Dissertation Research: Agrarian Reform and the Renegotia- tion of Women's Roles in Nicaragua

本论文研究项目将审查尼加拉瓜正在进行的社会革命背景下妇女地位的变化。官方对社会革命的宣传往往是为了消除性别偏见，但实际情况是，这种偏见在特定的配置中持续存在，这取决于该地区的文化历史。该项目将就性别分工以及妇女总体角色的变化采访土地改革官员和家庭农民。方法包括档案研究、集中访谈和调查访谈以及参与者观察。这项研究很重要，因为中美洲是西半球至关重要的一部分，了解那里正在发生的文化和社会变化可以帮助美国的政策制定合理的行动，以应对该地区正在经历的革命性变化。此外，世界上所有社会的性别角色都发生了重大变化，了解这些变化如何受到当地官方政策和当地习俗的影响，对于帮助我们处理与性别角色有关的问题至关重要。

This dissertation research project will examine the changes in the status of women in the context of an ongoing social revolution in Nicaragua. The official propaganda of social revolutions is often to destroy gender biases, but the actual reality is that such biases endure in particular configurations depending on the cultural history of the place. This project will interview officials in agrarian reform and family farmers on the gender division of labor as well as changes in women's roles in general. Methods will include archival research, intensive as well as survey interviewing, and participant observation. This research is important because Central America is a vitally important part of the hemisphere, and understanding of the cultural and social changes going on there can help policy in the US formulate reasonable actions in the face of the revolutionary changes the region is experiencing. In addition, the changes in gender roles in all societies of the world are significant, and understanding of how these changes are affected by local official policy and by local custom is crucial to helping us deal with problems related to gender roles.