance the future of feminism – ‘What Prospects for Feminist Theories?’, Istanbul 2014, and looking at gender from the lighter side as well – ‘The Symbolic Power of Humour: Gender Issues and Derision’, Galway 2016. SAGEF has also run daring workshops at several French universities, inviting intersectional feminist activists and performers. It publishes the proceedings of its SAES seminars and workshops in the collection ‘Des idées et des femmes’, whose chief editor is Guyonne Leduc. Five volumes have been published so far: Comment l’égalité vient aux femmes (2012); Littérature anglo-saxonne au féminin: (Re)naissance(s) et horizons XVIIIe siècle – XXe siècle (2012); Genre(s) et transparence (2014); Nommer les femmes, le sexe et le genre (2015); Mères-célibataires (2016).
SAGEF has a mailing list, which allows members to keep updated of its activities as well as exchange information:
sagef@eila.univ-paris-diderot.fr
and a Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/SAGEFFrance/
The next step for SAGEF will be the creation of its Hypothèses academic blog, so as to increase its online visibility as well as archive its activities. Its address will be:
http://sagef.hypotheses.org/
(posted 21 September 2017)