Alexandra Ghiț: "Women and Austerity in Interwar Bucharest: A Gendered Social Question?"

11.06.2026

Thursday, 11.06.2026, 19.00

RECET festival tent in Hof 1, Campus of the University of Vienna („Altes AKH“), Universitätscampus, Spitalgasse 2-4/Hof 1, 1090 Wien

F*GG LAB: Geschlecht historisieren. Frauen*- und Geschlechtergeschichte vernetzen

We would like to invite you to the next F*GG LAB on 11.06.2026 at 19.00. We welcome interest and participation from colleagues at all university career levels, project staff, students, independent researchers – in short, anyone who is interested in the historicisation of gender and would like to join us in conversation. 

Dr. Alexandra Ghiț (Leibniz Center for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe, Leipzig)

Women and Austerity in Interwar Bucharest: A Gendered Social Question?

Alexandra Ghiţ's 'Welfare Work Without Welfare' (De Gruyter, 2025) argues that women activists, workers, and homemakers in the Romanian capital Bucharest ensured others’ well-being in the interwar period through their "austerity welfare work". The book offers a novel interpretation of state-society relations after the First World War, showing that unpaid labor and gender relations were crucial in responding to economic crisis in an Eastern European urban setting and beyond. 'Welfare Work Without Welfare' contributes to the historicization of social reproduction work and the rethinking of the history of welfare states. Following a brief introduction by the author and a commentary by Manca G. Renko, there will be a panel discussion with Alexandra Ghiţ and Manca G. Renko moderated by Johanna Gehmacher.

In cooperation with RECET.

RECET festival tent in Hof 1, Campus of the University of Vienna („Altes AKH“), Universitätscampus, Spitalgasse 2-4/Hof 1, 1090 Wien.

Afterwards: Drinks and snacks at the RECET festival tent.