Alexandria Wilson-McDonald
Email
wilsonmcdonald1@otterbein.edu
Website
Assistant Professor
Department of History, Political Science, Languages & Cultures
Alexandria Wilson-McDonald, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Political Science. She earned her Ph.D. in political science from the University of Florida where she also earned graduate certificates in European studies and gender studies. Her scholarly work focuses on politics and gender in Central Eastern Europe in a comparative perspective. She is particularly interested in the relationship between social movement activism, gender equality, and policymaking in Czechia, Slovakia, and Poland. Her current book project聽takes a grounded, qualitative approach to examine the relationship between social movement actors and the state in countries across Central Eastern Europe, specifically focusing on how gender equality activists resist the discursive and political constraints they confront today. She has conducted extensive fieldwork in the region allowing her to build rich case studies. Dr. Wilson-McDonald鈥檚 work has been published in the academic journals聽Communist & Post-Communist Studies听补苍诲听Feminist Review. She also contributes to聽Ms. Magazine听补苍诲听The Conversation聽on timely topics of gender and politics and political developments in Europe. She teaches courses in comparative politics, global politics, and gender & politics.
Education
- Ph.D. Political Science, University of Florida, 2021
- M.A. Political Science, University of Florida, 2017
- M.A. Political Science, University of Central Florida, 2014
- B.A. Political Science, University of South Florida, 2012
Research, Creative, & Professional Work
- Central East European Politics
- Democratization & Democratic Backsliding
- Feminist Theory and Research Methods
- Gender-based Violence
- Social Movement Activism
Publications
- 鈥淐reating a Hostile State in Slovakia: Anti-Gender Political Strategies and Impacts.鈥� Book chapter in聽The War on Gender and The Gender of War in Central and Eastern Europe, edited by Katalin F谩bi谩n, Lexington Books, forthcoming.
- 鈥淕endering Violence in the Age of Anti-Genderism: Feminist Framing of Violence Against Women in Slovakia.鈥� Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 2023; 56 (2): 136鈥�158.
- 鈥淒o Czech Women Need 鈥楪ender鈥�?: A Conceptual History of 鈥楪ender鈥� in Czechia.鈥� Feminist Review, 2023; 134 (1): 21-37.
- 鈥�A Queer History of Communism: Navigating Sexuality and Gender in Czechoslovakia, 1945-1989鈥�, an analytic review of聽Queer Encounters with Communist Power: Non-heterosexual Lives and the State in Czechoslovakia, 1948-1989聽by V臎ra Sokolov谩.聽Feminist Critique: East European Journal of Feminist and Queer Studies,聽2022.
- Book Review of Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism and Other Arguments for Economic Independence聽by Kristen Ghodsee.聽Journal of Gender Studies,聽2019; 28 (8): 985-986.
- Book Review of Second World, Second Sex: Socialist Women鈥檚 Activism and Global Solidarity during the Cold War聽by Kristen Ghodsee.聽International Feminist Journal of Politics,聽2019; 5: 844-845.
- Book Review of Czech Feminisms: Perspectives on Gender in East Central Europe. ed. by Iveta Jusov谩 and Ji艡ina 艩iklov谩.聽European Journal of Women鈥檚 Studies,聽2018; 25 (4): 489-490.
Affiliations & Awards
- American Political Science Association
- Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies
- Transatlantic Policy Center, American University, Washington, D.C.
- American Political Science Association Centennial Research Grant, Summer 2024
- Dean鈥檚 Research Award, School of International Service, American University, Summer 2024
- Transatlantic Policy Center Research Grant, American University, Summer 2024
- Faculty Exceptional Research Award, School of International Service, American University, 2023
- Postgraduate Research Grant, The Kosciuszko Foundation, Summer 2022
- Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for Research on Women and Politics, Iowa State University, 2019
- Madelyn Lockhart Graduate Student Teaching Fellowship, Center for Gender, Sexualities, and Women鈥檚 Studies Research, University of Florida, 2020-2021
- Best Graduate Student Teacher Award, Department of Political Science, University of Florida, Fall 2020
- Fulbright Research Grant to the Czech Republic, U.S. Department of State, 2018 - 2019
- Vada Yeoman鈥檚 Fellowship, Center for Gender, Sexualities, and Women鈥檚 Studies Research, University of Florida, 2019
- Rothman Doctoral Fellowship in the Humanities, University of Florida, 2018
- Foreign Language Area Studies Fellowship, Czech Language, Center for European Studies, University of Florida, 2015-2018