From Vienna to the World

This international symposium, titled "From Vienna to the World: Rethinking Gerda Lerner’s Jewish and Feminist Life, Work, and Legacy in European and Global Perspective", offers the first systematic, comparative, and transnational reassessment of Gerda Lerner (1920-2013), one of the most influential historians of women's history and feminist thinkers of the second half of the twentieth century. The event brings together scholars from various fields including Jewish studies, women's and gender studies, American studies, Austrian and German studies, and global history. It positions Lerner’s work at the intersection of Jewish experience, feminist knowledge production, and transnational academic cultures. The symposium begins with the understanding that Lerner’s intellectual project cannot be separated from her life “in translation.” As a young Jewish woman shaped by acculturated Viennese bourgeois culture, she experienced antisemitic persecution, forced migration, exile, statelessness, and political repression. Additionally, she was a grassroots activist in the U.S. left and civil rights movements and played a foundational role in the institutionalization of women’s history.

Organized over two days in a hybrid format, the symposium examines Lerner's interactions with Austria, the United States, Germany, and international feminist networks. It also explores the diverse national and disciplinary receptions of her work. By connecting Jewish history, feminist thought, and global knowledge circulation, the symposium repositions Gerda Lerner as a crucial figure in twentieth-century global feminist historiography. It opens new perspectives on the intertwined histories of Jewish exile feminism, and the production of historical knowledge.

Funded by Graz University, Austrian National Funds & Zukunftsfonds

!!! Please register for participation in advance, if possible, by June 13th, under office.cjs(at)uni-graz.at and specify if you plan to attend virtually via Zoom or in person.