Hello, and welcome to another edition of the Member Profiles section of the SARAH Newsletter!
In this edition, we introduce you to Walter DeKeseredy, an author of multiple works focusing on gender and crime, urban poverty, and criminological theory. In 1995, Walter was named the American Society of Criminology’s Critical Criminologist of the Year and we are proud to report that he has just been awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the ASC’s Division on Critical Criminology – congratulations, Walter! In his profile, he tells us how he became interested in gender and crime, and about the importance that family, community, and academics in his life. Finally, please take some time to familiarize yourself with his work by examining the attached publications and visiting Walter’s personal website listed below.
If you have suggestions for DWC members or significant contributors to the field of women and crime that you would like to see profiled, please contact Alana Van Gundy-Yoder at yoderal@muohio.edu or Venezia Michalsen at michalsenv@mail.montclair.edu. We would enjoy hearing from you!
Until next edition,
Alana and Venezia
DR. WALTER DEKESEREDY
DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINOLOGY, JUSTICE, AND POLICY STUDIES
UNIVERSITY OF ONTARIO INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, OSHAWA, CANADA
How did you become interested in the field of women and/or gender and crime?
My interest was ignited at the 1986 ASC meetings, which I will never forget. I was a Ph.D. student at the time and I had the pleasure of attending many exciting sessions on gender-related topics. Although the presentations made at these sessions were in and of themselves important to me, what quickly sent me on my current intellectual and political path is a long conversation I had with Meda Chesney-Lind, Kathleen Daly, Dorie Klein and Betsy Stanko in a bar located in the conference hotel. As I mention in a chapter I recently contributed to a book edited by Susan Miller (one of my very favorite people), these path-breaking scholars were patient with my unsophisticated understanding of the feminist literature and strongly encouraged me to pursue my desire to engage in feminist inquiry. I am deeply grateful for their kindness, collegiality and compassion. Of course, too, my Ph.D. committee was very supportive and encouraging at that time.
How do you define yourself as a scholar/activist/educator?
I define myself as a feminist scholar/activist/educator. However, I do theoretical work on other topics, such as inner-city poverty and crime, but gender is always at the forefront of my analysis. In fact, I have never done any type of research that ignores gender.
What are your current projects or interests?
Currently, Molly Dragiewicz and I are doing empirical work on abused women without legal representation in the family courts. I am also still heavily involved in projects related to separation/divorce sexual assault and Joseph Donnermeyer and I are writing papers that constitute an attempt to help create a “new” or critical rural criminology, one that simultaneously examines the influence of race/ethnicity, gender, and class.
Who is your favorite person (or animal!) to spend time with, and what are your favorite things to do when you are with them?
I spend a lot of time with my family, my two dogs and my three cats. In fact, at the time of writing my responses to this profile, one of my cats was sleeping next to my keyboard and one of my dogs was sleeping in the chair next to mine.
How do you wind down after a stressful day?
I go to the gym 3 times a week and during the spring, summer and fall I play golf. I am also lucky to have some great friends in my community.
What obstacles do you feel you have overcome to be where you are today?
I think I have faced obstacles similar to those faced by others involved in the struggle to end woman abuse. For example, I am constantly attacked by fathers’ rights groups and others with a vested interest in maintaining a patriarchal status quo. Nevertheless, my close friends and colleagues are always there for me and I am always there for them.
What would you like to be remembered for?
I would like to be remembered for my loyalty to my dear friends. As far as my scholarly achievements go, I would like to be remembered for my work with Martin Schwartz on the ways in which all-male patriarchal peer groups perpetuate and legitimate woman abuse. I am very proud of spending over 20 years with Marty trying to advance a sophisticated empirical and theoretical understanding of this problem.
What is one of your lifelong goals?
I would eventually like to write a novel about life in the academy.
For more information on Walter DeKeseredy, please visit http://criminologyandjustice.uoit.ca/EN/main/35828/DeKeseredy_Bio.html.
To read an article by Dr. DeKeseredy on separation/divorce and sexual assault, click here.
To read an article by Dr. DeKeseredy on understanding sexual assault on college campuses, click here .