Elizabeth Borland

Quotidian Disruption and Women's Activism in Times of Crisis, Argentina 2002-2003:

Argentina recently underwent a period of economic crisis that shook societal foundations. People turned to collective action for social and political change, and women were at the forefront of many protests. This crisis offers an opportunity to study a moment of “quotidian disruption”—when routine practices and ingrained assumptions are threatened—as an impetus for mobilization. The authors draw on ethnographic observations and analyze 44 in-depth interviews with activist women in Argentina to explore their responses to quotidian disruption. The authors show that the Argentine crisis challenged everyday practices and expectations that were often gendered, fostering activism that drew on previous social frameworks while also creating new ones. Activism became a new quotidian for many women and transformed their identities and experiences with politics and gender relations.

Using the Sociological Imagination to Teach about Academic Integrity

The sociological imagination is a useful tool for teaching about plagiarism and academic integrity, and, in turn, academic integrity is a good case to help students learn about the sociological imagination.  We present an exercise in which the class discusses reasons for and consequences of dishonest academic behavior and then examines a series of scenarios using the sociological imagination. Students and instructors consider whether each scenario is a violation of academic integrity norms and how it can be viewed as both personal and public. We demonstrate that this kind of discussion helps students learn about academic integrity and how to think of violations (including causes and a range of outcomes) sociologically. In other words, we encourage students to think of academic dishonesty (both causes and consequences) not just as “personal troubles” but also as “public issues.”

Storytelling, Identity, and Strategy: Perceiving Shifting Obstacles in the Fight for Abortion Rights in Argentina

How do activists perceive and interpret changing obstacles and opportunities? Studying narratives can help us to address unanswered questions about activist perception and attribution of the opportunity structure. I analyze the stories told by activists in the movement to legalize abortion in Buenos Aires, Argentina, drawing on ethnographic and interview data from three periods of fieldwork over the last 15 years. Although they talked about obstacles in many ways, I find that activists turned to storytelling when their hopeful expectations about politicians were disappointed. Stories about powerful allies are part of a social movement’s discursive repertoire that acts as a foundation for later interactions. Interpreting motives for past actions through storytelling helps activists to deliberate about practical responses and to imagine future tactics. Narrative study is a fruitful way to examine how people perceive opportunities and can help us understand how prior experiences shape present deliberation and future strategy.

Queering abortion rights: notes from Argentina

Abstract In recent years, there have been calls in activist spaces to ‘queer’ abortion rights advocacy, to incorporate non-normative notions of gender identity and sexuality into abortion struggles and services. Argentina provides an interesting site in which to examine these developments, since there is a longstanding movement for abortion rights in a context of illegal abortion and a recent ground-breaking Gender Identity Law that recognises key trans rights. In this paper, we analyse public documents from the abortion rights movement’s main coalition – the National Campaign for the Right to Legal, Safe and Free Abortion – alongside interviews with 19 Campaign activists to examine shifts and tensions in contemporary abortion rights activism. We trace the incorporation of trans-inclusive language into the newly proposed abortion rights bill and conclude by pointing to contextual factors that may limit or enhance the further queering of abortion rights.

Emerging Gender Parity and Persistent Differences: Cultural Shifts among Faculty Cohorts at a Primarily Undergraduate Institution

Abstract Purpose Although there are more primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs) than research-oriented institutions (ROIs) in the United States and more professors work at PUIs than ROIs, most research on gender inequality among faculty has focused on ROIs. Do patterns of women’s numeric scarcity, gender-hostile work climates, and difficulties with work-life balance found at ROIs hold true for PUIs? This chapter examines one PUI to address this question. Methods We analyze data from four sources: an archival database of all professors at the institution, interviews with full and associate professors, and two surveys. Findings Similar to ROIs, our study found women were less likely to achieve higher ranks, and take longer than men to do so. However, we find greater numbers of women and few gender differences in perception of climate, so numeric scarcity and gender-hostile climate cannot explain persistent lags in women’s advancement. Instead, we find women struggle with work-life balance more than men, especially in science disciplines. Thus, gender parity in advancement has yet to fully emerge, despite more women in the faculty and a more equitable climate than at ROIs. Research implications Differences between faculty cohorts are intensified at the PUI because of changes to the institution’s mission, but our research demonstrates that not all gendered patterns found at ROIs apply to PUIs. Practical and social implications PUIs that increasingly emphasize scholarly output should enact family-friendly policies to support all professors, including on-campus or subsidized childcare, flexible scheduling, family leave, and dual-career hiring policies. Originality/value This chapter demonstrates that there are important differences between ROIs and PUIs that must be taken into account if we are to understand and remedy gender inequality in academia.