Accolades

The DEI Lecture Series is hosted by Women and Gender Studies to highlight faculty that have engaged in profound work at the intersections of race and gender. Our Spring 2024 speaker was Dr. Stephanie Rambo.

AJ Ryan is the recipient of the Women and Gender Studies 2024 Outstanding Thesis Award. This thesis examines a nine-year precedence of undocumented Filipinos in broadcast network television. Looking at three characters, Mateo Liwanag of NBC’s Superstore, in addition to Thony and Fiona De La Rosa from Fox’s The Cleaning Lady. This thesis analyzes the place of undocumented Filipinos in popular culture and their ability to affect audience perceptions of current neoliberal immigration policy.

Dr. Claudia Cabello Hutt, alongside Moksheda Thapa, a graduate student from the Women and Gender Studies program, presented at the WGS South Conference on March 29. WGS South is a feminist organization dedicated to supporting and promoting all aspects of women's studies, advocating for the elimination of oppression and discrimination based on various factors such as sex, gender identity and expression, race, age, religion, sexual orientation, ethnic background, physical ability, and class. Each year, WGS South collaborates with an institution in the Southeastern region of the United States to host its annual academic conference. This year's conference was held at the University of South Carolina from March 28 - March 30. The presentations by Dr. Claudia Cabello Hutt and Moksheda Thapa included the following topics: 1. The Knife Between Her Legs: An Examination of a “Bad Girl’s” Family by Moksheda Thapa, George Mason University 2. Radical Illegibility: Queer Women’s Archives as Resistance by Dr. Claudia Cabello Hutt, George Mason University Both presentations contributed valuable insights and perspectives to the conference's discourse on gender, sexuality, and activism.

The article discusses issues around care for elderly LGBTQ+ individuals in nursing homes. Current models of geriatric care are based on cisheterosexual assumptions. LGBTQ+ elders are at higher risk of social isolation, mental health issues, and discrimination within care facilities. It examines several approaches to improve care, such as sensitivity training for staff, inclusive policies, and addressing the specific health needs of LGBTQ+ groups. At large, staff are often not equipped to support diverse identities, and elders may fear disclosure of their sexual/gender identities.

In celebration of International Women's Day 2024, Professor Anu Aneja, Director of the Women and Gender Studies program, was invited to deliver a podcast hosted by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi. The podcast, intended for distance education students of IGNOU located across India, was relayed through the university’s media channels. During the episode, Professor Aneja explored the theme of 'Inclusion Reimagined' and offered insightful perspectives on diversity and equity through a critical interrogation of narrow understandings of identity and intersectionality in the context of the need for systemic changes.  She also highlighted the important role of language, poetry and art in bringing about transformations through the power of creative imagination.

The Women and Gender Studies program is thrilled to announce that Professor Rachel Lewis has been honored with the Presidential Award for Faculty Excellence in Teaching!!! The prestigious award is a recognition of Dr. Lewis' inspiring and outstanding teaching record over several years within the program and the university.  Many congratulations, Rachel, for this well-deserved honor, and thank you for your exceptional contributions to WGST and to our students!

The residential research fellows for fall 2024 and spring 2025 are drawn from across a variety of departments and programs in the College of Humanities of Social Sciences as well as the Schar School of Policy and Government. Their diverse projects explore the CHR's 2024-25 theme of "humanity and its others."