A Child's Place

"A Child's Place Is… At Home or in Day Care? Germany's Political Struggle With Family Policies and Programs"

Tuesday, April 15, 2014 | 12:30-1:30 p.m. 
Whitewater Room, Idaho Commons

Presenter: Sandra Reineke - Associate Professor of Political Science



Abstract
Prof. Reinke examines the policy processes surrounding family policies and programs in contemporary Germany. She builds on previous studies in the area of gender and politics that study the possible impact of a federal ministry for women’s affairs (WPA) in selected European countries on a variety of policy issues. In her study, she expands on the underlying theories to include an examination of “discursive opportunity structures” as a variable that explains family policy change across countries. For this purpose, she selected two political events that offered discursive opportunity: German reunification (1990) and the European Union’s Amsterdam Treaty (1997) to explain the role of the WPA in family policy change in contemporary Germany.

Biography
Sandra Reineke earned her BA at Freie Universität in Berlin and her Ph.D. from Indiana University, both in political science. Her research and teaching interests are in the fields of political philosophy, international relations, and comparative politics, focusing on feminist political theory, citizenship and democratic theory, and gender, primarily in Western Europe and North America. Her book, entitled Beauvoir and Her Sisters. The Politics of Women's Bodies in France, was published in 2011 by the University of Illinois Press. Dr. Reineke has also published scholarly articles in the area of bioethics and biomedical policy making as well as on the French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir. She is currently working on a book-length manuscript about reproductive technology policies in Western Europe and North America. Dr. Reineke also serves as coordinator of the UI Women's and Gender Studies Program.