In 1997 the Gender Studies Program was opened under the umbrella of the department of Sociology and Political Science at EUSP with support from the Ford Foundation. The goal of the program is to contribute to research in the field of Gender Studies as well as offer student courses in the field.
- Research connected with gender problematic
- Preparing and teaching lecture courses on gender theory and research methodology
- Establishing connections and nurturing cooperation among researchers from across Russia and the near and far abroad whose research is also tied to gender studies.
From the very beginning of the Program’s inception, its fundament task was to develop and institutionalize a Master’s program in gender studies under the umbrella of the EUSP department of Sociology and Political Science. Today the program offers students courses in methodology and theory of gender relations in Soviet and post-Soviet society, as well as strategies and methods for studying the gender order.
Professors in the program organize conferences and theoretical and methodological seminars with participation of colleagues from the near and far abroad. Thanks to the Gender Studies program, a circle of young researchers (students and graduates of the program) has formed and is actively involved in the study of gender issues and gender aspects of social processes in contemporary Russian society. In the last few years the majority of the students in the program have successfully defended MA theses and four graduates have defended Candidates’ dissertation on gender subjects.
Courses offered in the program include the following: Social Theory in Gender Perspective, Feminist Theory in the Context of Western and Russian Culture, The Feminist Movement and Feminist Theory, Contemporary Research on Gender Relations in Russia, Methodology of Qualitative Research. Professors offer advising for Candidates and Masters students in the program. Each year 3-4 students defend MA theses in Gender Studies and many of them continue on to dissertation projects in the field.
Since 2002 graduates of the Gender Studies Program have participated in the Regional Network Program (financed by the Carnegie Corporation), teaching courses in Gender Studies at the State Universities of Petrozavodsk, Tver and Kazan. The Gender Studies Program at EUSP actively participates in coordination and cooperation with the network of Gender Studies programs throughout the country (St. Petersburg-Samara-Tver). Currently research in the Program involves the topics of sexual and reproductive health and sociology of ageing and care.
- To date, the Program has published nine anthologies on gender themes, and has also produced over 100 articles concerning gender problematics in Russian and international periodical publications.
- Directors, research fellows and alumni of the Gender Studies Program have compiled a course of lectures and materials "Introduction to Gender Studies" on the educational portal Arzamas.Academy.
- The program maintains a weekly e-mail newsletter about current events, vacancies, opportunities for publication and participation in conferences in the field of gender studies. To connect to the mailing list, you can send a request to gender@eu.spb.ru. The newsletter is carried out with the informational support of the "Gender Section" of the St. Petersburg Association of Sociologists (SPAS).