Raffia Magazine

Before Raffia was an online magazine, it served as a paper magazine for 28 years. In March 1989 – what was then called – the Centrum voor Vrouwenstudies (CvV, ‘Centre for Women’s Studies’) of Radboud University published the first issue of the Raffia. Raffia featured articles by both students and settled scholars, concerning the themes of gender, feminism and emancipation. Crucially, the journal also emphasised the importance of gender beyond the university, for example in arts and emancipatory organisations, as well as through opinion pieces such as columns and reviews. The magazine contained articles both in Dutch and English.

When the CvV changed its name to the Institute for Gender Studies in 2005, Raffia remained an important part of its scholarly infrastructure. The magazine published its final paper issue in March 2016, in its 28th year of existence. When in July 2016 the Institute for Gender Studies was disbanded and made way for Radboud Gender and Diversity Studies, Raffia’s editorial board decided it was time for a new format. In order to make Raffia more accessible to a broader audience and to be able to better respond to current events, Raffia made a new start as an online magazine on 8 March 2017.