PhD Thesis proposal

Feminist Ontological-Epistemological Hierarchies and Gaps in the Sustainable Development Goal 5: The Case of the University of Coimbra

Supervisor/s: João Pedroso and Wanda Capeller

Doctoral Programme: Sociology of the State, Law and Justice

Funding: FCT

The purpose of this work is to analyze potential ontological-epistemological hierarchies and gaps present in the Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) and how such hierarchies/gaps influence its application and adoption in the University of Coimbra (UC), also considering how SDG-5 converge and/or diverge with realities of marginalized feminisms and groups of women within the UC. The universalization of Western/neoliberal/modern frameworks forge epistemological-ontological hierarchies and gaps in international regulations, including in feminists and/or gender debates, excluding groups and perspectives labelled with Otherness. In such cases, intersectionality can offer tools for critically analyzing campus inequalities and is thus the theoretical-methodological framework adopted, including multiple axes, such as gender, race, class, and coloniality. Through intersectional lenses and different methodological tools, I will analyze the hierarchies/gaps in the SDG-5 narratives on Gender Equality, and present ontological-epistemological data/inputs/information in UC to discuss the multiple realities of Gender Equality (or lack of) and how it is related to the narratives of SDG-5.