Students Explore Apocalypse Through Feminist Lens GENDER AND THE END TIMES
On 21 June 2024, CAPAS hosted a one-day workshop exploring apocalyptic thought through a gender lens. Participants included Master’s students from Gender Studies of the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg and their professors, Anna Sator and Marion Mangelsdorf. Together with CAPAS Fellows Kate Cooper and Tristan Sturm, they explored how apocalyptic narratives intersect with gender and power. The group was also introduced to public engagement and science communication. Led by Eva Bergdolt and Melanie Le Touze from the CAPAS Outreach Team participants applied knowledge from their earlier discussions to analysing The Wall, a film adaptation of Marlen Haushofer’s eponymous novel.
To open the session, Kate Cooper provided an introduction to the history of early Christian women and explored how apocalyptic thinking has influenced gender relations. By analyzing biblical passages, particularly from the Book of Revelation, Cooper illustrated how certain narratives, such as the portrayal of the "Whore of Babylon" and Jezebel—depicted as a greedy and immoral Phoenician queen—were used to construct misogynistic archetypes of women. However, Cooper also highlighted the disobedient and courageous aspects of these biblical women whose actions catalysed social or political change. She pointed out that these characters, such as Jezebel, were constantly challenging societal norms, prompting participants to reconsider conventional interpretations of gender roles in Christianity. Hildegard von Bingen’s apocalyptic visions further enriched the discussion, leading to reflections on the ethical dimensions of how Christian stories are told.
Building on Coopers panel, Tristan Sturm introduced millennialism and apocalypticism as belief systems that claim that supernatural powers will destroy the world, except for a select few who will survive on a new, transformed, and perfect earth. While analyzing the works of American scholar and author Lee Quinby, the students critiqued apocalyptic thinking as a masculinist practice that perpetuates gender, sexual, and racial hierarchies. They argued that such thinking exploits apocalyptic fear to justify these inequalities, deferring the pursuit of equality and justice to an indefinite future. This critique laid the groundwork for a more profound exploration of how these themes are represented in contemporary literature and movies. How are patriarchal narratives embedded in apocalyptic films, even those that ostensibly seek to challenge them? This inquiry allowed participants to reflect on the ideological underpinnings they had been taught. The conversation concluded with Quinby’s critique of "technopression"—the idea that technological perfection is a masculinist ideal—and Ursula Le Guin’s Rant about Technology, which resonated with many of the participants.
This led into the second part of the workshop, which applied earlier discussions to Marlen Haushofer’s novel The Wall and its film adaptation. This part of the session focused on ecocriticism, post-human worlds, and eco-apocalyptic scenarios in the absence of digital technology. The story, which is centered on a woman’s survival in isolation after an apocalyptic event, became a springboard for discussions on human responsibility in developing post-anthropocentric and eco-ethical behaviors.
The novel’s portrayal of symbiosis between humans and nature—particularly through its depiction of animal-human relations—echoed themes in Donna Haraway’s essays, such as Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reinvention of Nature and The Companion Species Manifesto. These texts helped guide the group’s thinking on post-humanism and the breakdown of boundaries between humans and non-human entities.
To deepen the exploration, the participants turned to Stefan Herbrechter's analysis of The Wall. Herbrechter is a researcher renowned for his contributions to literary theory, cultural studies, and environmental humanities, and is also the author of Critical Posthumanisms. He analyses that Haushofer’s work transcends anthropocentric and humanistic interpretations of the world, offering a post-humanist perspective that challenges the traditional “logic of salvation” found in apocalyptic narratives. The protagonist’s ambivalence toward rebuilding civilization reflects a deeper scepticism about the desirability of restoring a human-centered world. Herbrechter argues that Haushofer moves from an écriture féminine (feminine writing), a literary approach that emphasizes women's perspectives and experiences, towards an écriture animale (animal writing), which focuses on the representation and agency of non-human beings. He further posits a shift to écriture écologique, a style that recognizes the interconnectedness of all life forms and critiques human dominance over nature, where distinctions between the human and non-human begin to dissolve.
The discussions in this workshop revealed deep connections between feminist theory and ecological studies. Incorporating a post-humanist reading of The Wall expanded the students' understanding of apocalyptic thought to include the interdependence of gender dynamics and ecological systems. This intersectional approach aligns with queer and feminist theories, such as, for example, feminist environmentalism, which underscores the links between social inequalities and environmental degradation.
The participants concluded on the importance to challenge oppressive gender norms and dismantle anthropocentrism in apocalyptic discourses. By centering the voices of marginalized humans and non-human entities, the workshop offered the opportunity to focus on how visions of ethical post-apocalyptic worlds based on reciprocity, sustainability, and interconnectedness are told.