Position: Assistant Professor in Women and Gender Studies

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Sandy Smith 1151 Richmond Street • London ON • Canada • N6A 3K7 • 1-519-661-3559 • sandysmith@uwo.ca

Dear Dr. Stevenson and Members of the Selection Committee,

Please accept this application for the position no. BC-19-25 of Assistant Professor in Women and Gender Studies, as advertised on the American University of Jordan (AUJ) academic positions’ website. In January 2012 and February 2013, I visited the Institute of Women Studies in the Arab World (IWSAW) and presented my research about Kenyan women and their access to land in Kenya’s desert lands. I have since become fascinated with IWSAW. My interests in women and gender studies, teaching, activism, and research are perfectly suited to IWSAW’s focus on 1- gender mainstreaming at AUJ; 2- initiating a Women and Gender Studies Master’s Program; 3- public policy and gender issues, such as achieving women’s advancement through the media; 4- human rights and social justice, such as the eradication of racism for domestic maids and islamophobia in the media; and 5- the provision of skills and information to women. I was very impressed with IWSAW’s Al Raida journal, particularly the issue outlining women’s participation in the parliaments of the Arab World. These considerations are important for the advancement of women in policy making which could have ripple effects on the quality of life for millions of women in the Arab World. I am well suited to spearhead gender mainstreaming at AUJ. I believe gender mainstreaming includes interdisciplinary courses that focus on women and gender issues for both graduate and undergraduate students in the social sciences and humanities programs, see for example the two attached sample course outlines for classes in Gender and Development (interdisciplinary undergraduate course) and Critical Topics in Global Development (interdisciplinary graduate course). Gender mainstreaming also comprises of gender analysis for courses that deal with the human health and more generally wellbeing outside the social sciences and humanities programs. I truly like working with others, and I possess well-developed interpersonal and consensus building skills that allow me to get along well with colleagues. I also have experience with administrative processes based on a year-long commitment (as a member of the decanal committee) to assist in the search for a new Dean of Social Sciences at Western. Finally, my research interests lie at the intersection of gender and agricultural development, including but not limited to participatory research and training, the Arab Spring, land rights, adaptation to climate change, biodiversity conservation, as well as migration and resettlement. I would contribute to IWSAW’s research agenda and output by adopting both a rural and urban focus. I plan to work on four broad research topics in Jordan: gender and participatory agricultural research and training (such as the Farmer Field School project implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization in Jordan); ways to increase the food security and shelter conditions for Syrian refugees; gender and land rights; and discerning the multiple values related to olive orchards in the North. My training in various practical disciplines, such as Ecosystem Restoration and Agriculture, allows me to design, monitor, and evaluate training programs for the benefit of women in particular. The provision of skills to women for their empowerment and more generally advancement in life cannot be adequately emphasized. Along the same lines, I can contribute to IWSAW’s grant proposals and report writing, a very important element of research and activism. I have a successful record of securing funding from competitive awards, such as a Ford Foundation Research Competition and the International Development Research Center (IDRC) Doctoral Award, as well as a dozen competitive internal awards from the University of Western Ontario. I am determined to maintain my

Position: Assistant Professor in Women and Gender Studies

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strong funding record as an Assistant Professor. I have a good understanding of funding accessible to researchers in the Middle East. I intend to apply for grants from IDRC and the Ford Foundation, for example. I have also shared my research through various types of report writing that were delivered to multiple audiences, including funding agencies, governments, involved development agencies, and local people. I have strong interests in advocacy and public policy. Most of my research projects have been collaborative, relying on multiple institutions and community partners. Moreover these projects were intended to produce tangible deliverables for advocacy purposes. My prior training in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management enables me to converse with local farmers and officials on their own terms, developing good professional relations on the basis of shared expertise, as well as helping to reconcile differences between groups. Most recently, for example, during my year-long dissertation fieldwork in two of Kenya’s desert resettlement communities, I convinced the local development unit (government organization) to provide 12 women landholders with micro-credit. I also provided the Land Reclamation Sector in Kenya with a policy seminar and written recommendations to enhance the participation of women as landholders in the massive Graduate Resettlement Scheme (GRS). Along the same lines, I provided policy recommendations to the World Food Program; concerned governorates; and the concerned research and training Station, responsible for farmers’ training and agricultural research in the GRS communities. I am also well-qualified to teach graduate and undergraduate courses. I find teaching to be fulfilling and enjoyable. I believe that students bring an important perspective to class discussions, research, and activism. I am dedicated to AUJ’s commitment to student-centred learning. I believe in transformative learning, in facilitating a far reaching experience for students through the combined use of three elements: 1- theoretical tool box to sharpen students’ reflective and analytic abilities in order to understand course issues; 2-case studies for learning about successful and failed examples of attempts to achieve gender equality and social justice; and 3- applied research to ground learning experiences. Please find attached the two graduate course outlines for Research Methods in Women and Gender Studies and Theories of Gender and Global Feminism as examples of combining the three approaches. I find the plan to organise and initiate a Masters’ program in Women and Gender Studies very attractive. It is a privilege to mentor young people who are interested and interesting, as well as watch their writing and research skills grow and flourish. The two core courses I believe would need to be included in such a program are Advanced Gender and Feminist Methodologies and Advanced Gender and Feminist Theories. The remaining course work requirements could be fulfilled with electives designed to be flexible to students’ preferences. These electives courses could include Gender and Development; Gender and Health; Gender and the Media; Gender and Employment; Women and Sex Work; Gender, Law, and Social Change; Critical Studies in Masculinity; and Gender and Domestic Violence. My graduate training over the past ten years has involved many visits to friends and family in Jordan. After many rewarding years in Canada and Kenya, I hope to return to my homeland of Jordan. I am excited by the possibility of contributing to interdisciplinary research; grant writing; advocacy; and teaching related to Women and Gender Studies in a familiar and friendly environment. The position of Assistant Professor in Women and Gender Studies at IWSAW’s AUJ would be a wonderful opportunity, and it would be an honour to be considered. Please advise me if you require any further information. Sincerely,