Meet Dr Kiri Ingram, lecturer in the School of Political Science and International Studies at The University of Queensland. Her teaching and research focus on analysing gender and international politics.
What inspired you to pursue your academic career in your field?
There are a few reasons. I remember always being interested in international politics, and having a strong drive to continuously learn which I think came from growing up in and around universities as my Dad and brother pursued careers in academia. But also, from a young age I was heavily influenced by the different experiences of my Mum and other women in my family in Papua New Guinea, and observing competing notions of empowerment. I think this is what sparked my interest in analysing gender and international politics more broadly. Then, after completing my Honours thesis which analysed how and why women join insurgencies, I knew that I wanted to pursue a career where I could keep researching and learning.
Could you describe your current research project and its potential impact
I am working on two interrelated projects at the moment. The first is a book manuscript derived from my PhD, where I develop a theoretical framework for analysing how and why gender is leveraged in the propaganda and politico-military strategies of violent extremist movements. This framework and its application to extremist movements of the extreme right, such as white supremacists and involuntary celibates, and jihadists such as the Islamic State, is significant because it demonstrates that gender matters strategically for violent political movements. The second project is, to me, the other side of the picture – analysing diverse women’s conceptions of empowerment and political agency, and what this means for peace and security.
What is your favourite among your recent publications?
My favourite recent publication is an article I wrote with Dr Justin Phillips and Dr Kristy Campion titled “Gendered Extremism in the Pacific on 4chan”. We combine big data machine learning language modelling with discourse analysis of over 300,000 posts on 4chan’s extremist forums in Australia and New Zealand to understand how gender and women are conceptualised and discussed amongst users. While the analysis was quite difficult in terms of content, it is an important study because it offers insights into misogyny and the potential identifiers of gender-based extremism in Australia and New Zealand.
What are you looking forward to most in your new role at POLSIS?
For me, what I find most exciting about being here at POLSIS is the research culture. Everyone here is incredibly supportive, especially of early career researchers like me.
It is invigorating to share a space with leading scholars who are not only passionate about research, but passionate about translating that research into meaningful impact in communities and in the classroom with students.
What's your favourite part of the UQ campus?
This is a hard question! I think it would be the beautiful campus, as well as the great pizza.