UC's Taft Center to Host Workshop on Women, Peace and Security

Carol Cohn and Cynthia Enloe, two specialists in the theory and practice of incorporating women into post-conflict peace-building, will conduct an interactive workshop about how to incorporate the latest research into practice through teaching, raising public awareness and influencing policy. This workshop on pedagogy and policy challenges, “Taking the 'Women, Peace, and Security' Agenda Seriously,” will be in the Charles Phelps Taft Research Center lecture room, (Edwards One, University of Cincinnati) from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 4, with additional sessions in the afternoon. 

After the morning session at the Taft Center, Cohn and Enloe will discuss their latest research from 2:45-4:45 p.m. in the Kaplan Auditorium (DAAP Aronoff Center Room 5401) at the University of Cincinnati, with a reception to follow from 4:45-6 p.m. outside the Reed Gallery (DAAP Aronoff Center 5th floor). Enloe will argue that “If You Ignore Women, You Can't Be Smart About Militarized Masculinities: A Feminist Warning,” followed by Cohn, who will contend that “If You Ignore Political Economy, You Can't Be Smart About Women and Peacebuilding.”

Optional, advance readings: "Women and Wars" and "Seriously!" are available as electronic books via the UC library website, or contact Laura.Jenkins@uc.edu for more information.

Both events are supported by a $2,000 grant from the U.S. Institute of Peace Public Education for Peacebuilding Support Initiative and are free and open to the public, no registration required.

“The workshop and lectures will raise public awareness of the important roles of women after wars and violent conflicts. It should be of interest to students, educators, activists and engaged citizens,” UC Provost Beverly Davenport said.

“USIP is pleased to support organizations like the Taft Research Center’s Human Rights and Global Studies Research Groups and their contribution to the national conversation around international conflict – and methods for resolving those conflicts nonviolently,” said USIP President Jim Marshall. 

Additional sponsors of these events are the UC Departments of Political Science and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; the Taft Human Rights Studies and Global Studies Research Groups; the University of Dayton Human Rights Program; the UC College of Law’s Center for Race, Gender and Social Justice; and the Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights.

For additional information about the event, contact: Laura Dudley Jenkins, associate professor of Political Science, University of Cincinnati, 513-309-8271, Laura.Jenkins@uc.edu; or Anne Sisson Runyan, professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, University of Cincinnati, 513-556-6652, Anne.Runyan@uc.edu.

About the speakers

Cynthia Enloe, research professor, Clark University, is an internationally renowned expert on women and militarization before, during and after war. For her research on the interactions of feminism, women, militarized culture, war, politics and globalized economics in the national and international arenas, she received the International Studies Association’s Susan Strange Award in 2007 and the Peace and Justice Studies Association’s Howard Zinn Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010. Her most recent book is "Seriously! Investigating Crashes and Crises as if Women Mattered" (University of California Press, 2013).

Carol Cohn is director of the Consortium on Gender, Security and Human Rights at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She is a leading scholar of gender in global politics, armed conflict and security. Her most recent research focuses on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security and the ongoing efforts to ensure its implementation at the international, national and grassroots levels. Cohn conducted workshops at the UN and with female leaders from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Melanesia and Kosovo and Iraq. Her most recent book is "Women and Wars" (Polity Press, 2013).

About the USIP

The United States Institute of Peace is the independent, nonpartisan conflict management center created by Congress to prevent and mitigate international conflict without resorting to violence. USIP works to save lives, increase the government’s ability to deal with conflicts before they escalate, reduce government costs, and enhance national security. USIP is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in Baghdad, Iraq, and Kabul, Afghanistan.

As part of its congressional mandate, USIP devotes a portion of its budget to support organizations that will advance the field of conflict management by developing new techniques, establishing best practices, and professionalizing the field through education and training. The Public Education for Peacebuilding Support is a program of USIP administered by the Institute of International Education.