WGS Pre-doctoral Fellow 2023-2024

Alessandra Jungs de Almeida is a PhD candidate in International Relations at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Brazil. She is a scholar and feminist activist focusing on transnational activism regarding abortion rights, violence against women, and peacebuilding. In the 2023-2024 term, she is a visiting scholar at MIT SHASS, holding the Diversity Pre-doctoral Fellowship within the Women's and Gender Studies Program. 

Alessandra's PhD dissertation analyzes the efforts of feminist and anti-feminist organizations to promote and internalize international norms related to the legalization and criminalization of abortion in Brazil and Argentina. One of her main objectives is to identify similarities and differences between the actions and strategies of transnational organizations acting in both countries, primarily related to the use of technology and coordination with international and national actors.

Previously, Alessandra was a PhD visiting student at MIT, where she worked as a research assistant at the Data + Feminism Lab in the project Data Against Feminicide, collaborating with data activists across the Americas. Alessandra holds a master's degree in International Relations from UFSC and a B.A. in International Relations from the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM). She is a research affiliate at MIT's Data + Feminism Lab and UFSC's Center of Gender Studies in Foreign Policy and International Politics (NEGPEI).