SEMINÁŘ - Jurik and Gavender: “Can Women Make a Difference? Gendered Heroes and Villains in Wartime”

Oddělení Gender & sociologie Sociologického ústavu Akademie věd ČR, v.v.i.,

Vás zve na seminář

Prof. Nancy Jurik a Prof. Gray Gavender

“Can Women Make a Difference? Gendered Heroes and Villains in Wartime”

Abstract: Many studies of women in work organizations ranging from policing to corporations to the military suggest that the presence of women might contribute to more humane work environments.  This paper examines media constructions of heroes and villains from the U.S. “war on terrorism” and with special attention to the gendered nature of these portraits.  We consider four examples from this period:  two hyped military heroes from the war in Iraq—Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman—and two featured villains in the U.S. Abu Ghraib prison torture scandal—Lyndie England and Sgt. Charles Graner.  In all four cases, we find that the media coverage of these individuals, heroes and villains alike, was gendered in highly stereotypic ways.  Stereotypic coverage persisted even though the very presence of women in these military settings challenged traditional notions of the gendered division of labor.  An analysis of such coverage can offer important insights about the ways in which media perpetuate gender stereotypes and distorted dichotomies of heroes and villains.  These constructions serve to individualize the atrocities of war and obscure the structural and organizational-level problems that surrounded each case.  We argue that a critical analysis of coverage informed by insights from feminist research on gendered work organizations can lead to a deeper, more sophisticated understanding of the complex roots of the organizational crises indicated in each case.  We conclude that analysis of gendered dynamics within these military work settings can facilitate the identification of policies for promoting increased organizational gender equality.  Only if accompanied by such organizational change agendas will the presence of women truly make a difference.

Nancy Jurik is a Professor of Justice & Social Inquiry at Arizona State University.  She teaches courses on "Women and Work" and "Economic Justice."  Her publications focus on gender, work organizations, innovation, and entrepreneurship.  She has published books, including Doing Justice, Doing Gender: Women in Legal and Criminal Justice Occupations (Sage, 2007), and Bootstrap Dreams: U.S. Microenterprise Development in an Era of Welfare Reform (Cornell University Press, 2005), as well as articles on gender, work, and work organization issues.

Gray Cavender is a Professor of Justice & Social Inquiry at Arizona State University.  He teaches courses on Media, Law & Society, and Punishment.  His primary research interest is in the media, and includes topics ranging from reality television to how the media depict crime.  His most recent book is Corporate Crime Under Attack: The Fight to Criminalize Business Violence (LexisNexis, 2006).  He is writing a book with Nancy Jurik on the Prime Suspect series.

Their new book Justice Provocateur: Jane Tennison and Policing in Prime Suspect is in press.

Přednáška a následná diskuse bude v angličtině.

Pondělí 24.10. 2011 od 14 hodin, v Akademickém konferenčním centru Jilská 1/Husova 4.