Simona Sharoni | Merrimack College (original) (raw)

Papers by Simona Sharoni

A Journey into Women’s Studies: Crossing Interdisciplinary Boundaries, ed. Rekha Pande, Palgrave Macmillan, 2014, pp. 279-296., 2014

Claudia Fuentes Julio and Paula Drumond (eds.) Human Rights and Conflict Resolution: Bridging the Theoretical and Practical Divide, Routledge 2017, pp. 180-200., 2017

Lester Ruiz, Oxford University Press, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, INC, 2000, pp. 112-129. , 2000

Principled World Politics: Essays in Honor of Richard Falk, eds. Paul Wapner and Lester Ruiz, Oxf... more Principled World Politics: Essays in Honor of Richard Falk, eds. Paul Wapner and Lester Ruiz, Oxford University Press, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, INC, 2000, pp. 112-129.

Women and the Israeli Occupation: The Politics of Change, ed. Tamar Mayer. London and New York: Routledge, 1994, pp. 121-37. , 1994

Security Disarmed A Pedagogy of Dissent, Compassion, and Hope in Rethinking Security: Gender, Race, and Militarization, eds. Bárbara Sutton, Sandra Morgen, and Julie Novkov, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2008, pp. 259-279. , 2008

Violence Against Women: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal, 2019

Faculty have played an important role in the ongoing efforts to confront gender-based violence on... more Faculty have played an important role in the ongoing efforts to confront gender-based violence on college campuses, as teachers, researchers, advocates, and policy advisors. Nevertheless, few institutions have welcomed faculty activism on this issue, especially when it took the form of vocal support for survivor-led efforts to transform campus policies and culture. This article examines the nature and scope of faculty involvement in confronting gender-based violence on college campuses across North America between 2014 and 2018. Our analysis of the range of roles and responsibilities faculty have assumed and the challenges and obstacles they have faced is informed by our own involvement with the U.S.-based group, Faculty Against Rape (FAR), which is dedicated to supporting faculty involvement in confronting gender-based violence on campus. Informed by the context of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements on one hand, and the changes in Federal and State protections for student survivors in the Trump-DeVos era on the other, the article concludes with a list of best practices for faculty involvement.

Radical Motherhood: Mothers, Politics, and Social Change in the 20th Century, eds. Annelise Orleck and Diana Tylor, 1997

Feminist Studies, 2018

No abstract

International Feminist Journal of Politics, 2013

This forum reconstructs a roundtable discussion about the academic responsibilities of Internatio... more This forum reconstructs a roundtable discussion about the academic responsibilities of International Relations professors with respect to their undergraduate students. Specifically, participants discuss the proper pedagogical role of professors' personal political beliefs and the best ways to encourage undergraduate students to engage political ideas and issues in a way consistent with the ideals of a liberal education. Organized around a series of six questions, the authors share how they interpret their responsibilities as an authority figure whose job it is to teach students to understand , to thoughtfully consider, and to formulate opinions about issues that are explicitly politicized in mainstream social discourse.

This is an old piece I wrote for Middle East Report (MERIP) in 1988 but most of the information a... more This is an old piece I wrote for Middle East Report (MERIP) in 1988 but most of the information and the need to challenge the myth of gender equality in Israel are still relevant today.

A careful examination of women's involvement in peacebuilding and conflict transformation in Isra... more A careful examination of women's involvement in peacebuilding and conflict transformation in Israel and Palestine provides a unique perspective on key turning points in the history of the conflict in the past two and one-half decades, since the first Palestinian uprising, knows as the Intifada. The article analyzes the changes in modes of organizing, as well as in the broader vision and key strategies of women's organizing, mostly at the grassroots level, on both sides of the Palestinian-Israeli divide. By exposing the gendered dimensions of the conflict, women activists have began to transform the cultures of their respective collectivities, ensuring that gender and other inequalities and oppressions are not overlooked. Notwithstanding the challenges facing women in both communities, the article concludes that the women who have been working for justice and peace in the region constitute a critical mass that will not only impact the nature of conflict transformation but will also be instrumental in envisioning post-conflict realities.

In this essay, I focus primarily on feminist perspectives pertaining to the analysis and resoluti... more In this essay, I focus primarily on feminist perspectives pertaining to the analysis and resolution of conflicts, which have been
traditionally described in IR literature as “international conflicts” and/or “ethnic conflicts.” Feminists, like other critical scholars,
have called the terms themselves into question and suggested alternatives. In addition to critically examining various feminist
critiques of conflict resolution theory, research, and practice, this essay highlights original and noteworthy contributions that
feminist scholars and practitioners have made to conflict resolution study and practice. Finally, I discuss some new directions for
feminist work in this area and examine the prospects and challenges for a fruitful collaboration between scholars of conflict
resolution and feminist scholars.

Dieser Artikel untersucht kritisch die Beziehung zwischen Männern, vorherrschenden Männlichkeitsk... more Dieser Artikel untersucht kritisch die Beziehung zwischen Männern, vorherrschenden Männlichkeitskonzeptionen und den Prozessen und Praktiken, die ins Spiel kommen, wenn Männlichkeiten militarisiert und zum Kriegszweck eingesetzt werden. Nach einer einleiten-den Übersicht über die feministische und nicht-feministische Literatur zu Militarisierung und Männlichkeitskonstruktionen konzentriert sich der Artikel auf die Aussichten für eine Demilitarisierung von Männern und Männlichkeitskonstruktionen im US-Empire seit dem 11. September 2001 und insbesondere im Kontext der Kriege in Afghanistan und im Irak unter der Führung der USA. Die Analyse unterscheidet zwischen dem Militär als System, Militarisierung als Prozess und Soldaten als Menschen. Da Kriege nicht ohne militarisier-te Männlichkeit zu führen sind, helfen Kriegsgeschichten von Soldaten, die zu einer Demys-tifizierung des Krieges beitragen, auch die enge Verknüpfung zwischen Männlichkeit und Gewalt zu schwächen oder sogar aufzubrechen. Zu diesem Zweck steht die Analyse der Beschreibungen von Soldaten im Zentrum des Artikels. Eine wichtige Schlussfolgerung des Artikels ist, dass der Prozess der Demilitarisierung ausdrücklich alle Systeme der Herrschaft und Unterdrückung, einschließlich Sexismus, Rassismus und Homophobie, die explizit und implizit im Militarisierungsprozess zur Anwendung kommen, in Frage stellen und delegiti-mieren muss.

In the past decade there has been a growing theoretical interest in the role of women and gender ... more In the past decade there has been a growing theoretical interest in the role of women and gender issues in relation to questions of war and peace. Images of women at the forefront of struggles for liberation, justice and peace around the world have inspired not only academic scholarship on women and gender issues in conflict situations but also numerous conferences and the availability of funding for both individual and institutional projects on these issues. The exploration of the role of women and gender issues in conflict regions has been long overdue; it filled a serious gap in the literature on conflict and international politics. At the same time, while the literature is quite diverse in scope both thematically and geographically, it has been written primarily in English by academics who reside outside the conflict area they write about and write primarily for academic audiences. The importance of making women and gender issues visible in the academic arena notwithstanding, women in conflict areas have been highly critical of the research approach and methods utilized by many researchers and of the final products resulting from such research. Like in other areas of inquiry, some of this work came under attack for assuming universal applicability and for having little or no relevance to the daily lives and struggles of women in particular conflict situations. While there are some general trends concerning gender, war and peace that may manifest themselves across conflict areas, in order to understand the complex workings of gender and conflict in a particular community, one must employ a context-specific approach and work closely with people on the ground. This approach requires a serious change in orientation from doing research on women to working collaboratively with them. This article highlights some ethical considerations that ought to be taken into account when conducting gender sensitive research in conflict areas. My hope is that it will stimulate a lively discussion on these issues among activists and researchers by highlighting major challenges facing researchers who are interested in working with women in conflict zones and some ways to address them and limit the potential damage of such interventions. While the considerations may change from conflict to conflict, there are two basic principles – collaboration and accountability – that must be present for a project to be legitimate. Following are some key questions and concrete examples dealing with the ethics and politics of gender research in conflict regions.

SIMONA SHARONI AND RABAB ABDULHADI IN CONVERSATION WITH NADJE AL-ALI , FELICIA EAVES, RONIT LENTI... more SIMONA SHARONI AND RABAB ABDULHADI IN CONVERSATION
WITH NADJE AL-ALI , FELICIA EAVES, RONIT LENTIN AND
DINA SIDDIQI

A Journey into Women’s Studies: Crossing Interdisciplinary Boundaries, ed. Rekha Pande, Palgrave Macmillan, 2014, pp. 279-296., 2014

Claudia Fuentes Julio and Paula Drumond (eds.) Human Rights and Conflict Resolution: Bridging the Theoretical and Practical Divide, Routledge 2017, pp. 180-200., 2017

Lester Ruiz, Oxford University Press, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, INC, 2000, pp. 112-129. , 2000

Principled World Politics: Essays in Honor of Richard Falk, eds. Paul Wapner and Lester Ruiz, Oxf... more Principled World Politics: Essays in Honor of Richard Falk, eds. Paul Wapner and Lester Ruiz, Oxford University Press, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, INC, 2000, pp. 112-129.

Women and the Israeli Occupation: The Politics of Change, ed. Tamar Mayer. London and New York: Routledge, 1994, pp. 121-37. , 1994

Security Disarmed A Pedagogy of Dissent, Compassion, and Hope in Rethinking Security: Gender, Race, and Militarization, eds. Bárbara Sutton, Sandra Morgen, and Julie Novkov, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2008, pp. 259-279. , 2008

Violence Against Women: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal, 2019

Faculty have played an important role in the ongoing efforts to confront gender-based violence on... more Faculty have played an important role in the ongoing efforts to confront gender-based violence on college campuses, as teachers, researchers, advocates, and policy advisors. Nevertheless, few institutions have welcomed faculty activism on this issue, especially when it took the form of vocal support for survivor-led efforts to transform campus policies and culture. This article examines the nature and scope of faculty involvement in confronting gender-based violence on college campuses across North America between 2014 and 2018. Our analysis of the range of roles and responsibilities faculty have assumed and the challenges and obstacles they have faced is informed by our own involvement with the U.S.-based group, Faculty Against Rape (FAR), which is dedicated to supporting faculty involvement in confronting gender-based violence on campus. Informed by the context of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements on one hand, and the changes in Federal and State protections for student survivors in the Trump-DeVos era on the other, the article concludes with a list of best practices for faculty involvement.

Radical Motherhood: Mothers, Politics, and Social Change in the 20th Century, eds. Annelise Orleck and Diana Tylor, 1997

Feminist Studies, 2018

No abstract

International Feminist Journal of Politics, 2013

This forum reconstructs a roundtable discussion about the academic responsibilities of Internatio... more This forum reconstructs a roundtable discussion about the academic responsibilities of International Relations professors with respect to their undergraduate students. Specifically, participants discuss the proper pedagogical role of professors' personal political beliefs and the best ways to encourage undergraduate students to engage political ideas and issues in a way consistent with the ideals of a liberal education. Organized around a series of six questions, the authors share how they interpret their responsibilities as an authority figure whose job it is to teach students to understand , to thoughtfully consider, and to formulate opinions about issues that are explicitly politicized in mainstream social discourse.

This is an old piece I wrote for Middle East Report (MERIP) in 1988 but most of the information a... more This is an old piece I wrote for Middle East Report (MERIP) in 1988 but most of the information and the need to challenge the myth of gender equality in Israel are still relevant today.

A careful examination of women's involvement in peacebuilding and conflict transformation in Isra... more A careful examination of women's involvement in peacebuilding and conflict transformation in Israel and Palestine provides a unique perspective on key turning points in the history of the conflict in the past two and one-half decades, since the first Palestinian uprising, knows as the Intifada. The article analyzes the changes in modes of organizing, as well as in the broader vision and key strategies of women's organizing, mostly at the grassroots level, on both sides of the Palestinian-Israeli divide. By exposing the gendered dimensions of the conflict, women activists have began to transform the cultures of their respective collectivities, ensuring that gender and other inequalities and oppressions are not overlooked. Notwithstanding the challenges facing women in both communities, the article concludes that the women who have been working for justice and peace in the region constitute a critical mass that will not only impact the nature of conflict transformation but will also be instrumental in envisioning post-conflict realities.

In this essay, I focus primarily on feminist perspectives pertaining to the analysis and resoluti... more In this essay, I focus primarily on feminist perspectives pertaining to the analysis and resolution of conflicts, which have been
traditionally described in IR literature as “international conflicts” and/or “ethnic conflicts.” Feminists, like other critical scholars,
have called the terms themselves into question and suggested alternatives. In addition to critically examining various feminist
critiques of conflict resolution theory, research, and practice, this essay highlights original and noteworthy contributions that
feminist scholars and practitioners have made to conflict resolution study and practice. Finally, I discuss some new directions for
feminist work in this area and examine the prospects and challenges for a fruitful collaboration between scholars of conflict
resolution and feminist scholars.

Dieser Artikel untersucht kritisch die Beziehung zwischen Männern, vorherrschenden Männlichkeitsk... more Dieser Artikel untersucht kritisch die Beziehung zwischen Männern, vorherrschenden Männlichkeitskonzeptionen und den Prozessen und Praktiken, die ins Spiel kommen, wenn Männlichkeiten militarisiert und zum Kriegszweck eingesetzt werden. Nach einer einleiten-den Übersicht über die feministische und nicht-feministische Literatur zu Militarisierung und Männlichkeitskonstruktionen konzentriert sich der Artikel auf die Aussichten für eine Demilitarisierung von Männern und Männlichkeitskonstruktionen im US-Empire seit dem 11. September 2001 und insbesondere im Kontext der Kriege in Afghanistan und im Irak unter der Führung der USA. Die Analyse unterscheidet zwischen dem Militär als System, Militarisierung als Prozess und Soldaten als Menschen. Da Kriege nicht ohne militarisier-te Männlichkeit zu führen sind, helfen Kriegsgeschichten von Soldaten, die zu einer Demys-tifizierung des Krieges beitragen, auch die enge Verknüpfung zwischen Männlichkeit und Gewalt zu schwächen oder sogar aufzubrechen. Zu diesem Zweck steht die Analyse der Beschreibungen von Soldaten im Zentrum des Artikels. Eine wichtige Schlussfolgerung des Artikels ist, dass der Prozess der Demilitarisierung ausdrücklich alle Systeme der Herrschaft und Unterdrückung, einschließlich Sexismus, Rassismus und Homophobie, die explizit und implizit im Militarisierungsprozess zur Anwendung kommen, in Frage stellen und delegiti-mieren muss.

In the past decade there has been a growing theoretical interest in the role of women and gender ... more In the past decade there has been a growing theoretical interest in the role of women and gender issues in relation to questions of war and peace. Images of women at the forefront of struggles for liberation, justice and peace around the world have inspired not only academic scholarship on women and gender issues in conflict situations but also numerous conferences and the availability of funding for both individual and institutional projects on these issues. The exploration of the role of women and gender issues in conflict regions has been long overdue; it filled a serious gap in the literature on conflict and international politics. At the same time, while the literature is quite diverse in scope both thematically and geographically, it has been written primarily in English by academics who reside outside the conflict area they write about and write primarily for academic audiences. The importance of making women and gender issues visible in the academic arena notwithstanding, women in conflict areas have been highly critical of the research approach and methods utilized by many researchers and of the final products resulting from such research. Like in other areas of inquiry, some of this work came under attack for assuming universal applicability and for having little or no relevance to the daily lives and struggles of women in particular conflict situations. While there are some general trends concerning gender, war and peace that may manifest themselves across conflict areas, in order to understand the complex workings of gender and conflict in a particular community, one must employ a context-specific approach and work closely with people on the ground. This approach requires a serious change in orientation from doing research on women to working collaboratively with them. This article highlights some ethical considerations that ought to be taken into account when conducting gender sensitive research in conflict areas. My hope is that it will stimulate a lively discussion on these issues among activists and researchers by highlighting major challenges facing researchers who are interested in working with women in conflict zones and some ways to address them and limit the potential damage of such interventions. While the considerations may change from conflict to conflict, there are two basic principles – collaboration and accountability – that must be present for a project to be legitimate. Following are some key questions and concrete examples dealing with the ethics and politics of gender research in conflict regions.

SIMONA SHARONI AND RABAB ABDULHADI IN CONVERSATION WITH NADJE AL-ALI , FELICIA EAVES, RONIT LENTI... more SIMONA SHARONI AND RABAB ABDULHADI IN CONVERSATION
WITH NADJE AL-ALI , FELICIA EAVES, RONIT LENTIN AND
DINA SIDDIQI

“Lavie illustrates how asking difficult, troubling questions that disturb taken-for-granted silen... more “Lavie illustrates how asking difficult, troubling questions that disturb taken-for-granted silences can be an important strategy of resistance. In doing so, Wrapped in the Flag of Israel offers theoretical and political insights that extend beyond Israel’s undeclared borders.”

The official college-level curriculum for the documentary film The Hunting Ground, which focuses ... more The official college-level curriculum for the documentary film The Hunting Ground, which focuses on campus sexual assault.

Introductory Notes to syllabus I. Rationale I decided to focus on feminist praxis as an overarchi... more Introductory Notes to syllabus I. Rationale I decided to focus on feminist praxis as an overarching concept for two main reasons: 1. Most programs, focusing on gender, women, and sexuality have separate classes on theory and method while activism is as aspect that is inconsistently integrated into the curriculum. 2. A focus on feminist praxis is relevant to teaching, research, advocacy, and activism, challenging the very distinctions between them. 3. This course is viewed a capstone course, with the material geared to upper-level undergraduate and graduate students. II. Choice of readings I began with the assumption that students will be familiar with seminal texts and have a general sense of current debates in the field. The readings are designed to ensure that majors can engage these debates. A solid theoretical foundation, including a familiarity with critical voices in the field, is especially important for students considering graduate studies in the field.

As colleges announced the transition to virtual teaching, academics around the world have utilize... more As colleges announced the transition to virtual teaching, academics around the world have utilized social media to share questions, tips, and resources as we all scramble to move our classrooms online. It's been truly moving to witness the generosity of colleagues. The experience has been unlike what one encounters in typical academic settings: no pretence or posturing, no visible hierarchies nor demand for credit or citations. Instead, there has been a strong sense of solidarity --of smart and resourceful people making sense of this crisis together, trying to support one another and be there for our students. Still, most of the discussions so far have been about modalities of instruction, and course content and design. What's been missing for me is attention to pedagogy with a capital P, that is, a focus not only on the content but also on the process of creating and sharing knowledge.