Feminist Citation Reading Group

Homage, reference, tribute, fandom: citation enables us to trace the lineages that shape and sustain a work, while recognizing the collective nature of knowledge production. The practice of citation foregrounds the porous relationships between writers and readers, as well as the dynamics of influence and inspiration. By consciously refraining from referencing sources that are routinely cited, it becomes possible to question and reverse habits of systemic exclusion. Citation thus extends far beyond the act of referring to a source: it shapes where attention is directed and how we orient ourselves in the world. This shared reading will prompt discussions about the role and relevance of citational practices within feminist, queer, and decolonial contexts. The workshop is guided by a question posed by Lima-based curator Susie Quilinan: “How can we re-enchant the citational as a practice of animating and regenerating relational networks rather than only reference and accumulation of authority?” At the same time, critiques of citational methods will play a central role, such as artist Xin Liu’s concern that “inclusive citation practice may result in forms of appropriation and reification that re-center whiteness, despite ‘good intentions.’” Excerpts from the following texts will be read and discussed: Sara Ahmed, Living a Feminist Life, Durham/North Carolina: Duke Univ. Press, 2017 Moyra Davey. Portrait Mode, ed. Marius Babias, Berlin: Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Cologne: Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther und Franz König, 2025 Lauren Fournier, „Citation as Relation: Intertextual Intimacies and Identifications,“ in: Fournier, Autotheory as Feminist Practice in Art, Writing, and Criticism, Cambridge/Mass.: The MIT Press, 2021 Rubén Gaztambide-Fernández, Eve Tuck, K. Wayne Yang, „Citation Practices Challenge,“ online project, 2015, citationpractices.tumblr.com Clare Hemmings, Why Stories Matter, Durham/North Carolina: Duke Univ. Press, 2011 Trịnh T Minh Hà, „Grandma’s Story,“ in: Trịnh, Woman, Native, Other: Writing Postcoloniality and Feminism, Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press, 1989 Trish Scott, Echogenerative Practice. A Citational Performance, 2025