CV (Last updated January, 2022)
madeleine.pape at unil.ch
@Madeleine_Pape

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

For a full list of publications, please visit my ORCID page.

PhD, Sociology (2019) University of Wisconsin-Madison

SNSF Senior Researcher, University of Lausanne
Inclusion Specialist, International Olympic Committee

Emma Goldman Awardee, 2022-2024
SNSF Ambizione fellowship holder, 2023-2026

I am a sociologist of gender who examines the epistemic politics of “sex” and “gender” across diverse institutional contexts. I am particularly interested in how notions of “biological sex” and “sex difference” become embedded in gender equity projects in sport and biomedicine, and with what consequences. By examining how policymakers, scientists, and (certain) feminists seek to enact “sex,” I show how “it” emerges as elusive and ambiguous and always entangled with gender, race, nation, and other socially meaningful forms of difference.

My work has been supported by the US National Science Foundation, Swiss National Science Foundation, Australian Research Council, Center for Engaged Scholarship, Flax Foundation, and Olympic Studies Centre.


CURRENT RESEARCH FUNDING

FLAX Foundation, Emma Goldman Award, 2022-2024.

Australian Research Council Discovery Grant (DP220100880). Governance for Gender Inclusion: Levelling the Field in Australian Sport. Australian National University, 2022-2025. International collaborator with Kathryn Henne (PI), Ruth Jeanes (CI), and Fiona McLachlan (CI).

Swiss National Science Foundation (Project No. 100017_189238). Women’s participation in decision-making in sport. A comparative approach to boards of governance of four international sports federations.” Institute of Sports Science, University of Lausanne, Switzerland, 2020-2023. Senior Researcher with Principal Investigator Dr. Lucie Schoch (University of Lausanne).


RECENT RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS


PUBLIC SOCIOLOGY

I am currently engaged by the IOC to support the rollout of their Framework on Fairness, Inclusion, and Non-Discrimination. This work and my research are shaped by my experience of competing at the top international level of track-and-field, and particularly the World Championships in 2009, where Olympic champion Caster Semenya won the women’s 800m and endured intense scrutiny of her right to compete in the female category. I have contributed my double position as an elite athlete and sociologist to public and policy discussions about whether and how to regulate eligibility in elite women’s sport, writing and speaking in a diverse range of media outlets including The Guardian, NPR’s A1, and CBC’s The Current.

For further links and a full list of my public engagement activities, please see my CV above.

 

On 18th August, 2022, I joined Swiss public radio station RTS for an interview on morning program La Matinale, to discuss the common ground between gender equality and gender inclusion goals. You can listen to (my first!) french language interview here.

An image from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where I competed for Australia in the women’s 800m.

TEACHING & MENTORING

I have taught my own classes at Northwestern University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison and regularly give invited lectures at the University of Lausanne and in classrooms internationally. Students in my classes are invited to be part of a learning community, in which my job is to guide them on their journey through the epistemic landscapes of sociology of gender, health, the body, and feminist STS. I have chosen academia as my career path largely because it puts me in a classroom where I get to share what I love about sociological and feminist research, and in return I have the opportunity to learn from and with students. I welcome (indeed invite) feedback on my syllabi, linked below.

Sample Syllabi
Northwestern University:
Feminist Technoscience (Spring, 2020)
Gender, Health, and Illness (Winter, 2020)

“I thought the course did a great job teaching about all issues and identities in an inclusive and sensitive manner. Madeleine is a great professor, and is clearly passionate about the material. This course is a great resource to teach students about gender and sexuality issues, and I would definitely recommend it to others.” ––Sociology of Gender, Spring 2018

ON TWITTER…

Through my research funding and participation in undergraduate research training programs, I have had the privilege to mentor numerous junior researchers at undergraduate and masters levels. I value co-learning with students and using hands-on research experiences to advance their intellectual and professional development.

University of Wisconsin-Madison, Research Supervision
Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (2017-18 academic year–two students)
Undergraduate research assistants (Summer 2017–three students; Summer 2018–one student; Fall 2018–one student)

“By welcoming our questions and ideas, Madi showed that she valued our voices in her research project. Since she asked about our other course work and interests, not only was she able to help us find personal connections with the research, but she also showed that the mentorship she provided was not confined to the boundaries of our research project.” ––Student Assistant, Undergraduate Research Scholars Program