DR. ANNA L. WEISSMAN attained her Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Florida in 2019. She is a former FLAS Fellow at UF’s Center for European Studies (2013-2017). Anna’s dissertation examines the politics of nationalism — the construction of the “national story” and ideals of gender normativity. She shows how this has great effects on reproductive rights, particularly limiting lesbian, gay, and trans reproductive rights.

Anna’s dissertation focuses on lesbian, gay, and trans reproductive rights reproductive rights in Poland, Sweden, France, and the Czech Republic, uncovering the intertwining history of normative sexuality, traditional procreative gender roles, and the mythology of the nation-state, and develops of the concept of Repronormativity. Building on sociocultural historical tracing and discourse analysis, Anna explains not only attitudes toward LGBTQ parenting, but also shows how heteronormative reproduction colors ideas of political belonging. Her dissertation ultimately uncovers the biosocial nature of reproduction, and its centrality–demonstrating how heteronormative reproduction plays a vital role in the constitution of ethno-nationalist state identity.

Currently, Anna is applying her expertise in gender studies and social theory to material culture. She is interested in the intersections of the politics of identity and everyday objects of the 19th and 20th centuries — uncovering the construction of these objects, their uses and adornment, and how they are the product of so many levels of interaction amongst different social, political, economic, and cultural streams.

For more information and full CV, find me at AnnaWeissmanPhD.com

Education

Ph.D., Political Science, University of Florida, (2019)

Graduate Certificate, Women and Gender Studies, University of Florida (2015)

M.A., Political Science, University of Florida (2014)

B.A., International Relations (Magna Cum Laude), Lake Forest College (2010)

Areas of Interest/Research

  • Sexuality and Gender
  • Social history of 19th and 20th centuries
  • Nationalism, National Identity, Nation-Building
  • Material Culture
  • Political Anthropology

 

Published Works 

Edited Volumes

(2020) Troubling Motherhood: Interrogations of Maternity in Global Politics, edited by Laura J. Shepherd, Anna L.  Weissman, and Lucy B. Hall. Oxford University Press.

Refereed Journal Articles

(2017) “Repronormativity and the Reproduction of the Nation-State: The State and Sexuality Collide.” Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 13:3 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1550428X.2016.1210065. (first published online in 2016)

Refereed Book Chapters

(2020) “Ideal Citizens and Family Values: The Politics of Reproductive Fitness,” in Troubling Motherhood: Interrogations of Maternity in Global Politics, edited by Anna L. Weissman, Laura J. Shepherd, and Lucy B. Hall. Oxford University Press.

(2018) “Sex, Sexuality, Reproduction, and International Security,” in Routledge Handbook of Gender and Security, edited by Caron Gentry, Laura J. Shepherd, and Laura Sjoberg

Other Writings

(2017) “Trump, Trans, and Threat,” (23 Sept.). Oxford University Press Blog. available:  https://blog.oup.com/2017/09/trump-trans-threat

(2016) with Sjoberg, Laura, “The Queer in/of International Relations.” In Oxford Bibliographies in International Relations. Ed. Patrick James. New York: Oxford University Press. Available here

Book Reviews

(2016) Review of Nayak, Meghana. Who Is Worthy of Protection? Gender-Based Asylum and US Immigration Politics (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015). International Feminist Journal of Politics 18:1 pp. 162-164 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14616742.2015.1125641

(2015) Review of Confortini, Catia Cecilia. Intelligent Compassion: Feminist Critical Methodology in Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (New York, NY: Oxford University Press). Journal of Women, Politics, and Policy 36:3. pp. 342-345 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1554477X.2015.1050915

 

Fellowships/Grants/Awards

James W. Button Memorial Award, Department of Political Science, University of Florida, 2019

Kenneth Sherrill Prize, American Political Science Association (APSA), Centennial Center for Political Science and Public Affairs, 2018

Foreign Language and Area Studies Academic Year Fellowship, Center for European Studies, University of Florida (2013-2014), (2015-2016), (2016-2017)

Travel Grant, Department of Political Science, University of Florida, ($350): 2013, 2014 ($300), 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

2014 Pulaski Scholarship for Advanced Studies, Grant Recipient, American Council for Polish Culture ($5,000).                                                                     

Travel Grant, Center for European Studies, University of Florida, 2014 ($1,000)

Travel Grant, Graduate Student Council, University of Florida, ($250), 2013; ($350), 2018

Foreign Language and Area Studies Summer Fellowship, Center for European Studies, University of Florida, Summer 2012 ($7,500) [deferred]

Foreign Language and Area Studies Travel Grant, Center for European Studies, University of Florida, Summer 2012 ($1,000) [deferred]

Graduate Assistantship, University of Florida (2011-2015)

 

Academic Appointments

Instructor. University of Florida, Department of Political Science (2018-2019)

Instructor, Santa Fe College – Department of Behavioral Sciences, Political Science, (2015-2019)

Managing Editor, International Feminist Journal of Politics, University of Florida (2012-2013).

 

Personal Biography

As a feminist scholar, I am an activist passionately dedicated to a larger goal of equality, being sensitive to intersectional issues of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, class, and ability. My intersectional feminist ethos informs my academic research, my teaching, as well as my work in my community. I view my work as a holistic enterprise.

I am obsessed with history. As a child I yearned to be an archaeologist and still harbor a secret desire to fulfill this dream one day. You can usually find me poring over old photos, advertisements, and newspapers, or transfixed by everyday objects of the Victorian and Edwardian times – haircare products, eyeglasses, sewing kits, makeup, the classed furniture both “upstairs” and “downstairs”…

My hobbies include collecting vintage jewelry, gardening, yoga, hiking, vegan cooking, and dry red wine.

Contact Information:

Email: aweissman34@gmail.com