Denise Walsh is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Politics and Women, Gender & Sexuality at the University of Virginia. Her research investigates how liberal democracies can become more democratic and just. Walsh's current book project, The Politics of Debating Multiculturalism and Women's Rights, compares three dissimilar cases: the  face veil ban in France, polygamy in South Africa and the expulsion of indigenous women from the tribe for marrying non-native men in Canada. A second current project investigates opposition and backlash  to women’s participation in politics and civil society. ​

Walsh's research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, USAID, the Institute for Women's Studies at the University of Michigan, the Collegio Carlo Alberto in Italy, the Dickey Center for International Understanding at Dartmouth College and many organizations at the University of Virginia.



​Photo Credits: Bailey Photography; Mark Edwards