Making the Personal Political: Towards a Structural Analysis of the Anti-Violence Movements of Armenia and the University of California, Irvine

1
Making the Personal Political Towards a
Structural Analysis of the Anti-Violence
Movements of Armenia and the University of
California, Irvine

• Laura Wallace
• Womens Studies Senior Seminar
• with Lilith Mahmud
• June 2nd, 2010

2
Main Arguments

• Typically use interpersonal approaches
• ?Constructions of womanhood and survivorhood
• I suggest a structural approach
• ?within a neoliberal context
• ?to adequately address survivors along race,
  class, sexuality and gender lines

3
UCI CARE (Campus Assault Resources and Education)

• Personal experiences
• ?analyze the movements dynamics
• Seeks the elimination of sexual violence
• ?Through Peer Education groups and large-scale
  outreach

4
Transnational Feminism

• Armenian NGOs fighting domestic violence
• ?American-funded
• ?Western feminist expert-informed
• Structure of the programs
• Armenian families
• ?Western approaches do not address specific
  needs of the diverse Armenian population

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Conclusion

• Examine the history of movements
• ?Legacies of second wave feminism
• Towards a structural analysis of anti-violence
  movements