Professor Ionela Băluță, teaching staff at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Bucharest and director of the UB Center For The Study Of Equal Opportunity Policies, proposes, in a new episode of the series “microSCOPE: UB researcher at the microphone” series, an incursion in the multidisciplinary field of gender studies.
She explains the manner in which education and encouraging critical thinking represent undeniable guarantees in maintaining democracy and a society based on the respect of fundamental rights of all people. At the same time, the discussion approaches themes such as the danger represented by the ascension of anti-gender campaigns and prohibiting certain areas of studies.
The 10th episode of “microSCOPE: UB researcher at the microphone” is available here:
Preoccupied by gender studies and the various aspects and definitions of the concept of gender since enrolling in PhD studies, professor Ionela Băluță shows that they imply a critical lecture of certain institutions and phenomena and propose a very useful perspective in numerous fields by multidisciplinary approach, sitting at the intersection between sociology, political sciences, literature and anthropology.
Professor Ionela Băluță is the initiator of the Master’s program Equal Opportunities Policies (MPES), one of the few programs in gender studies in Romania and the first and only program of this type at the University of Bucharest. The only gender studies program included in a European consortium, MPES is also the first and only profile professional master’s program. As such, it comes with a both theoretical and practical approach, allowing students to come into contact with specialists in the field, but also to take part in practical activities, identifying and understanding how to deal with real situations in regard to inequalities and vulnerable categories.
Motivated, in the beginning, by the necessity to establish this master’s program in order to contribute to filling an empty space in this area of study in Romania, but also to create collaborations at European level in a field of study facing challenges everywhere, Ionela Băluță says that, presently, her main motivation is the interaction with students and their enthusiastic involvement in all the activities included in the program.
Considering that the connection between education institutions and study programs, on one side, and society and professional space, on the other side, is essential for both parties, Ionela Băluță underlines the importance of the projects that MPES students and the members of the UB Center For The Study Of Equal Opportunity Policies develop with various institutions and NGOs.
Questioned about recent projects, Professor Ionela Băluță spoke, foremost, about a project realized in 2022 at the Filia Center, coordinated with associate professor Claudiu Tufiș, teaching staff at the UB Faculty of Political Sciences, namely a national research on violence against women, materialized in the first barometer of gender violence at national level. Showing that there are many differences between domestic violence and violence against women, Ionela Băluță explains that it is vital to accurately define concepts and adequately assess the phenomenon in order to develop efficient public policies.
Professor Ionela Băluță will offer more information on the concrete results of the barometer and will discuss other current projects, diving into subjects such as anti-gender campaign and the danger of prohibiting certain areas of study, in the 10th episode on the series “microSCOPE: UB researcher at the microphone”.
Professor Ionela Băluță, PhD, is teaching staff at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Bucharest and director of the UB Center For The Study Of Equal Opportunity Policies. She is specialized in gender studies, with a PhD at Ecoles des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS Paris, 2005) in Sociology. In 2017 she obtained habilitation in Political Sciences, with a thesis on the cognitive potential of gender in political sciences.
In 2011, she initiated the first and only Master’s program in the field of gender studies/ equal opportunities policies at the University of Bucharest, in European and Romanian context (in Romanian, and optionally in French), at the same acting as the scientific and institutional coordinator of this program. She was Dean of the Faculty of Political Sciences between 2016 and 2019, and director of the Department for Political Science, International Relations and Security Studies at the same faculty (2011-2015).
She coordinated and participated in numerous national and international projects on the subject of equal opportunities and gender equality. She coordinated the international research project «Campagnes «anti-genre» en Europe : enjeux de savoir, enjeux de pouvoir» – CAGE, AUF-IFA 2019-2021. She is an expert for the project Gender Flagship “Gender mainstreaming in public policy and budgeting” (REFORM/IM2022/011) (2023-2024).
She published books and over 40 paper and articles on the subject, in English, French and Romanian, in several collective volumes or academic magazines with international impact and visibility.
In 2018-2019, she was bestowed with the Order Palmes Académiques in Knight Rank and Ordre National du Mérite in the same rank by the French Republic, for her involvement in developing Romanian-French university cooperation, in supporting Francophonie and gender equality.
Her areas of interest touch on the subjects of gender studies, anti-gender campaigns, equal opportunities policies, the political representation of women, feminism/the history of feminism, gender and nation in Romania in the 19th century, biopolitics. More information on Ionela Băluță are available here and here.
Part of the Science Communication program developed by the University of Bucharest, the “microSCOPE: UB researcher at the microphone” series aims to present, in a concise and dynamic manner, information on the concrete results of notable research initiatives within UB.
Through its objectives and format, microSCOPE completes UB’s Science Communication Program, which also includes the UB conferences – Science for everyone’s understanding and UB Science Dose.
The series promotes those research projects which, through the major contribution to the field they belong to, have come to benefit from international recognition, thus encouraging the connection between UB and various foreign universities and research institutions abroad.
The microSCOPE, whose guests are primarily researchers from UB awarded for their research results, aims to contribute to informing the Romanian academic milieu, but also other categories of interested public on the main research projects carried out within UB, thus stimulating the development of future collaborative initiatives.
