Brittany R. Leach

Brittany R. Leach serves as an Assistant Professor in the School of Anthropology, Political Science, and Sociology at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, with joint appointments in Political Science and Sociology and affiliation with the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies program. She earned her PhD in Political Theory with a concentration in Comparative Politics from the University of Virginia in 2020, following an MA in Political Science & International Affairs from the University of Georgia.

Her research focuses on feminist political theory, intersectionality, and reproductive justice, with particular emphasis on abortion politics, embodiment, and the relationship between individual autonomy and community. Leach argues that reproductive autonomy must be understood relationally rather than solely as individual freedom, developing a framework that connects bodily autonomy with feminist community support.

Leach's publications appear in premier journals including the American Political Science Review, Contemporary Political Theory, and Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. Her work examines reproductive injustices across multiple contexts including immigration detention, fetal remains regulations, and transnational pro-life movements, analyzing how these intersect with gender, race, and citizenship.

• Major Publications:
• "At the Borders of the Body Politic" (APSR 2022) analyzing reproductive injustices against immigrant women
• "Abjection and Mourning in the Struggle over Fetal Remains" (Contemporary Political Theory 2021)
• "Who's Backlashing Against Whom?" (Signs 2021) examining pro-life movement strategies

She has received the Charlotte Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship and the Joann Paine Faculty Research Award, and currently serves on the APSA Committee on the Status of Women in the Profession. Leach is actively engaged in public scholarship through blog posts for the London School of Economics USAPP and the University of Minnesota Gender Policy Report.

At SIU, Leach teaches undergraduate courses including Politics of Diversity, Gender and Global Politics, Women & the Law, and Reproductive Justice, as well as graduate seminars in Race & Ethnic Relations and Qualitative Methodology. She previously taught Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies courses at the University of Virginia.