Research. Teaching. Impact.
Welcome to the Gender Institute at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Founded in 2020 with funding from the British Academy, the Gender Institute at Royal Holloway, University of London looks to become a hub for study, teaching, learning, and activism about gender and sexuality on campus. The Institute has three primary goals: to support faculty and student research and research collaboration in the study of gender and sexuality, to support teaching and learning of and around gender and sexuality, and to produce resources for community engagement and impact around gender and sexuality.
As we build our programming, the Gender Institute is interested in what members of the Royal Holloway Community would like the Institute to provide, how members of the community would like to be involved, and how Royal Holloway's students and staff see its Gender Institute. Please email us, and/or fill out our stakeholder survey!
Each month for the 2021-2022 Academic Year, The Gender Institute will be featuring a scholar who studies gender at Royal Holloway, including information about the scholar on our page, social media blasts, and a talk!
Scholar of the Month May 2022
Dr. Elizabeth Pearson
Dr Pearson is a Lecturer in Criminology with the Conflict, Violence and Terrorism Research Centre at Royal Holloway. Her research interests are in gender, extremism and counter-extremism.
Elizabeth is currently working on a book on the Making of Extreme Men, based on ESRC-funded PhD research at King's College London. This focuses on masculinities in Islamist and radical right movements in the UK.
She is also a co-author of the book Countering Violent Extremism: Making Gender Matter. The book argues for a nuanced approach to gender in theorising extremism, and in practical measures to counter this. The book is the result of research with RUSI (the Royal United Services Institute) in 2015-6 in five countries - Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.
Other publications have looked at Twitter Islamic State supporters; gender-based violence and the West African jihadist groups Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province; and gendered security harms produced through countering violent extremism initiatives.
Before academia Elizabeth was a radio journalist at the BBC, producing and reporting on programmes including Woman’s Hour, Making History and You and Yours
Recent Major Productions and Publications (2021)
Countering Violent Extremism: Making Gender Matter
Pearson, E., Winterbotham, E. & Brown, K., 26 Feb 2021, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. (Rethinking Political Violence)
Boko Haram, the Islamic State, and the Surge in Female Abductions in Southeastern Niger
Pearson, E. & Zenn, J., Feb 2021, The Hague: International Centre for Counter-Terrorism - The Hague. (ICCT Research Paper)
Gendered Security Harms: State Policy and the Counterinsurgency Against Boko Haram
Pearson, E. & Nagarajan, C., 12 Jan 2021, In: African Conflict and Peacebuilding Review.10, 2
Dr Pearson’s full publication record is available on Pure.
