Eleanor Childs

Project Title: The Intersection of Gender and the Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage: A Feminist Analysis

Supervision Team: Benjamin Isakhan and Andrea Witcomb

Biography: Eleanor Childs is a PhD candidate at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University, as part of the project ‘After Islamic State: Heritage Dynamics in Syria and Iraq.’ Her research utilises feminist International Relations frameworks to interrogate the gendered nature of heritage destruction and the gendered consequences of heritage destruction for ethno-religiously diverse Syrian and Iraqi women. The results of her study are intended to question the validity of excluding gender from international recourse to heritage destruction, particularly in the context of the Syrian and Iraqi conflicts. Eleanor has worked as a Research Assistant at the National Centre of Excellence for Islamic Studies, University of Melbourne and the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University on projects related to the Islamic State, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and Hezbollah. She also has experience living and working in the region, designing multi-million-dollar projects related to post-conflict stability. Her areas of interest include nationalism, refugee politics, human security, social movements, and gender.