Inaugural Lecture, Professor Marsha Henry

My lecture will foreground the formative influence of international, intersectional and interdisciplinary feminist perspectives in shaping my research across feminist development studies, critical military studies, gender, peace and security, and decolonial feminist methodologies. By tracing the evolving theoretical and conceptual currents that have guided my work—currents that interrogate entrenched power relations, illuminate persistent social, political and epistemic inequalities, and imagine pathways for reducing harm and improving the lives of those at the margins—I demonstrate why returning to, and extending, this critical intellectual labour remains essential. Such a return is not merely reflective; it is foundational for advancing research within the broader fields of gender studies, international relations and peace and conflict studies.

Professor Marsha Henry

Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton Chair in Women, Peace, Security, and Justice, Queen’s Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice, and Professor, School of HAPP, Queen's University Belfast

Marsha’s research is concerned with the gendered and racialised politics of violence; militarisation; global south development; international aid and intervention; and conflict, peace and security. She has published on the challenges of decolonial, intersectional, and feminist qualitative approaches, methodologies and fieldwork. She is the author of several books, the latest of which is: The End of Peacekeeping: Gender, Race and the Martial Politics of Intervention (Penn Press 2024). She is currently Associate Editor for Security Dialogue and has helped to develop a range of courses on gender, peace and security at the GEST Programme, University of Iceland, Iceland; UNITAR, Switzerland; and the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeper Training Centre, Ghana. Marsha has also advised several national governments on women’s participation in the armed forces, combatting sexual exploitation and abuse in humanitarian settings, and developing anti-racist and diversity strategies in foreign policy ministries.

Wednesday 17th June 2026, from 5pm to 6pm in the Canada Room and Council Chamber, Queen's University Belfast, followed by a drinks reception.

This event is hosted by the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics & the Queen’s Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice, Queen’s University Belfast.

For any queries, please contact Lorna O'Connor ([email protected])

Image credit: Department of Gender Studies, LSE

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Lorna O'Connor