Gendering Peace & Security Impact Outcomes
Gendering Peace & Security
Students in the Gendering Peace & Security Lab, in partnership with their faculty co-leads from the College of Global Futures and the Department of English, investigated how we can justly and equitably transform systems and institutions in ways that seek to empower women and advance security. This course was the first in a series of UNESCO BRIDGES Humanities Labs that are designed to home in on the United Nation's 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Student Outcomes
Safety Inclusivity
Gun related incidents have become the leading cause of death amongst young people as of 2021, according to the CDC (see embedded chart), with incidents happening on school and college campuses. As of mid- April there has been at least 145 mass shootings in the United States in 2023. With these distressing facts in mind, one student team worked to address the challenge by aiming to create a safer and more sustainable environment accessing resources on ASU campus to promote safety through inclusivity. In addition to their research project, students created bite-size stickers, as seen in the image, to spread awareness of safety on campus. Learn more about their work here.
Responsible Consumption
Another team of students, concerned with planetary sustainability and the dire effects produced by the for-profit consumer goods sector —published an article to educate their readers about the staggering, unsustainable and unethical practices taking place in our world today. The article informs the readers about the potential consequences of their own shopping habits and provides resources and alternatives to combat overconsumption of clothing, food and single-use items. View their article here.
Secure Her ASU
A group of graduate and undergraduate students teamed together to help cultivate a campus culture focused on security, community, and mutual support. In an effort to bring awareness to the issue of gender-based violence on campus, they designed a campaign to educate bystanders and empower women. The outcome was shared publicly through an Instagram page which can be viewed here.
Biochar
Have you ever heard of the word Biochar? According to the website of the United States Department of Agriculture,"biochar is black carbon produced from biomass sources [i.e., wood chips, plant residues, manure or other agricultural waste products] for the purpose of transforming the biomass carbon into a more stable form (carbon sequestration)."
Students in this team set out with the goal of implementing this kind of product here at ASU and to also to help local farmers and rural communities here in Arizona. The benefits of having a small, low cost version of their findings would help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Arizona, lower pesticides and would also help to increase labor wages as well as help to better working conditions. Another benefit includes the reduction of respiratory health risks. View their website for more information.
Ecofeminism
A dedicated duo with a business sustainability and a computer science backgrounds respectively chose to tackle ecofeminism and the power of story telling with their final outcome project as the mechanism. In case you haven't heard of the term ecofeminism, it is the study of the relationship between females and nature. Tying their work to Sustainable Development Goals four—quality education and five—gender equality, the team "created a book list featuring titles of books with ecofeminist themes to offer a resource to individuals interested in learning more about the intersectionality of gender equality, women’s rights, and environmental challenges." Care to check out the book and media list, click on over to this page!
Women Experiencing Violence
"Women Against Violence" is a website dedicated to raising awareness about violence against women. It offers valuable resources, statistics, and podcasts to support women who have experienced violence. The website provides extensive information on legal aid, counseling services, crisis hotlines, and shelters. Additionally, it focuses on empowering women through self-defense strategies and promoting self-worth. By offering a comprehensive range of resources and support, "Women Against Violence" aims to create awareness, support survivors, and work towards a violence-free society for women. View the website here.
Student Presentations
At the end of the semester, students had the opportunity to present their impact outcomes publicly to an audience of guests including those from the ASU UNESCO BRIDGES flagship team and the ASU Office of Social Embeddedness. Each Lab team shared their research, discussed interviews they conducted with campus constituents and discussed how their work tied directly to the United Nation's 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and which ones their work specifically focused on.
Grants
In order to earn the funds needed to initiate these projects,Gendering Peace & Security students applied for and received the following grants:
– George Cowley, Jamie Maerten, Kathy Choi and Rylie Seidl were awarded an Amplifier Mini-Grant for their Women's Security on Campus outcome.
