Ms Vanessa Brown

Department of Defence Studies

Contact: 
Email

Tel: 416-482-6800 ext 6828

Fax: 416-482-6802

Address:  Canadian Forces College

215 Yonge Blvd

Toronto ON M5M 3H9

Areas of Interest

  • Sociology of the Military
  • Gender, Diversity and Security
  • Defence Policy
  • Military Pedagogy
  • Educational and Professional Background

Educational and Professional Background

Ms Vanessa Brown holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and a Master of Arts in Political Science from York University. She is a PhD candidate conducting her doctoral work in sociology at Carleton University. She joined the College as a lecturer in 2015, teaching Institutional Policy Studies for the Joint Command and Staff Programme. Ms Brown became an Assistant Professor of the Department of Defence Studies in 2020 working in the Dallaire Centre of Excellence for Peace and Security.

Current Research and Projects

Ms Brown researches the sociology of the military through a feminist and intersectional lens, as well as from the viewpoint of pedagogy associated with Professional Military Education (PME). Her post-doctoral work is concerned with the process of integrating gender and cultural perspectives in PME and its influence on organizational culture change. Her broad areas of research include:

  • militarized masculinities and femininities;
  • diversity, identity, and inclusion;
  • feminist interventions in international security;
  • international normative frameworks of security; and
  • the integration of all of these in Canadian Foreign and Defence Policy.

Her work has been published in a number of edited books including: Rethinking Military Professionalism, Teaching Culture at Military Academies; Culture and the Soldier: How Identity, Values, and Norms Intersect with Contemporary Military Engagements; and From “Knowing” to “Doing”: International Perspectives on Leading Effectively.

Ms Brown has publications forthcoming in Allons-y: Journal of Children, Peace and Security and Atlantis: Critical Studies in Gender, Culture and Social Justice. She has also authored professional reports addressing the topics of gender, culture, and security.

Her current projects are on enhancing military operational effectiveness in the provision of support to the Women, Peace and Security agenda, Protection of Civilians, and the prevention of the recruitment and use of child soldiers.

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