Securing the heartland: The militarization of American women's lives in one small midwestern town du...

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" Securing the heartland: The militarization of American women's lives in one small midwestern town during the Iraqi and Afghanistan wars, 2003–2006 "
Michelle M. Morkert C. Enloe

Document Type	:	Latin Dissertation
Language of Document	:	English
Record Number	:	53134
Doc. No	:	TL23088
Call number	:	‭3305598‬
Main Entry	:	Michelle M. Morkert
Title & Author	:	Securing the heartland: The militarization of American women's lives in one small midwestern town during the Iraqi and Afghanistan wars, 2003–2006\ Michelle M. Morkert
College	:	Clark University
Date	:	2008
Degree	:	Ph.D.
student score	:	2008
Page No	:	275
Abstract	:	This dissertation examines the militarizing processes at work in the lives of middle class, white, Protestant American women living in a midwestern exurban town during the years 2003-2006. My investigation relies on feminist theories of militarization, maternalism, nationalism, patriarchal religious beliefs, racialized and sexualized identity politics, ethnographic methodology and activist research. By examining the causal relationship between patriarchy and militarization, I expose the complex militarizing processes in the lives of women who have yet to catch the eye of mainstream International Relations theorists, but whose lived experiences contribute to the growing body of feminist militarization studies. After three years of participant observation in the community that I call "Harvestville," I concluded that patriarchy creates a favorable environment for militarization to enter Harvestville women's lives and to take root in this community. Patriarchy was both a causal and an enabling factor in the militarization of these women's lives. This complex militarized knot consists of several specific strands that either militarize or lower the threshold for militarization's entrance into Harvestville women's lives: Harvestville patriarchal mores; women's fundamentalist Protestant beliefs; patriarchal mothering practices; complex systems of othering and identity politics; and elevated American militarism during the US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq that were still waging during my fieldwork. These strands alone and together tighten the naturalized militarization in these non-combatant women's lives. Furthermore, this dissertation examines gendered, banal militarization and identifies its causal factors. This microscope links Harvestville women's often overlooked and underestimated militarization to larger national and international militarizing processes. The significance of this research is that it draws together the militarization of women's experiences, be they women living in conflict zones or non-conflict zones, through a feminist analysis of the genderings of militarization.
Subject	:	Social sciences; Afghanistan War; Gender studies; Iraq War; Midwest; Militarization; Women; Women's studies; Womens studies; Families family life; Personal relationships; Sociology; Armed forces; 0453:Womens studies; 0750:Armed forces; 0628:Sociology; 0628:Personal relationships; 0628:Families family life
Added Entry	:	C. Enloe
Added Entry	:	Clark University