The domain of Gender Studies consists of very broad areas of interdisciplinary research focusing on the study of processes of inclusion and exclusion, gender postcolonialism, and feminism. It uses approaches drawn from literary theory, art history, media studies, post-colonial studies, philosophy, law, and broad swathes of the social sciences to study contemporary and historical phenomena related to inclusion, diverstity, transition, gender and feminism. Gender Studies actively maintains links with other domains and its research culture consequently displays strong similarities with them, as well as its own specific features. Gender Studies encompasses diverse theoretical approaches and research traditions and is closely engaged in contemporary debates and trends regarding global and planetary justice. As a network the research school NOG is responsible for PhD programmes and communication in the domain.
Target groups
Gender Studies is very internationally oriented; in addition, it is closely concerned with Dutch debates and practices associated with postcolonialism, sustainability, gender and feminism. The international orientation is reflected not only in publications but also in international collaborations and the global reputation of the Dutch research field. Researchers and institutes are in high demand as partners in international research projects and as keynote speakers at international conferences. There is lively interaction and communication with Dutch audiences. This interaction takes shape through books aimed at wider audiences, contributions to journals and collections, blogs and participation in public debates through opinion contributions, interviews and television appearances. It also collaborates widely with national NGOs in the field of diversity, sustainability and inclusion as well as international heritage institutions focused on re-curating and diversifying the collection.
Products and communication
- Academic publications appear as articles in peer-reviewed international journals and in likewise peer-reviewed volumes with academic publishers. In addition, books and collections are being published, as well as articles in national journals. The academic monograph is still a common form. In addition, hybrid publications appear which are, aimed at both academic and widely interested general audiences.
- Dutch-language publications are an important part of the research and communication. English is the most common language in international publications. Other common languages are German, French, Spanish and Italian.
- Review processes are important in the context of national and international publications, often taking the form of editorial reviews but also blind peer reviews. That is true of articles in journals, essays in edited volumes and books.
- National and international conferences, often organised around specific themes, are an important part of the profession's internal communication and usually result in journal or book publications that highlight new topics or theories for the (relevant part of the) field or provide an overview of a status quaestionis.
Processes and strategies
- Communication with professionals, but above all with a broad group of interested readers, is important. Researchers communicate by producing hybrid publications (including books), participating in public debates, writing articles for popular periodicals (e.g. weeklies) and literary media, and blogging.
- The most common type of publication is the ‘single-authored publication’. This is especially true of books (monographs), which have a lengthier production time.
Domain-specific aspects of quality and relevance
In addition to academic publications in peer-reviewed (ranked) journals, monographs with international scholarly publishers, and contributions to collections, gender studies scholars publish hybrid books, participate in public debates and blogs, and contribute to public periodicals such as weeklies and media, video essays, podcasts, (virtual) exhibitions.
Relevance of quantitative indicators for use and marks of recognition
Bibliometric indicators such as citation analyses are not useful, even if based on Google Scholar. That is because many of the publication channels are not indexed and because reference practices are too diverse.