Vron Ware is a British academic and visiting professor at the Gender Institute of the
London School of Economics and Political Science
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...
. She was previously a Professor at
Kingston University
, mottoeng = "Through Learning We Progress"
, established = – gained University Status – Kingston Technical Institute
, type = Public
, endowment = £2.3 m (2015)
, ...
editor of ''
Searchlight
A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular dir ...
'' magazine from 1981 to 1983, and worked as a freelance journalist until 1987 when she co-founded the
Women's Design Service.
She taught cultural geography at the
University of Greenwich
, mottoeng = "To learn, to do, to achieve"
, former_name = Woolwich Polytechnic(1890–1970)Thames Polytechnic(1970–1992)
, established =
, type = Public university
, budget = £214.9 million (2020)
, administrative_staff =
, chancel ...
from 1992 to 1999, sociology and gender studies at
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
from 1999 to 2005, and was senior research fellow at the Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change at the
Open University
The Open University (OU) is a British Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's underg ...
from 2008 to 2014.
Career
Over the past 25 years Ware has been one of a small number of scholar-activists pioneering the study of race and culture in contemporary Britain, beginning with the publication of a pamphlet on women and the
National Front in 1978. In 1987, Ware co-founded the Women’s Design Service with Sue Cavanagh and Wendy Davis. The organization believed that cities needed to be radically altered to suit women’s needs. The group put out a publication to create women’s bathroom facilities to better suit women’s needs like diaper changing areas and improved sanitary waste facilities.
She established an international reputation for research on
anti-racism
Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...
and
feminism
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
in 1992 when her first academic book, ''Beyond the Pale'', was published. Her intervention in feminist theory and practice, in particular her focus on the discursive production of whiteness through a gendered reading of colonial history, was instrumental in shaping a new international field of study that has since become known as
Critical Whiteness studies. ''Who Cares About Britishness? A global view of the national identity debate'' (2007) was commissioned by the
British Council
The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh la ...
as a contribution to domestic debates about citizenship, belonging and national identity in the UK. The work explores the practice of intercultural dialogue by engaging with young people living in a variety of postcolonial contexts, from
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
to
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
. She is married to the British academic
Paul Gilroy
Paul Gilroy (born 16 February 1956) is an English sociologist and cultural studies scholar who is the founding Director of the Sarah Parker Remond Centre for the Study of Race and Racism at University College, London (UCL). Gilroy is the 201 ...
.
In 2017, Ware's body of photographs documenting the
Black People's Day of Action on 2 March 1981 were exhibited in the ''13 Dead, Nothing Said'' exhibition at
Goldsmiths, University of London
Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...
.
Current research
Ware was a Research Fellow in the Centre for Socio-Cultural Change (CReSC), and the Centre for Citizenship, Identities and Governance (CCIG) at the
Open University
The Open University (OU) is a British Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's underg ...
until 2014 when she became professor of sociology at
Kingston University
, mottoeng = "Through Learning We Progress"
, established = – gained University Status – Kingston Technical Institute
, type = Public
, endowment = £2.3 m (2015)
, ...
. In 2008, she began a new project looking at Britishness and militarization in the UK, using the recruitment and employment of Commonwealth soldiers as an entry point. Examining how the figure of the British soldier has acquired a prominence in mainstream culture not seen for many decades, her research focuses on questions of racism and citizenship, militarism and cultural diversity. The book ''Military Migrants'' (2012) argues that the degree to which the armed forces are seen to have become modernised is central to the management of modern warfare on the domestic front. Maintaining a multi-faith and culturally diverse army has been recognised as a valuable military tool in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...
too.
She has a 2018–19 Leverhulme Research Fellowship.
"Professor Vron Ware , Professor of Sociology & Gender Studies"
Kingston University.
Bibliography
*''Women and the National Front'' (1978)
*''At Women's Convenience'' (with Sue Cavanagh; 1990)
*''Beyond the Pale: White Women, Racism and History'' (1992)
*''Out of Whiteness: Color, Politics, and Culture'' (with Les Back
Les Back (born 17 December 1962) is a professor of sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London and an author.
Biography
Les Back was born in Croydon in south London and studied at both undergraduate and postgraduate level at Goldsmiths, Uni ...
; 2002)
*''Branquidade: Identidade Branca e Multiculturalismo'' (Whiteness: White Identity and Multiculturalism), Rio de Janeiro: Garamond (edited collection) (2004)
*''Who Cares About Britishness?'' (2007)
*''Military Migrants. Fighting for YOUR country'' (2012)
*''Return of A Native: Learning From The Land'' (2022)
References
External links
* Ware, V. (2009)
"Towards a Sociology of Resentment: A Debate on Class and Whiteness"
''Sociological Research Online'', 13(5)9.
* Blaagaard, Bolette B., "Workings of whiteness: interview with Vron Ware", ''Social Identities'' 17:1, 1 January 2011, pp. 153–61.
* Interview with Vron Ware and Paul Gilroy (1/2)
"Whose history?: Conversation about heritage, the abolition of slavery and national sentiment"
Melanine, 23 January 2008.
* Interview with Vron Ware and Paul Gilroy (2/2)
"Transnationalism in translation: the engaged intellectual’s melancholia"
Melanine, 12 February 2008.
Vron Ware
at openDemocracy
openDemocracy is an independent media platform and news website based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2001, openDemocracy states that through reporting and analysis of social and political issues, they seek to "challenge power and encourage de ...
.
* Vron Ware's Personal Web Sit
* Professor Ware's LSE Gender Institute pag
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ware, Vron
Academics of Kingston University
Academics of the Open University
Academics of the University of Greenwich
British geographers
British journalists
British sociologists
British women academics
British women sociologists
Living people
Yale University faculty
Year of birth missing (living people)