Call for papers - Seminar 'Cultural Heritage and the Female Gaze'

The call for papers for the Seminar 'Cultural Heritage and the Female Gaze' is now open until June 30th 2025. 
The seminar will take place exclusively in person, on 2 October 2025, at the Faculty of Architecture - University of Porto (Portugal).

Recently scholarly work has increased the visibility of women in connection to design projects, locating architectural agency across the ages among predominantly male protagonists. But beyond the role of the professional practitioner and design authorship, the relation between women and cultural heritage opens a broader scope of practices and experiences. This seminar welcomes papers that address female actors in relation to the shaping and the study of the built environment and cultural heritage. We particularly encourage submissions that intertwine the female gaze and agency with themes of cultural encounters and the complexities of travel experiences, thereby enriching our understanding of how women have navigated, shaped, and redefined the cultural landscapes within which they operate. Contributors may also propose papers that focus on their own research experiences. Through this exploration, we aim to widen the discourse on the intersectionality of gender, space, and cultural representation, seeking a more inclusive comprehension of architectural history and heritage. 

The seminar is part of the European Research Council (ERC) project "ID-SCAPES – Building Identity: Religious Architecture and Sacral Landscapes of Christian Minorities in India and Bangladesh". It is also conceived as a tribute to Raquel Soeiro de Brito and Gritli von Mitterwallner, two pioneering women researchers born in 1925, whose legacies continue to inspire reflection on gender and knowledge production.

Two keynote lectures will frame the day’s discussions. Art historian Oliver Kessler, from the University of Bonn, and researcher Antonieta Reis Leite, from the Centre for Social Studies at the University of Coimbra, will offer critical insights into the seminar’s core themes.

Proposals of up to 300 words, including a title and five keywords, should be accompanied by a short biography (200 words) and sent to idscapes@arq.up.pt by 30 June 2025. The event will take place in person only, and selected participants will be notified by the end of July. The selected proposals will be announced by the end of July.

Further information is available on the FAUP website.