About
Emily Hillenbrand is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Graduate Field of Development Studies at Cornell University. She has a master’s degree in Women, Gender and Development from Institute for Social Studies (ISS) in the Netherlands and a B.A. in International Relations from Middlebury College, VT. She has worked for over 15 years as a gender specialist and researcher in agriculture and food security programs, primarily in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. She has expertise in qualitative and participatory research methods, gender-transformative programming and research approaches, and participatory curriculum development.
Research Focus
Emily's research interests span three interrelated themes: the sociology of masculinities; intersectional inequalities within agrifood systems; and the engagements between feminist theory and gender and development discourses. Broadly, she examines how intersectional inequalities interact with the dynamic forces of rural transformation, precarious livelihoods, and conflict to shape processes of gendered identity formation and possibilities for gender justice.
Her dissertation presents an ethnographic exploration about tackling “ordinary” domestic violence, within the extraordinary conditions of mass violence and extreme poverty in Burundi. It follows the story of the Abatangamuco, a unique “positive masculinities” development intervention that emerged in a brief moment of peace after Burundi’s civil war. Rooted in a liberatory praxis and the ethics of transitional justice, the Abatangamuco applied a peace and reconciliation approach to the crisis of domestic violence and thwarted masculinity, which was notably unaddressed in the national-level peace plan. The Abatangamuco model has reduced extreme domestic violence, helped to construct a new masculinity strategy based on nonviolence and relationships of mutual respect, and created meaningful pathways to restore men’s social responsibilities and self-respect. The dissertation explores the ambiguous feminist implications of this evolving movement, while situating it as an important legacy of peace in a history of chronic violence. Studying intrahousehold reconciliations through the lens of the Abatangamuco and a feminist perspective of everydayness highlights the ongoingness and intimacy of struggles for survival, peace, and justice in conditions of extreme precarity and structural violence.
Committee
Select Publications
- Hillenbrand, Emily and Chinedu Obi (2023), “Measuring the scale of complex social innovations in the AR4D sector.” Publication under editorial revision at Journal of Gender, Technology, and Development.
- Hillenbrand, Emily, Pranati Mohanraj, Jemimah Njuki, Domitille Ntakabuvina, and Abinet Sitotaw (2022), “There is Still Something Missing: Comparing a Gender Transformative and “Gender Light” Agriculture approach in Burundi. Development in Practice. DOI: 10.1080/09614524.2022.2107613
- Hillenbrand E, Karim N, Mohanraj P and Wu D. (2016). “Measuring gender transformative change: A review of literature and promising practices.” CARE USA. AAS Working Paper.
- Njuki, J., Miruka, M., Starr, L., Hutchinson, E., and Hillenbrand, E., (2016) “Measuring Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture: Addressing the Multidimensional Nature of Gender Dynamics in Agriculture.” In Transforming Gender and Food Systems, Jemimah Njuki, Amy Kaler and John Parkins (Eds). London: Taylor and Francis.
- Doss, Kim, Njuki, Hillenbrand, and Miruka (2014), “Women’s Individual and Joint Property Ownership Effects on Household Decision-making.” IFPRI Discussion Paper 01347, April 2014.
- Hillenbrand, E. et al (2014), “Using the Social Relations Approach to Capture Complexity in women’s empowerment.” Gender & Development, 22 (2), 351-368.
Curricula
- Farmer Field and Business School Toolkit. An integrated curriculum for agriculture extension workers, incorporating agriculture, marketing, gender, nutrition, and facilitation skills around the agriculture seasonal calendar. Lead authors: Miruka, Hillenbrand, Kaganzi, Njuki, Kruger, et al. Published by CARE USA: Atlanta, 2015.
- Nurturing Connections. A curriculum for transforming household relations through dialogues around gender and nutrition, targeting mothers, fathers, and grandparents. Lead authors: Von Kotze, Hillenbrand, Lindsey, Ridolfi. Published by Helen Keller International, Dhaka, 2012.
