Research Affiliate
Sona Baldrian is a dedicated feminist researcher and activist with over six years of active engagement in Armenia’s women’s movement. With a strong academic and activist background, she has significantly contributed to various prominent feminist civil society organizations in Armenia. Her work focuses on advancing feminist and women’s movements through policy advocacy, research, and innovative methodologies. Sona has mentored numerous activists and advocates, sharing her expertise in feminist and gender-sensitive research and advocacy. Her extensive work in non-formal and formal educational capacities has enabled her to communicate effectively with diverse audiences, fostering inclusive dialogues and comprehensive strategies for feminist movement building.
Sona Baldrian’s research and presentations have focused on critical feminist knowledge production. Her upcoming research paper, “The Anti-Feminism of the Neoliberal Aid Regime and How it Enables Anti-Gender Rhetoric,” in the upcoming issue of Politikon: The IAPSS Journal of Political Science, and her presentation “Deindustrialization in Armenia: A Personal Account of One Industrial Neighborhood’s History and the Devastating Impact on its Residents,” at the Gender, Family, and Deindustrialization conference, are particularly noteworthy. The latter work showcases her commitment to blending personal narratives with broader social and economic analyses. Another significant work includes “The Ethics of Collecting Oral Histories During Conflict Situations,” presented at the 11th Emerging Scholars Symposium on Oral History, Digital Storytelling, and Creative Practice, reflecting her deep engagement with critical research methods and feminist analysis.
Her experience includes managing the “Femstory: Feminist Oral Stories Archive” project, where she led a team collecting over 60 oral histories on topics such as sexuality, sexual violence, war, and the women’s movement in Armenia. This project aimed to mainstream feminist research methods and innovative approaches, moving beyond traditional and positivist research paradigms. With a research focus on political philosophy, critical development studies, social movements, memory politics, gender and biopolitics, and critical research methods like oral history, Sona Baldrian is a multilingual advocate for gender equality and social justice. Her fluency in Armenian and English equips her to engage with diverse communities and conduct interdisciplinary and participatory action research.
