De Vries-Jordan organizes international conference on marriage equality

Dr. Helma de Vries-Jordan, assistant professor of political science, organized an international conference to explore how marriage equality is affecting the future of LGBTQ rights.

The conference, “Marriage Equality in Advanced Industrialized Democracies,” was held March 30 through April 1 in Pittsburgh.

De Vries-Jordan coordinated the conference in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

The event took place under auspices of the university's European Studies Center and Jean Monnet European Union Centre of Excellence and was a Pitt Year of Diversity event.

Scholars presented research in various areas concerning marriage equality, LGBTQ rights and gender equality, placing them in comparative and international perspective.

De Vries-Jordan also presented a paper at the conference, “Marriage Equality and LGBT Activism: Exploring Multi-Issue Activism of Marriage Equality Protestors at the U.S. Supreme Court.”

De Vries-Jordan is also director of the history and political science and international affairs programs at Pitt-Bradford.