Interdisciplinary special issue of Norma – Nordic Journal for Masculinity Studies
Deadline for abstracts: 15 June 2007
Deadline for articles: 31 January 2008
Editors of the issue: Anders Ahlbäck, Ville Kivimäki, Jarna Soilevuo
Grønnerød, Teemu Tallberg & Johanna Valenius
Contact: Johanna Valenius, e-mail johanna.valenius[at]helsinki.fi
The establishment of gender studies has brought forward new ways of
studying civil-military relations. Scholars of gender have pointed out
that public discourses on the military system never have been limited to
security politics in a narrow sense; they have always had wider social
and cultural implications in terms of gender politics, national
self-conceptions, definitions of citizenship and violence in society
(Frevert, 2001).

Historical studies on gender and the military have pointed out the
strong link between the war system, military service and military
institutions on the one hand, and gendered power structures and
distribution of work in society on the other. Especially the relations
between war, women’s emancipation and misogyny have been widely
discussed (Higonnet et al. 1987; Jeffords 1989). Together with women’s
studies, studies on men and masculinities have proved fruitful in
analyzing the gendered nature of civil-military relations and how
constructions of (militant) manliness have a prominent role in shaping
civilian society. Not only are gender constructions influenced by war
and military; gender is a crucial element in constructing the
war/military system (e.g. Goldstein 2001; Yuval-Davis, 1997). Recently,
the wars in former Yugoslavia demonstrated how the war system and
nationalism are bound to gendered violence and conceptions of
masculinity and femininity (Seifert 2004).
Norma – Nordic Journal for Masculinity Studies calls for papers to study
these civil-military aspects. Topics of interest include (but are not
limited to) gendered aspects, relationships and encounters concerning:
– working in and with armed forces
– men and women in post-conflict societies, peacekeeping, and crisis
management
– peace movements and militaries
– gendered dynamics in war and their relation to gender construction in
the society
– war and conflict journalism and media reception
– artists, entertainment, and the military
– conscription, reservists, and voluntary defence
– commercial security actors in conflicts
– mercenaries
– veterans
Deadline for abstracts (about 2 pages) is 15 June 2007; please e-mail
your abstract to johanna.valenius[at]helsinki.fi. The editors will select
4-6 proposals, to be written in English and published as full-length
articles in the special issue in autumn 2008. Deadline for the final
articles is 31 January 2008. The texts will be submitted to external
review procedure.