Julie Mostov joined NYU in August 2017 as the first woman dean of Liberal Studies, bringing years of experience in global engagement, deep grounding in the liberal arts, and a commitment to interdisciplinary research and teaching. In addition to her many scholarly achievements, Dr. Mostov spearheaded a wide range of global initiatives and international research and academic partnerships for Drexel University as Senior Vice Provost of Global Initiatives and Professor of Politics and, earlier, as Director of International Area Studies and Women’s Studies. She has also been a long-time member of the University of Bologna’s Network on Europe and the Balkans and a regular visiting professor in its graduate programs.
A political theorist by training, Dean Mostov is a well-known scholar on Southeastern Europe.
Her research explores notions of soft borders and transnational citizenship, and focuses on the politics of national identity, sovereignty, citizenship, and gender. Publications related to these themes include her book Soft Borders: Rethinking Sovereignty and Democracy; the co-edited volume, From Gender to Nation; and book chapters such as “Soft Borders and Transnational Citizens” and “‘Our Women’/’Their Women’: Symbolic Boundaries, Territorial Markers, and Violence in the Balkans,” and thought pieces such as “Populism is always Gendered and Dangerous for Women and Democracy.” She has presented her interdisciplinary research with a focus on Southeastern Europe at universities and conferences in many parts of the globe. She served as a consultant for both the U.S. and the EU during the breakdown of Yugoslavia and designed and implemented State Department grants in support of democratic transitions and women’s leadership in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Her earlier scholarship in democratic theory includes such works as Power, Process, and Popular Sovereignty, “Endangered Citizenship,” and “Democracy and the Politics of National Identity.”
In addition to her academic engagement, Dean Mostov has been a long-time activist and advocate for women’s rights, serving - among other roles - as Chair of the Board of Women Against Abuse, Pennsylvania’s largest agency addressing domestic and intimate partner violence. She is the recipient of major awards for her advocacy to end gender-based violence from Women Against Abuse and Women’s Way.