The Field of Gender Analysis in International Studies

Welcome From the Co-directors

” These are really complicated issues. I think that’s why they have compelled me so much in my life. That’s why they matter so much, because you start to realize just how much is at stake in people’s lives. Let’s try to get it, if not right, at least better.”

~ Prof. Kimberly Theidon

” A smart analysis of international issues requires a gender analysis, which at its heart is an analysis of power. Gender is a way of categorizing, ordering, symbolizing and distributing power. Gendered systems of power determine who gets their rights upheld and who does not. That’s something we had all better be able to understand.”

~ Prof. Dyan Mazurana

About The Field

The new Gender Analysis in International Studies Field uses micro, meso and macro-level gendered theory and analyses to illuminate and engage directly with systems and institutions of political, military, social, economic, legal and cultural power. The field examines gender roles and relations as a form of power to organize authority, institutions, rights, responsibilities, access to resources and life options. While theories and analysis of the politics of femininity and masculinity are privileged, other key factors that influence and intersect with gender are also examined, including ethnicity, race, religion, class or caste, religion, sexual orientation and disability. The field is interdisciplinary in its formation, scholarly focus and practice. Completion of the field will enable students to carry out theoretically grounded, gender-informed research, analysis and design within their professional careers. To complete the field, a student may select from a variety of courses offerings. Courses in the Field will enable students to develop critical and comparative approaches that illuminate the gendered dimensions of a range of key issues within: Armed Conflict and War; Natural Disaster; Forced Migration; Security; Human Security; Humanitarian Action; Peace Operations; Peace Building; International Criminal Law; Development Economics; Non-violent Resistance.

See more about the field here