Teaching
I am currently appointed at Simon Fraser University School of International Studies as the Simons Chair in International Law and Human Security.
I am excited to support students and early career scholars on my various topics of expertise, which include international security issues, women in war and military culture (with a focus on military sexual violence), women in combat roles, military suicide, as well as issues related to post-conflict transitions and feminist solutions to ending war.
The Simons Chair in International Law and Human Security, endowed by the Simons Foundation Canada, focuses on research and teaching in the nexus of international law and human security. The chair-holder holds a mandate to design curriculum, provide intellectual leadership, and foster public understanding through conferences and symposia.
Currently Teaching:
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The two goals of this course are to study war and political violence from feminist perspectives and to examine what solutions these perspectives offer for ending or reducing war and political violence. The unit will cover a range of topics, including drones, military suicide, Black Lives Matter, nuclear weapons, and war photography.
Whilst engaging with these important topics, students will gain a deep foundation in several theoretical traditions, including feminist, gender, queer, decolonial, black feminism, womanism, and Indigenous feminisms. A ‘deep’ foundation means engaging with primary theoretical texts and relating these texts to current issues related to war and political violence. Students taking this seminar will gain an in-depth knowledge of concepts such as militarism, militarization, securitization, decolonization, de-militarization, and human security.
Key questions that will be considered in the class include:
Do women experience, and participate in, war differently to men?
What kinds of gendered conflicts exist post-war?
How might a feminist understanding of security and securitization change defence, foreign policy, and national security priorities?
Are there actually solutions out there for ending or reducing war?
Course Delivery: This course will combine asynchronous and synchronous elements. Recorded lecture materials will be posted on Canvas. Required synchronous activities and/or discussions, will take place during the course’s scheduled meeting times (Thursdays 10:30am-12:20pm). These synchronous activities will require you to be online (on Zoom) for approximately one hour on average each week (with some variation); but you are required to be available for synchronous meetings any time during the two-hour class period. I will distribute a more detailed schedule for the synchronous activities in the first week of classes.
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The course is structured around the three interrelated streams of the undergraduate major at SFU:
1) International Security and Conflict, which examines the causes and consequences of wars, both within and between states, and of the possible ways of resolving conflicts, and building peace and security.
2) Comparative World Politics, Culture and Society, which examines issues such as religion and politics, nationalism, and patterns of democratization and authoritarian rule around the world; and
3) International Development, Economic and Environmental Issues, which examines the problems of poverty and inequality, development strategies and policies, and issues around sustainable development.
The course introduces some of the questions, debates, and approaches for understanding and addressing important global challenges in each of the three streams. We'll also examine the causes of these challenges and how they affect diverse communities around the world.
COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:
This course will be of general interest to students in all disciplines. It is also a gateway to the major in International Studies. It provides knowledge valuable for careers in: international development, international law, diplomacy, human rights, humanitarianism, journalism, and environmental sustainability. In addition to developing your knowledge of global affairs and your critical thinking skills, the course requirements are designed to help you develop the kind of practical writing skills needed to work in many jobs in government and nongovernmental organizations, as well as in a range of professions beyond academia.
Previous Courses
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This unit offers a gender perspective on human rights, with a focus on gender and insecure international contexts. The unit covers themes related to the challenges of pursuing human rights, violations of human rights, and the role of civil society groups in advocating human rights. Attention will be given to the gendered nature of human rights and to specific issues that impact men and women differently when it comes to human rights protection and promotion.
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In an era of Trump bragging about the size of his nuclear arsenal, global women’s marches, sexual abuse scandals within Oxfam and UN peacekeeping missions, US mass shootings and Australia’s decision to become a ‘major arms exporter,’ it seems that a feminist and gender perspective on war and political violence is more relevant than ever. The two goals of this seminar are to study war and political violence from feminist perspectives AND to examine what solutions these perspectives offer for ending or reducing war and political violence.
The unit will cover topics including drones, military suicide, Black Lives Matter, nuclear weapons, and war photography. Whilst engaging with these important topics, students will gain a deep foundation in several theoretical traditions, including feminist, gender, queer, decolonial, black feminism, womanism, and Indigenous feminisms. A ‘deep’ foundation means engaging with primary theoretical texts…like, really engaging. In addition, students taking this seminar will gain an in-depth knowledge of key international relations and political studies concepts, including militarism, militarization, securitization, decolonization, de-militarization, and human security. Key questions that will be considered include: do women experience, and participate in, war differently to men?; what kinds of gendered conflicts exist post-war?; how might a feminist understanding of security and securitization change defence, foreign policy, and national security priorities?; are there actually solutions out there for ending or reducing war?
As with all honors units, the reading load will be rigorous, but rewarding. Expectations are high, and the assessments will be unique and challenging.
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This unit will examine critical perspectives on international development. It will explore key questions concerning development, including: Have efforts to ‘reduce poverty’ been effective? What are the various meanings associated with development concepts like ‘building capacity’ and ’empowerment’? Is there any consensus about what development is and how to ‘do’ it? The unit will include an analysis of how much has been learned about development over the last fifty years.
“A serious engagement with collective responsibility would change the way we understand war, and has implications for peace that we are yet to contemplate fully.”