Research

Wibben Publishes Book On Feminist Approaches To Studying War

by Daniel Morgan

Annick T.R. Wibben is set to publish Researching War: Feminist Methods, Ethics and Politics, a collection of case studies considering war and its aftermath, forthcoming from Routledge in 2016.

The book showcases feminist contributions to the study of war through case studies from around the world. Each chapter, written by scholars who have done significant research on a particular country, demonstrates the role of feminist methodological, ethical, and political commitments in the research process.

“The goal, really, is to show that adopting a feminist perspective fundamentally challenges what we can ‘see’ when we do research,” Wibben said. She hopes that feminist insights might also “lead to alternatives in terms of policy recommendations.”

Moreover, the book is designed for use as a teaching tool.

“I was inspired to edit this collection after teaching a Davies Forum on ‘Women, Violence & War’ in spring 2013,” Wibben said. “I saw the desire of students to do feminist research, but didn’t find much material to teach them how it is done.”

Each chapter follows a four-­part structure: it outlines a research puzzle, details the chosen approach, describes key findings, and offers a reflection on how a feminist approach mattered for the study. For both students and scholars, it provides critical insight into feminist research practices, with a focus on the importance of reflexivity in the research process.

The sole editor of the collection, Wibben also contributed the book’s Introduction and a chapter on Afghanistan. This will be her 2nd book.

Wibben also recently co-edited and introduced (with Maria Stern) a special virtual issue of the journal Security Dialogue. “A Decade of Feminist Security Studies Revisited,” published in December 2014, is a collection of notable articles adopting a feminist perspective on security (and war) in the last decade.

A recognized expert in the field of Feminist Security Studies, Wibben is an Associate Professor of Politics and directs the Peace and Justice Studies program at USF. She also serves on the Advisory Boards for the BA in International Studies, the MA in International Studies, and the Gender and Sexuality Studies programs.