Empowering Women in Russia: Activism, Aid, and NGOs
Originally published in 2007, based on research conducted during 1996-1998, Julie Hemment’s engrossing study traces the development encounter through interactions between international foundation and Russian women’s groups during a decade of transformation. Prohibited from organizing independently under state socialism, women’s groups became a focus of attention in the post-Soviet period for foundations eager to promote participatory democracy, but the vision of the civil society that emerged (the “third sector”) was far from what Russian activists envisioned or what donor agencies promised. Drawing on ethnographic methods and participatory action research (PAR), Hemment tells the story of her introduction to and growing collaboration with members of the group Zhenskii Svet in the provincial city of Tver’. Her account offers an ethnographic perspective on the decade of the 1990s and the terrain of women’s independent organizing at that time – the openings, the sense of possibility these activists experienced, as well as the challenges they encountered.
1144166802
Empowering Women in Russia: Activism, Aid, and NGOs
Originally published in 2007, based on research conducted during 1996-1998, Julie Hemment’s engrossing study traces the development encounter through interactions between international foundation and Russian women’s groups during a decade of transformation. Prohibited from organizing independently under state socialism, women’s groups became a focus of attention in the post-Soviet period for foundations eager to promote participatory democracy, but the vision of the civil society that emerged (the “third sector”) was far from what Russian activists envisioned or what donor agencies promised. Drawing on ethnographic methods and participatory action research (PAR), Hemment tells the story of her introduction to and growing collaboration with members of the group Zhenskii Svet in the provincial city of Tver’. Her account offers an ethnographic perspective on the decade of the 1990s and the terrain of women’s independent organizing at that time – the openings, the sense of possibility these activists experienced, as well as the challenges they encountered.
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Empowering Women in Russia: Activism, Aid, and NGOs

Empowering Women in Russia: Activism, Aid, and NGOs

Empowering Women in Russia: Activism, Aid, and NGOs

Empowering Women in Russia: Activism, Aid, and NGOs

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Overview

Originally published in 2007, based on research conducted during 1996-1998, Julie Hemment’s engrossing study traces the development encounter through interactions between international foundation and Russian women’s groups during a decade of transformation. Prohibited from organizing independently under state socialism, women’s groups became a focus of attention in the post-Soviet period for foundations eager to promote participatory democracy, but the vision of the civil society that emerged (the “third sector”) was far from what Russian activists envisioned or what donor agencies promised. Drawing on ethnographic methods and participatory action research (PAR), Hemment tells the story of her introduction to and growing collaboration with members of the group Zhenskii Svet in the provincial city of Tver’. Her account offers an ethnographic perspective on the decade of the 1990s and the terrain of women’s independent organizing at that time – the openings, the sense of possibility these activists experienced, as well as the challenges they encountered.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9798887191492
Publisher: Academic Studies Press
Publication date: 03/07/2023
Pages: 346
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.00(d)
Language: Russian

About the Author

Julie Hemment is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her research interests include gender, youth and post-socialism, NGOs and global civil society, social welfare and citizenship, and feminist, participatory and collaborative methodologies.

Table of Contents

Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments

Introduction: Gendered Interventions
1. Muddying the Waters: Participatory Action Research in Tver'
2. Querying Democratization: Civil Society, International Aid, and the Riddle of the Third Sector
3. Gender Mainstreaming and the Third-Sectorization of Russian Women's Activism
4. Global Civil Society and the Local Costs of Belonging: Setting up a Crisis Center in Tver'
5. A Tale of Two Projects
Conclusion

Notes
List of References
Index

What People are Saying About This

". . . an evocative and engaging study of the inner workings of Russia's 'Third Sector' in the first decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Using the method of participatory action research (PAR), Hemment expertly weaves a compelling tale of the trials and tribulations of a small group of women struggling to survive in Tver', a provincial city roughly 170 kilometers outside of Moscow. . . . [The book's] short and accessible style make it ideal for use in upper—level undergraduate and graduate course across a variety of disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, political science, international studies, and women's studies. Overall, Hemment's book is a real jewel and makes an important and timely contribution to the growing field of postsocialist cultural studies. —"

Ann Snitow

"This is the detailed, careful, respectful study of the day-to-day problems of East-West exchange that we all crave to have. Hemment offers nuanced descriptions of the multiple contradictions for NGOs, which are asked to perform miracles and struggle heroically to bring gender justice to new democracies."--(Ann Snitow, New School for Social Research, founder of the Network of East-West Women)

Elena Gapova

"[A]ddresses issues crucial to our understanding of democracy, civic agency, and Western aid programs. It offers a coherent discussion of how gender and women's activism are shaped by--and can still transgress--the harsh reality of the post-communist 'brave new world.'"--(Elena Gapova, Centre for Gender Studies, European Humanities University)

Hilary Pilkington

"[A] beautifully constructed text that provides a vibrant account of how an action research approach can be enacted in a cross-cultural research context."--(Hilary Pilkington, Professor of Sociology, University of Warwick)

Professor of Sociology, Universityof Warwick - Hilary Pilkington

[A] beautifully constructed text that provides a vibrant account of how an action research approach can be enacted in a cross—cultural research context.

Soyuz

. . . an evocative and engaging study of the inner workings of Russia's 'Third Sector' in the first decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Using the method of participatory action research (PAR), Hemment expertly weaves a compelling tale of the trials and tribulations of a small group of women struggling to survive in Tver', a provincial city roughly 170 kilometers outside of Moscow. . . . [The book's] short and accessible style make it ideal for use in upper—level undergraduate and graduate course across a variety of disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, political science, international studies, and women's studies. Overall, Hemment's book is a real jewel and makes an important and timely contribution to the growing field of postsocialist cultural studies. —

Kristen Ghodsee

" . . . [A]n evocative and engaging study . . . brilliant insights . . . truly remarkable . . . a real jewel . . . an important and timely contribution . . . very original and readable."--(Kristen Ghodsee, Gender and Women's Studies Program, Bowdoin College)

communist 'brave new world.'" -Elena Gapova

[A]ddresses issues crucial to our understanding of democracy, civic agency, and Western aid programs. It offers a coherent discussion of how gender and women's activism are shaped by—and can still transgress—the harsh reality of the pos

Centre for Gender Studies, European Humanities University - communist 'brave new world.'" —Elena Gapova

[A]ddresses issues crucial to our understanding of democracy, civic agency, and Western aid programs. It offers a coherent discussion of how gender and women's activism are shaped by—and can still transgress—the harsh reality of the pos

West Women

This is the detailed, careful, respectful study of the day—to—day problems of East—West exchange that we all crave to have. Hemment offers nuanced descriptions of the multiple contradictions for NGOs, which are asked to perform miracles and struggle heroically to bring gender justice to new democracies. —Ann Snitow, New School for Social Research, founder of the Network of Eas

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