Karen Kampwirth

Professor of Political Science, Chair of Latin American Studies

General Interests
"Throughout my career, I have been interested in people's attempts to radically transform their societies, why those attempts sometimes succeed, and what impact participating in such movements has on the participants.

I've written two books, Women and Guerrilla Movements: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chiapas, Cuba and Feminism and The Legacy of Revolution: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chiapas, which explain why thousands of women joined armed revolutionary movements starting in the last quarter of the 20th century in Latin America and how that experience of radical egalitarianism led them to found feminist movements after the wars ended. My interest in transformational politics also informed the book I co-edited, Radical Women in Latin America: Left and Right, and articles I've written on the Taliban and revolutionary movements in Poland and Iran.

Currently, I am editing (and contributing to) a book that is tentatively entitled Gender and Populism in Latin America: Passionate Politics. The book will analyze the role of masculinity and femininity in the political careers of figures ranging from Evita Perón to Hugo Chávez, considering the relationship between populism, democracy, authoritarianism, and feminism in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, and Venezuela."

Years at Knox: 1995 to present

Education
Ph.D., Political Science, 1993, University of California-Berkeley.
M.A., Political Science, 1988, University of California-Berkeley.
B.A., Political Science and Spanish, summa cum laude, 1986-Knox College.

Teaching Interests
Comparative politics, Latin American politics, women and world politics, U.S.-Latin American relations, comparative revolutions, global antifeminism, Al Qaeda, populism

Recent Recognition
Awards
Fulbright lecturing award, Argentina, 2009.

Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for Research on Women and Politics, presented by the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for the Study of Women and Politics, Iowa State University, 1999.

Philip Green Wright-Lombard College Prize for Distinguished Teaching, Knox College, 1999.

First Place, Elsa Chaney competition in gender studies, awarded by the women's studies section of the Latin American Studies Association, 1998.

Fellowships
Visiting Research Fellow, Center for United States-Mexican Studies, University of California, San Diego, 1997-1998.

Recent Accomplishments
Publications
"Abortion, Antifeminism, and the Return of Daniel Ortega: In Nicaragua, Leftist Politics?" Latin American Perspectives Issue 168, 35.6 (November 2008): 122-136.

"Neither Left Nor Right: Sandinismo in the Anti-Feminist Era." In NACLA (North American Congress on Latin America) Report on the Americas 41.1 (January/February 2008): 30-34, 43.

Mujeres y Movimientos Guerrilleros: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chiapas y Cuba (A translation of Women and Guerrilla Movements). Copublished by Plaza y Valdés, Mexico City and Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois 2007.

"Resisting the Feminist Threat: Antifeminist Politics in Post-Sandinista Nicaragua." Journal of the National Women's Studies Asssociation 18.2 (2006): 73-100.

"Revolución, feminismo y antifeminismo en Nicaragua." De lo privado a lo público: 30 años de lucha ciudadana de las mujeres en América Latina. Edited by Elizabeth Maier and Nathalie Lebon. Siglo XXI editores, Mexico City, 2006.

Feminism and the Legacy of Revolution: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chiapas. Ohio University Press, Athens, 2004.

"Marching with the Taliban or Dancing with the Zapatistas? Revolution After the Cold War." The Future of Revolutions: Rethinking Radical Change in the Age of Globalization. Edited by John Foran. Zed Press, London, 2003.

"Arnoldo Alemán Takes on the NGOs: Antifeminism and the New Populism in Nicaragua." Latin American Politics and Society 45.2 (Summer 2003): 133-158.

Women and Guerrilla Movements: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chiapas, Cuba. Penn State University Press, University Park, 2002.

Co-editor, Radical Women in Latin America: Left and Right. With Victoria González. Penn State University Press, University Park, 2001.

"Violeta Barrios de Chamorro." Notable Twentieth-Century Latin American Women: A Biographical Dictionary. Edited by Cynthia Tompkins and David Foster. Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut, 2001.

"Feminism, Antifeminism, and Electoral Politics in Postwar Nicaragua and El Salvador." Political Science Quarterly, 1998.

"Legislating Personal Politics in Sandinista Nicaragua, 1979-1992." Women's Studies International Forum, 1998.

Presentations
"Revolución, Feminismo, y Antifeminismo en Nicaragua." Instituto Interdisciplinario de Estudios de Género, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

"Las mujeres, la sociedad civil, y la rebellion zapatista." Centro de Estudios de la Mujer, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela.

Campus & Community Involvement
Faculty advisor, Estudiantes Sin Fronteras/Students without Borders.
Member, Latin American Studies Association.
Member, American Political Science Association.

What Students Say
"Karen's subject matter requires that she put a lot of information into her lectures, but they are never tedious. She draws on her wide range of first-hand experiences, and this makes her classroom a lively learning environment."
-Sarah Wetmore, International Relations and Economics Major

Contact
309-341-7138
kkampwir@knox.edu