Jane Smith

Research Interests

I am a feminist political geographer concentrating on conflict, security, and aid/development in South and Southwest Asia. I am particularly interested in understanding the spatial organization and corporeal representations and experiences of individuals and groups working and living within conflict zones.

My doctoral research focused on the use of public and private space by the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA), a clandestine feminist-nationalist organization. My interest in this organization was sparked through my interactions with their international supporters network in the United States. I compared how this organization operates and represents itself internationally through the use of the Internet and its geographic placement and operations in Pakistan and Afghanistan. RAWA's feminist politics remains unconventional within an Afghan context, while their methods for disseminating their sociopolitical beliefs expanding their organization relies on conventional methods such as social reproduction and educational indoctrination.

My post-doctoral research project examined the spatial arrangements, interactions, and gender roles within the international "community" in Kabul, Afghanistan in comparison with the "local" Afghan population. The geopolitics and geo-economics associated with the placement of International workers and their interactions with Afghans were central to this project. I also became increasing interested in the differentiated methods used by Afghans and internationals to provide for their own security in spaces increasingly beset by political violence and a general state of insecurity.

Current Research 

My current research examines gender, security and development in Afghanistan with a focus on women’s leadership and influence at multiple scales. This project includes analyses of the geopolitical changes including the US withdrawal, Taliban resurgence, and the experiences and responses of people in Afghanistan. 

In addition to this research, I co-direct the CU-Boulder Affordable Housing Research Initiative. This is a community engaged research project that seeks to use research to better understand housing needs and to assist organizations and individuals working on, providing, living in and seeking affordable housing in Colorado. We are currently examining individual experiences of racism and racial discrimination at the scale of neighborhoods and communities in Boulder.