Theory and Praxis: The Feminist Solidarity Group at UT-Austin

Abstract

This article addresses the issue feminist solidarity through the lens of an organization founded in the English Department at the University of Texas at Austin in 2006. The Feminist Solidarity Group provides support and forums for open discussion for graduate students seeking to emphasize collaboration, coalition-building, and self-reflection in their academic work. The essay begins with a conversation between the founders of the FSG, authors Erin Hurt and Layne Craig. Then, the essay puts the concrete history and activities of the Feminist Solidarity Group into the context of the history of solidarity as a concept in feminist communities, with particular emphasis on the work of bell hooks, Robin Morgan, and Chandra Mohanty. Ideas under particular consideration in this analysis include ethical approaches to the language of feminism and solidarity, ways to address conflicts and coalitions among feminist communities, and solidarity between academic feminists and extra-academic feminist communities. The essay ends with a reflection on the implications of the Feminist Solidarity Group as an ideological organization for other forms of feminist solidarity in the communities under discussion in the roundtable responses.