Refereed journal articles
Refereed journal articles
In recent years, scholars have identified a political formation that mobilizes the emancipatory energies of feminism in the service of the expansion of the carceral state. ‘Carceral feminism’, as it has come to be known, is often portrayed by these scholars as a product feminist-conservative convergence. Here, I argue that the rise of the SlutWalk movement suggests a more complex genealogy for carceral feminism. By situating SlutWalk in the historico-theoretical context of feminism’s sex wars, I reveal the carceral-feminist impulses roiling beneath its progressive ‘sex-positive’ surface. With its tendency to reduce sexual freedom to expressive freedom, valorize conventional forms of femininity and (hetero)sexuality, and promote a fundamentally carceral paradigm of sexual freedom, the SlutWalk movement, I argue, is descended from anti-censorship/pro-sex feminism, a liberal-feminist hybrid that emerged out of the convergence of sex radical feminism and liberalism during the sex wars. When viewed in this light, SlutWalk no longer appears as a sign that feminism’s ‘pleasure’ and ‘danger’ factions have negotiated a long-awaited ‘sex-détente’. Rather, it stands as a testament to the extent to which feminism’s once radical aspirations in the domain of sexual politics have been supplanted by a tepid, heteronormative, and disquietingly carceral liberal project.
"Sex Wars, Slut Walks, and Carceral Feminism." Contemporary Political Theory. (Forthcoming)
In recent years, scholars have identified a political formation that mobilizes the emancipatory energies of feminism in the service of the expansion of the carceral state. ‘Carceral feminism’, as it has come to be known, is often portrayed by these scholars as a product feminist-conservative convergence. Here, I argue that the rise of the SlutWalk movement suggests a more complex genealogy for carceral feminism. By situating SlutWalk in the historico-theoretical context of feminism’s sex wars, I reveal the carceral-feminist impulses roiling beneath its progressive ‘sex-positive’ surface. With its tendency to reduce sexual freedom to expressive freedom, valorize conventional forms of femininity and (hetero)sexuality, and promote a fundamentally carceral paradigm of sexual freedom, the SlutWalk movement, I argue, is descended from anti-censorship/pro-sex feminism, a liberal-feminist hybrid that emerged out of the convergence of sex radical feminism and liberalism during the sex wars. When viewed in this light, SlutWalk no longer appears as a sign that feminism’s ‘pleasure’ and ‘danger’ factions have negotiated a long-awaited ‘sex-détente’. Rather, it stands as a testament to the extent to which feminism’s once radical aspirations in the domain of sexual politics have been supplanted by a tepid, heteronormative, and disquietingly carceral liberal project.
"Sex Wars, Slut Walks, and Carceral Feminism." Contemporary Political Theory. (Forthcoming)
Excellence in scholarship
Dr. Bracewell is a proud recipient of the Okin-Young Award for Feminist Political Theory awarded by the Foundations of Political Theory section, the Women's Caucus, and the Women and Politics Research section of the American Political Science Association (Fall 2017). Read about the award and the research for which Dr. Bracewell was recognized here:
https://www.apsanet.org/section-16-The-Okin-Young-Award-in-Feminist-Political-Theory
Excellence in teaching
Dr. Bracewell is a passionate and committed teacher whose engaging and creative approach in the classroom has garnered her recognition well beyond it. Read and watch some videos about her general teaching philosophy here:
http://unkantelope.com/wordpress_antelope/2016/12/08/in-pursuit-of-discovery/
Read about an applied political theory project from Dr. Bracewell's "Problems of Democracy" course at the University of Florida that made headlines here:
Excellence in service
Dr. Bracewell is proud to serve as the faculty advisor for the Locke & Key Society at the University of Nebraska Kearney. Locke & Key is a student organization devoted to promoting civic engagement at the University and throughout the broader Kearney community. Since Dr. Bracewell began advising the organization in Fall 2016, they have hosted some half dozen "Key Talks" on hot-button political issues like the alt-right and net-neutrality, become certified voter registrars in Buffalo County, Nebraska, collaborated with student leaders from area high schools to organize a central Nebraska "March for Our Lives," and organized a "pie-in-the-face" fundraiser for the Nebraska AIDS Project. Locke & Key was recognized by UNK as the "Outstanding Student Organization" for 2017-2018. Dr. Bracewell was also nominated as "Outstanding Student Organization Advisor." Read more about the awards here:
"Freedom is a large word"
When suffragist, socialist, and "free-lover" Victoria Woodhull observed in 1871 that "freedom is a large word, implying a deal more than people have ever yet been able to recognize," she hit upon a notion that infuses every facet of Dr. Bracewell's work: the freedom to lead a life that you love is the most valuable freedom of all. Whether she is editing a manuscript, delivering a lecture, moderating a heated debate during class discussion, or leading a song or chant at a community gathering, Dr. Bracewell is ecstatic to be a professor. Below are a few pictures of Dr. Bracewell enjoying the job that allows her the freedom to bring together the things in life that she values most.
Right: Dr. Bracewell performs with a student, Caleb Rohrer, at Kearney's March for Science. Dr. Bracewell collaborated with her colleagues in UNK's Department of Biology to organize the event which featured a march, a "science-matters" speak-out, and a parking-lot full of educational exhibits and fun for children, families, and community members. Read more about the event here:
http://nebraska.tv/news/local/lovers-of-science-marched-through-the-streets-of-kearney
Below: Proud marchers and science geeks display their March For Science signs at the rally after the march.
Left: Dr. Bracewell speaks on "citizenship in a diverse democracy" at Flagler College in Spring 2018. Read more about the event here:
Below: Dr. Bracewell presents her work on Slut Walk at the annual meeting of the Association for Political Theory in Fall 2016.
Right: Dr. Bracewell is "Phinally Done," as they say, with her advisor, mentor, and consummate Bruce Springsteen duet partner, Professor Daniel O'Neill.
Bottom: Dr. Bracewell celebrates a successful first year and some excellent students with her colleagues at the UNK Political Science Department's annual banquet.
Right: Dr. Bracewell "off-duty" hangin' with her wife, Paola, and their miniature (in stature though not in spirit) schnauzer, Rafferty.
Left: One more picture of Rafferty because that is what the internet needs. He is holding UNK's mascot, Louie the Loper. The toy was a gift to Dr. Bracewell from a student, but, as you can see, Rafferty has claimed it for his own.