Lisa Baldez, associate professor of government and Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean studies, has emerged as a leader in a growing field of political science as co-editor of a new scholarly journal, "Politics & Gender." The quarterly journal debuted this September as the official journal of the women and politics research section of the American Political Science Association.
The journal was created by the APSA as a new outlet for the multitude of current research on gender and politics. "Politics & Gender," according to a note in the first issue, aims to represent a full range of questions, issues, and approaches on women and gender among the four political science subfields: political theory, comparative politics, international relations and U.S. politics. Baldez hopes that the journal will help make the case that gender can be relevant to all kind of political phenomena.
"We envision 'Politics & Gender' as a fresh contribution to interdisciplinary women's studies scholarship," Baldez wrote.
The journal collects works of political scientists from the United States and the rest of the world and claims a broad global readership.
"We received over 150 article submissions in our first year, which is a very high rate for a new scholarly publication," Baldez said.
Each issue of the journal contains four scholarly articles, book reviews, and a "Critical Perspectives" section that provides a forum for debate among scholars on various issues in the subfield.
Baldez's work on the journal translates into benefits for her students.
"I'm able to bring cutting edge research in this topic to my students and help them develop a better sense of what's available and what kind of contributions they can make in the field," she said.
Students in her fall class, Gender and Politics in Latin America, were assigned a paper comparing and contrasting four essays from the "Critical Perspectives" section of the first issue of the journal.
According to Baldez, the journal has received an overwhelmingly positive response among her colleagues. In addition to allowing her to bring high quality scholarship to the College, the journal has also helped bring international visibility to Dartmouth, she said.
The Dartmouth Center for Women and Gender will be hosting a reception to celebrate the launch of the new journal later this fall.
Coming to Dartmouth as a tenured professor in 2003, Baldez began her work on the journal in 2004. Baldez and co-editor Karen Beckwith of the College of Wooster put forth a proposal in response to an APSA request for editors that was ultimately accepted.
Baldez said she looks favorably upon the experience and the opportunities it has given her.
"I saw this journal as an opportunity to help build the field of politics and gender and to give back to the discipline that has really been wonderful for me and very supportive of me and my research."
