Lesley Pruitt
Senior Lecturer in Politics & International Relations
Specialty Areas
Arts, Music, Literature, Defence, Education, Feminist Policy and Politics, Women’s Affairs, Gender, Immigration and Citizenship, International Development and Issues, Leadership, Participatory Democracy, Politics, Public Service, Government, Public Policy, Social Justice and Human Rights, Youth
About Me
Lesley Pruitt is a Senior Lecturer in Politics & International Relations at Monash University, where she serves on the steering committee of the Monash GPS (Gender, Peace and Security) Centre. A Truman Scholar and Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, Lesley received her bachelor’s degree from Arkansas State University and her master’s & PhD degrees from the University of Queensland. Prior to joining Monash, Lesley held academic appointments at the University of Melbourne, Victoria University, and RMIT University.
In terms of her research, Lesley has long been interested in the ways young people participate in politics and peacebuilding, including work with creative programs using activities like music, dance, and theatre to bring young people together for positive social change. Lesley has coordinated girls’ high school leadership trainings through UN Women and is currently a chief investigator in a large research and evaluation project funded by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in which she and her colleague were selected as research partners to work with Global YWCA to conduct research and evaluation on their young women’s leadership programs in 9 countries across the Asia-Pacific region.
Lesley’s books include Youth Peacebuilding: Music, Gender & Change (2013; State University of New York Press), The Women in Blue Helmets: Gender, Policing & the UN’s First All-Female Peacekeeping Unit (2016; University of California Press), and Young People, Citizenship and Political Participation: Combatting Civic Deficit? (2017; Rowman & Littlefield, with Mark Chou, Jean Paul Gagnon, & Catherine Hartung).
Qualifications
PhDSchool of Political Science and International Studies
University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
Dissertation Title: The Use of Music in Youth Peacebuilding Projects
Masters of International Studies: Peace & Conflict Resolution
University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
Dean’s Commendation for High Achievement
B.A., Political Science, Summa Cum Laude
Arkansas State University, U.S.A.
Honors Thesis: Factors Influencing Adoption of Drug Court Programs in Arkansas
