Jean C. Robinson « Faculty
Professor, Political Science, with additional appointments in EALC,
Russian-East European Institute, International Studies and Kinsey Institute
robinso 
indiana.edu
Woodburn 403
(812) 855-7230
Education
- PhD, Cornell University, 1980
Research Interests
- Modern Chinese politics
- Education
- Comparative women's and family studies
Courses Recently Taught
- POLS Y333, Chinese Politics
- POLS Y353, Women and Politics in Comparative Perspective
- POLS Y675, Feminist Political Thought
Awards and Distinctions
- Presidents Award for All-University Distinguished Teaching, 1996
- Teaching Excellence Recognition Award, 1997 and 1998
- Faculty Colloquium on Excellence in Teaching (FACET) Award for Teaching Excellence, 1994
- Chair, Advanced Placement Committee in Political Science for the College Board Advanced Placement Exams, 1994-1999
Publication Highlights
- "Institutionalizing Charisma: Faith, Rationality and Leadership in Three Societies," Polity, XVII, 2, Winter 1985, 181-203.
- "Of Women and Washing Machines: Employment, Housework and the Reproduction of Motherhood in Socialist China." China Quarterly 101 March, 1985, 52-77.
- "Family Policies: Women and the Collective Interest in Contemporary China," Policy Studies Review 8 (3, Spring 1989), 648-662.
- “ Abortion Policy Debates in France,” in Dorothy McBride Stetson, ed, State Feminism and the Abortion Issue: The Impact of Women’s Movements in Europe and North America, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
- “State Feminism in Poland?," in Dorothy McBride Stetson and Amy Mazur, eds., Comparative State Feminism (Beverly Hills: Sage, 1995) pp. 203-220.
I am a comparative politics scholar: my research focuses primarily on China, France, and on occasion Poland. I have on occasion done work on countries as disparate as Cuba, Libya, and Japan. Substantively, I have long been interested in both political participation and policy formation, initially with regard to charismatic leadership and the Chinese Communist Party although in recent years my focus has shifted almost completely to people with decidedly less power: women. I am particularly concerned with the competing demands of individual citizens, social movements, and national/community interests. And I am interested in the mechanisms through which women can make their interests heard and get them addressed—either through self-organization, through NGO’s, or through government agencies. Thus the way gender is negotiated is critical to my work as is my focus on feminist theory and cross cultural studies of policies as they affect the lives of women, men and children. These interests are reflected in publications on abortion policy debates in France and on state feminism in France and Poland. Earlier work has examined women and family in China, conflicts over educational policy in China, socialist family policies, and comparative studies of charismatic leadership. I teach a wide variety of courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level, including Chinese politics, in Comparative Family Policies, Gender and Politics in Asia, Feminist Political Thought, as well as introductory courses in comparative politics. Having served as chair of a large number of master’s and doctoral committees I have advised students with wide-ranging interests on Asia, transition politics, democratization, environmental policy in China, and gender and the state. Several of my dissertation advisees have won national research and best dissertation awards.See also the websites for:
Department of Political Science
Office of Women's Affairs
