Whence and Whither Intersectional Theory?

*Please note that this seminar will be held in person in S1, Alison Richard Building, 7 West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DP, and online via Zoom. If you would like to attend in-person, registration is not required. If you would like to attend online, please register your place in advance. Registration will close at 09.00 on Monday16 March 2026.

Dr Claire Crawford is a Teaching Associate in POLIS at the University of Cambridge, and a researcher of transnational social movements, postcolonial theory, and digital change. She completed her PhD at King's College London and postdoctorate at the University of York.

Intersectionality has existed as the name we give to a theory, a practice, and an identity within feminist imaginaries since the late 1980s. More recently, it has also become increasingly maligned as vague, neoliberal, or reductive: indicative of ‘identity politics’. Following the approach of postcolonial theorists Robert Stam and Ella Shohat (2012), this paper seeks to trace this recent conceptual history of intersectionality, and suggest where it might be going, keeping in mind a “decentred, multidirectional narrative for the circulation of ideas” (p.371). It argues that if intersectionality continues to provide utility to feminist activists and practitioners, then we must continue to take it seriously as scholars.

The UCCGS Gender Research Seminars offer academics and graduate students an opportunity to present their work-in-progress to a multi-disciplinary audience interested in gender, in a friendly and informal atmosphere. Seminars are held on specified days during Michaelmas and Lent and everyone is welcome to attend.

The seminars are organised and chaired by Sigal Spigel. If you would like more information about this series, or are interested in presenting your work at a Gender Research Seminar, please visit the Centre's website at:

https://www.gender.cam.ac.uk/Events/genderseminars