In 2012 a pilot project entitled Gender and Feminism in the Social Science was initiated, looking at the relationship between the gender profile of four social science disciplines and their incorporation of feminist critique and knowledge. The project was funded by the Research School of Social Sciences, the Gender Institute and a College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS) pilot grant. It covered Philosophy, Sociology, Political Science and History and the project leaders were Marian Sawer, Ann Curthoys, Ann McGrath, Fiona Jenkins and Helen Keane.
Publications included:
- Cowden, Mhairi, McLaren, Kirsty, Plumb, Alison, and Sawer, Marian (2012), Women's Advancement in Australian Political Science: Workshop Report
- Gerard, Elizabeth (2012), 'Gender in the Social Sciences: Political Science and Sociology Curriculum at the Australian National University', prepared for the Gender in the Social Sciences project, Australian National University
A workshop covering the four disciplines was held in December 2012 and provided the basis for a special issue of Australian Feminist Studies published in June 2014. The special issue contained 10 articles stemming from the workshop and the text of a public lecture presented in conjunction with it.
This very fruitful pilot project led to a successful application to the Australian Research Council for funding in the 2015 Discovery round. Funding of $397,514 was awarded for the project 'Gendered Excellence in the Social Sciences' (DP1501104449). The project now covered five disciplines as well as research governance frameworks. The Chief Investigators are Fiona Jenkins, Helen Keane and Marian Sawer, while Claire Donovan (Brunel University) is Partner Investigator. Rebecca Pearse and Monica Costa have worked as post-doctoral fellows on the project and Karen Downing has provided continuing support.