Gender

Feminist research questions and methodologies guide many projects at the Sié Center. In addition to our IGLI engagement initiative, individual faculty members and postdoctoral researchers examine women and gender roles to reassess theory and practice around the role of women in violence and governance, as well as femininities and masculinities in social science, public policy, and humanitarianism.

Featured Projects

Women's Rights After War

How do post-war empowerment interventions impact women's lives? The Women's Rights After War (WRAW) project asks which women benefit from new opportunities, suggesting that the implementation of gender-egalitarian laws and policies often maps onto existing socio-political cleavages.

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Women and War

How do women contribute to violent conflict and peacebuilding? Questioning traditional narratives that emphasize women's victimhood at the expense of their agency, Professors Hilary Matfess and Marie Berry take a holistic approach to understanding the many ways that women and gender norms contribute to the dynamics of war and its aftermath. 

Pragmatism’s Femininities

A key dimension of pragmatism is its appreciation of human qualities associated with femininities. Attributes associated with masculinities hold prominence in social science arguments and, Deborah Avant notes, are often deployed to degrade key pragmatic arguments that highlight human elements seen as more associated with femininities. By exposing the gendered character of critiques of pragmatism, Professor Avant hopes to contribute to efforts to make space for feminine — as well as masculine — elements of the human experience in social science analysis.

Feminist Ideas for a Post COVID-19 World

A key dimension of pragmatism is its appreciation of human qualities associated with femininities. Attributes associated with masculinities hold prominence in social science arguments and, Deborah Avant notes, are often deployed to degrade key pragmatic arguments that highlight human elements seen as more associated with femininities. By exposing the gendered character of critiques of pragmatism, Professor Avant hopes to contribute to efforts to make space for feminine — as well as masculine — elements of the human experience in social science analysis.

Gender-Based Problems in Humanitarian Settings and Education

Professor Chen Reis conducts research on gender-based violence in humanitarian settings, and on gender biases in humanitarian organizations and the impact on programming and staff. Her research also involves diversity and inclusion in graduate humanitarian education.

Mediating Post-Socialist Femininities

Professor Nadia Kaneva explores the role of popular media in transforming feminine and feminist identities and ideals in the post-socialist context. She has edited a special issue of Feminist Media Studies that will soon appear as an edited volume.

Related Faculty

Featured Publications

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    Ilene Grabel. July 2021. Enabling a Permissive Multilateralisms Approach to Global Macroeconomic Governance to Support Feminist Plans for Sustainability and Social Justice.
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    Deborah Avant. 2021. Allergy to Pragmatism’s Femininities? In Pragmatism in IT: The Prospects for Substantive Theorizing, International Studies Review.
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    Chen Reis. 2021. From ‘It Rarely Happens’ to ‘It’s Worse for Men’: Dispelling Misconceptions about Sexual Violence Against Men and Boys in Conflict and Displacement.
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    Chen Reis. 2021. Gender-Based Violence Against Adolescent Girls in Humanitarian Settings: A Review of the Evidence.
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    Ilene Grabel. November 2020. UN Women Expert Working Group Meeting Report: Macroeconomic Policies for the Feminist Plan for Sustainability and Social Justice.
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    Ilene Grabel. November 2020. Enabling Global Macroeconomic Governance: Pathways for Reforms That Support a Feminist Plan for Sustainability and Social Justice.
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    (passcode to access video: fy#Wpcu2)

    Hilary Matfess. 2020. "Part and Parcel? Examining Al Shabaab and Boko Haram's Violence Targeting Civilians and Violence Targeting Women" Studies in Conflict & Terrorism.

    Deborah Avant. 2018. “Why #metoo could be good for men too”. Political Violence @ a Glance.
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    Marie Berry. 2018. War, Women, and Power: From Violence to Mobilization in Rwanda and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
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    Hilary Matfess. 2017. Women and the War on Boko Haram.
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    Hilary Matfess and Valerie Hudson. 2017 "In plain sight: The neglected linkage between brideprice and violent conflict," International Security 42 (1), 7-40.

    Chen Reis. 2017. Becoming an International Humanitarian Aid worker.
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