Biography

Marianne Githens
Department: Womens Studies
Title: Professor of Women’s Studies
Office: Van Meter 167
Phone: 410-337-6274
Email: marianne.githens@goucher.edu

Marianne Githens received her BA degree with honor from Marymount Manhattan College and M.Sc (Econ) and PhD degrees from London School of Economics.  She has held the Todd Chair as distinguished professor of Political Science and Women’s Studies at Goucher.  Among her publications are A Portrait of Marginality ((co-edited with Jewel Prestage) which is not only considered a classic in the field of women and politics, but is also the first book to deal with the intersection of gender and race; Different Roles, Different Voices (co-edited with Joni Lovenduski and Pippa Norris; and Abortion in Cross-cultural Perspective (co-edited with Dorothy McBride Stetson).

Dr. Githens has published extensively in the area of women and politics – perhaps one of the most widely known of her articles deals with the appointment of women judges.  She has also contributed chapters to seven books. In addition she has served as a consultant on the European Women Project funded by the European Union and the television series Shoulder to Shoulder which dealt with the British women’s suffrage movement.   

Marginal status has always interested Dr. Githens and is a unifying theme of her work.  Perhaps preoccupied is a better description.  Hence her recent work has focused on women and immigration.    

Active in her profession Dr. Githens has held office in the Southern Political Science Association, the American Political Science Association and served as vice-president and president of the Women’s Caucus for Political Science.  She delivered numerous papers at both national and international political science association meetings and participated in a number of workshops of the European Consortium for Political Research.

Dr. Githens’ current research project is an examination of attitudinal changes, roles and aspirations of Maryland women state legislators over the past thirty years.