HELLO, I'M
Jennifer Dumas
Assistant Professor, Political Science
University of Louisiana at Monroe
About
MY BACKGROUND
I am an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM). I received my Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of New Orleans (UNO) in 2021, with a concentration in International Relations and Comparative Politics. I also received a M.A. in Political Science and a B.A. in Psychology. I have taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate political science courses, ranging from American Politics to Issues in Conflict and Diplomacy, and Film and Politics to Methods of Political Research, at ULM, UNO, and Tulane University. I have also presented original research at several regional and national professional conferences, including annual meetings of the Louisiana Political Science Association, Midwest Political Science Association, and International Studies Association. I currently serve as the Treasurer of the Louisiana Political Science Association (LPSA), was the 2023-2024 LPSA President, and co-organized the 2023 annual meeting of the LPSA. I also served as the Program Chair for the 2024 ISA ELIAS – CIDE Joint Applied and Experiential Learning Workshop and Outreach Event. My primary research agenda lies at the nexus of gender and political violence; I study the ways in which forms of gender inequality and women's disempowerment produce and shape different types of political violence, particularly terrorism. More broadly, my research interests include relationships between inequality and violence; civil and international conflict and peace dynamics; roles of norms and values in state-society relations; politicization of gender, marriage, and family within and among states; and political science pedagogy, including the use of generative AI and experiential learning.
Education
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2021
Ph.D. Political Science, University of New Orleans
Major Field – International Relations
Minor Field – Comparative Politics
Committee – Michael G. Huelshoff (chair), Edward E. Chervenak, Robert M. Worth
Dissertation: “Gender Inequality and Terrorism: The Impacts of Female Empowerment on Domestic and Transnational Terrorism”
Experience
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2022 - Present
Assistant Professor of Political Science - University of Louisiana at Monroe
2021-2022
Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science - University of Louisiana at Monroe
2010
M.A. Political Science-International Relations, University of New Orleans
Committee – Richard W. Frank (chair), Michael G. Huelshoff, Elizabeth A. Stein
Thesis: “Gender Inequality and Terrorism: An Analysis of the Effects of Socioeconomic Gender Inequality on Terrorism”
2016-2019
Adjunct Political Science Instructor – Tulane University
2014-2017
2008
Online Adjunct Political Science Instructor – University of Louisiana at Monroe
B.A. Psychology, University of Louisiana at Monroe, cum laude
2011-2015
Political Science Instructor of Record – University of New Orleans
Selected Conference Presentations
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“Creating tools: Embracing AI in Political Science courses.” with Courtney Harris. Presented at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Louisiana Political Science Association, 2024 American Political Science Association Virtual Research Meeting, 2024 Annual Meeting of the Southern Political Science Association, and 2024 ISA ELIAS – CIDE Joint Applied and Experiential Learning Workshop and Outreach Event.
"Education and Political Violence: How Female Access to Schooling Impacts Terrorism.” Presented at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association.
“Teaching Political Science through Truncated Overseas Service-Learning Opportunities.” with Leigh Hersey and Caitlin Slavich. Presented at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Southern Political Science Association.
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“Education and Political Violence: How Female Access to Schooling Impacts Terrorism.” Presented at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association Southern Region.
“Structural Violence and Terrorism Tactics: Gender Inequality and the Utilization of Indiscriminate Violence.” Presented at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the European Political Science Association.
“Structural Violence and Terrorism Tactics: Gender Inequality and the Utilization of Indiscriminate Violence.” Presented at the 2023 Annual Convention of the International Studies Association.
“Gender Inequality, Sexual Exploitation, and Terrorism Tactics: Boko Haram's War on and by Children.” Presented at the 2023 Annual Convention of the International Studies Association.
“Gender Inequality and Political Violence: The Impacts of Female Empowerment on Terrorism.” Presented at the 2022 Journeys in World Politics Workshop. Sponsored by the American Political Science Association and University of Iowa.
“Social Trust, Federalism, and the Disconnect Between Cooperation Signaling and Implementation: The Case of Nigeria, Gender Inequality, and Terrorism.” Presented at the 2022 Annual Academic Council on the United Nations System-United Nations (ACUNS-UN) Workshop, "The Role of International Cooperation in Tackling Inequalities.”
“Structural Violence and Terrorism Tactics: Gender Inequality and the Utilization of Indiscriminate Violence.” Presented at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association.
“Gender Inequality and Terrorism: The Impacts of Female Empowerment on Domestic and Transnational Terrorism.” Presented at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Louisiana Political Science Association.
Current Research
Education and Political Violence: How Female Access to Schooling Impacts Terrorism
​Mass Atrocity Prevention and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region: Vulnerabilities, Regional Collaboration, and Framing to Facilitate Upstream Prevention.
Structural Violence and Terrorism Tactics: Boko Haram, Gender Inequality, and the Utilization of Indiscriminate Violence.
Gender Inequality, Sexual Exploitation, and Terrorism Tactics: Boko Haram's War on and by Children
Gendered Aid, Gender Equality, and Terrorism: The Relationship between Women’s Empowerment and Terrorism.
Overseas Service-Learning Experiences in Higher Education
Embracing Artificial Intelligence in University Pedagogies
Free Speech in the Classroom: Teaching Political Science in Higher Education
Marriage of Convenience? Political Alliances, Politicization of Marriage, and the Power of Matrimony.
Spatial Patterns of Terrorism: Determining the National Origins of Terrorist Organizations.
Research Interests
Teaching Interests
International and civil conflict; political violence and terrorism; gender and conflict; gender and politics; Middle East and African politics; international law
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International politics; American foreign policy; Middle East and African politics; gender and politics; political violence; international and civil conflict; conflict and diplomacy; religion and politics; politics and the arts; social science research methods
Professional Activity and Service
2024 Program Chair, ISA ELIAS – CIDE Joint Applied and Experiential Learning Workshop and Outreach Event
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2024-present Member-at-Large, Education and Learning in International Affairs Section, ISA
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2024-present Treasurer, Louisiana Political Science Association
2023-2024 President, Louisiana Political Science Association
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2022-2023 Co-organizer, annual meeting of the Louisiana Political Science Association
2022-2023 Vice President, Louisiana Political Science Association
2021-2022 Advisor, Undergraduate Honors Thesis (Completed May 2022)
2016-2021 Secretary/Treasurer, Pi Sigma Alpha, University of New Orleans Chapter
2013-2015 Vice President, University of New Orleans Political Science Graduate Student Association
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Ad Hoc Reviewer: International Interactions and Oxford Development Studies
Professional Memberships
Academic Council on the United Nations System
American Political Science Association
International Studies Association
Louisiana Political Science Association
Midwest Political Science Association
Pi Sigma Alpha
Southern Political Science Association
Women in Conflict Studies
Grants & Honors
2023-2024 - Faculty Fellow, Charles E. Scheidt Faculty Fellows in Atrocity Prevention
2022-2023 - Israel Institute Faculty Development Grant ($10,000)
2021 - Winner, University of New Orleans College of Liberal Arts, Education and Human Development (COLAEHD) 2020-2021 Best Dissertation Award
2011-2014 - Doctoral Scholarship, The Graduate School, University of New Orleans
2011- Travel Grant, The Graduate School, University of New Orleans
Skills
STATA SPSS