Objects of Intervention: The Discourse of Men Engagement in the Transnational Arena

Wednesday, December 4 | 9am | remotely on Zoom

Abstract:
This thesis examines the construction of men as objects of intervention in gender development discourse. Despite the growing prominence of men’s role in gender equality in global development discussions over the past three decades and the surge in scholarship and initiatives aimed at men engagement, significant challenges persist, including ambiguities surrounding men’s role in gender equality and a tendency towards depoliticized approaches. I argue that these issues are linked to the international framework that established men engagement as a legitimate domain of intervention in the first place. Using a Foucault-informed close textual analysis of relevant policy documents and materials related to their production and publicization, I trace the particular articulation of ‘men’ circulating in these documents and show how the theoretical models underlying the policymaking process and the rules of development discourse can only produce contradictory and individualizing strategies for men engagement. This research suggests that the efficacy of men engagement programs will not be achieved until the ‘universal’, expert-driven conceptions of masculinity and development are replaced by ones that prioritize local knowledges and historical and cultural contexts.

Examining Committee:
Chair: Dr. Prof-Collins Ifeonu, Assistant Professor, Sociology & Anthropology, SFU
Supervisor: Dr. Cindy Patton, Professor Emeritus, Sociology & Anthropology, SFU
Committee Member: Dr. Amanda Watson, Assistant Professor, Sociology & Anthropology, SFU
Examiner: Dr. Kendra Strauss, Professor, Labour Studies, SFU

Please note that the defence will be held remotely on Zoom. If you'd like to be added to the Zoom attendee list, please contact gradsecsa@sfu.ca no later than 4PM on Monday December 2nd, 2024.