Centre for Women´s and Gender Studies (FraGes)

Research Activities at the Centre

After its foundation in 2001, the Centre's activities in 2002 focused on establishing links with other comparable centres, PR work and networking research activities. The Centre was involved in symposia and workshops about men's health, the compatibility of career and family, women in sport (German Gymnastics Festival) and gender mainstreaming. FraGes was also represented at the KarriereStart fair in Dresden.

The centre has about 40 members (a quarter male) from various faculties, disciplines and nations. The members represent cultural subjects, history and the arts, language and linguistics, musicology, sociology, psychology, economics and medical disciplines. The following research topics are covered by FraGes members:

1. The topic of sex and gender identity is examined by several disciplines, e.g. artists' identity, the identity of female writers, body identity, physical self-concept and (psychological) gender identity. How do human beings develop and construct their identity because they are biologically male or female? How do they present their bodies (e.g. in sport)? How do they shape their self-concept as man/woman or boy/girl? And how does the self-concept influence action, e.g. fertility behaviour?
2. The second area of research addresses gender differences. Where are gender differences to be observed - and how important are they for everyday behaviour, career development and family work? Are female managers confronted with different role expectations from male managers? Can we find differences in their self-concept and leadership style? Are there differences in men's and women's speech and language patterns? What forms of social interaction do (male and female) teachers and students show in coeducational settings? How do men and women report symptoms of diseases? What gender inequalities exist in sports clubs and in elite sport? How can gender mainstreaming influence cognitions and actions in politics and local government?
3. The third line of research focuses on the cultural origins of gender and gender relationships. This is done from a historical perspective, e.g. ancient Greece (the Amazons), the nineteenth century (medical advice books), cultural myths about the biology of gender, and the situation in the former East Germany. In terms of cross-cultural comparison, the cultures represented include Asia (Japan, China), Syria, the southern hemisphere and Europe.
4. Last but not least, some topics focus on women. These include the edition of the works of Louise Otto Peters, an analysis of the stereotypes and medical treatment of women in the history of medicine, social work with girls, and philosophy from a feminist viewpoint.