31: Women and Politics Research

Laurel Weldon, Purdue University, weldons@purdue.edu

Scholarship on women and politics has always been imbued with change, complexity, and practical impact. Indisputably, our scholarship has served as a catalyst, by revising concepts and constructs and pushing ideas from the margins to the mainstream. Because so much is at stake for women, our research often drives policy and institutional change, uncovers differential effects among women as well as between women and men across global diversity. What now is at the forefront of complexity for women and politics as we probe deeply and richly our vast topic that traverses all subfields of political science?

For 2009 meeting, the Women and Politics Research section particularly invites scholarship on what is new, different, and unusual for women and politics. How can theory best inform current praxis for women in politics? What are the most pressing research subjects for women in turbulent global politics? Which advances in feminist thought push critical boundaries for change or address emerging challenges? How can we integrate across subfields? Improve methodologies? Push inclusive knowledge?

Full panels and roundtables on the above themes will be considered, along with individual papers. Additionally and consistent with the overall theme, the section welcomes proposals for panels or roundtables that bring together scholars and practitioners.