UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA WGS 498/GSJ 598

Module 1 – ASSIGNED RESOURCES

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Bio: Ange-Marie Hancock, an internationally recognized scholar in intersectionality, currently serves as the Executive Director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State University. Previously, Dr. Hancock was a Professor in the Departments of Political Science, as well as Gender and Sexuality Studies, at the University of Southern California (USC). At USC, she also directed the Institute for Intersectionality and Social Transformation and the University’s Center for Leadership by Women of Color.

Dr. Hancock’s extensive publications focus on the intersections of race, gender, class, sexuality, citizenship, and other categories of difference and their implications for policy. Notable among her works are The Politics of Disgust and the Public Identity of the ‘Welfare Queen’” (2004), Solidarity Politics for Millennials: A Guide to Ending the Oppression Olympics (2011), and Intersectionality: An Intellectual History (2016).

In addition to her scholarly achievements, Dr. Hancock played a pivotal role researching and designing the business model for the Women’s National Basketball Association. Current research interests include asylum requests by survivors of domestic violence, the empirical applications of intersectionality, and participating in “The Kamala Harris Project,” a collaborative effort dedicated to analyzing the historic Vice Presidency of the first woman of color in U.S. history.

In her 2007 article, Ange-Marie Hancock argues for intersectionality as a “normative and empirical research paradigm” (249). As a research paradigm intersectionality is not limited to a specific content or topic area, such as the study of Black women or other marginalized populations. Instead, as an approach to research, intersectionality can be applied to nearly any and all topics. Furthermore, research might not necessarily even be called intersectional, yet can still reflect an intersectional sensibility.

Focus your reading on the six normative assumptions (p 251 onwards) that Hancock sees as the markers of an intersectional research lens.

1. Paraphrase each assumption in your own words.

2. Note: How do the six normative assumptions Hancock introduces in this article shape an intersectional lens on welfare reform?

3. Explain the term “causal complexity” (252).

4. Discuss: What difference does an intersectional analysis make to welfare reform according to Hancock?

5. Reflect: What else do you notice, what is missing or what new insights do you gain from this example? What questions are you left with after reading this text?