Cynthia Enloe, a prominent Political Scientist, will be speaking on "What Do Feminists Reveal about the Current State of International Policy?" on Thursday, April 27, at 4 p.m. This talk will take place at the Frost Lounge of the Ell Building at Northeastern University. Dr. Enloe is a Professor of Government at Clark University.

Professor Enloe is a leading feminist author who has challenged common assumptions about world politics. Her most recent book is Maneuvers: The International Politics of Militarizing Women's Lives (University of California Press, 2000). In this book she argues that the military is a patriarchal body intent on masculinizing society, and embarks on a wide-ranging look at the global militarization of women's lives. In her description of militarized masculine values, she notes that female soldiers, mothers of soldiers, and nurses often accept an agenda that keeps them powerless and alienated. Citing documents and examples from numerous countries, Enloe describes the evolving role of military wives, and the military's handling of rape. She shows that the people who become militarized are not just those who work directly within the services, and sees connections among diverse groups of women from around the world. According to the well known feminist philosopher Sandra Harding, Enloe's new book is a "splendid further analysis of how ordinary objects, events, and processes seemingly irrelevant to the life and times of militaries in fact are controlled by, dependent on, or derive their value from military institutions and criteria."

In addition, Dr. Enloe has published numerous books including Does Khaki Become You: The Militarization of Women's Lives (South End Press, 1983), and The Morning After: Sexual Politics at the End of the Cold War (University of California Press, 1993). She is also the author of the well known book Bananas, Beaches & Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics (University of California, 1990).

The Women's Studies Program is sponsoring this talk at Northeastern University. For further information, contact Lihua Wang at 617-373-4984.

The talk is free and open to the public.