Studying Gender and Politics Over Time

Extract

How can scholars advance the study of gender and politics with over-time research? Scholars often call for more historical research and for more attention to time as a contextual variable. But it is rare that scholars have an opportunity to reflect on the use of time in gender scholarship. What is gained by thinking about time? What is the research agenda for studying gender and politics over time? What methodological approaches are particularly promising? Kira Sanbonmatsu and Claudine Gay invited leading scholars to discuss these questions at a roundtable at the 2007 Midwest Political Science Association meetings. The following essays assess existing scholarship, suggest new research questions, and identify fruitful research approaches. The authors discuss different ways to theorize about time. And they remind us of the dangers of neglecting time in gender research.