Killjoy: A Guide to Everyday Feminism

In the past few years discourses around feminism centered on the rise of rape/harrasment survivors’ testmonials have spread on social media. The use of the term “feminism” has become wide-spread and a mining field for different memes with the stereotype of the loud angry feminist, typically a woman, at its forefront. This resurgence begs the question, "what is feminism?" Is it merely the equality between genders? What is it like to be a feminist in everyday life? In this course, we will explore various meanings of feminism and what structures the life of an everyday feminist? Sara Ahmed’s “killjoy” feminist term will guide us through thiscourse with readings connected to issues of disablity, intersectionality, masculinity, emotions,and solidarity, among others. We will cultivate a feminist sensibility and attune ourselves to different contexts, privileges and backgrounds. We will also locate Egyptian feminism and its histories in relation to other movements in the Global South and relate Middle Eastern forms of feminist organising to Western feminist movements.