For Braine, teaching about consent is a vital issue within sexual education at all levels.

“It is often a neglected area of the curriculum in part because it is actually quite complex and teachers don’t have the tools to help students understand,” said Braine. “Jaela’s research enabled her to address consent at different age-appropriate levels and incorporate teaching strategies into her curriculum materials.”

Williams was interested in the way consent changes when commerce is involved, and if sex workers are truly able to give an “enthusiastic yes,” beyond the accepted model of “enthusiastic consent,” a modern and empowering approach to understanding sexual consent. Unlike older models that focused only on the absence of a “no,” this model emphasizes a clear, active, and positive expression of agreement.

“I wanted to meet with PROUD, a Dutch sex worker union, to interview someone about their experience in a country where sex work is legalized and regulated,” she says. “I would then use my findings to center sex workers’ experiences specifically in consent lessons in the curriculum.”

Unable to speak with the union, Williams interviewed a sex worker and returned home with new insights and a plan to continue her research and earn her master’s in sociology at the University of Amsterdam. But along with her application, Williams needed to fund her time abroad due to student visa restrictions. So she applied for a Fulbright scholarship—overseen by the U.S. Department of State—to study abroad. Although she was accepted to the university in January, Williams only recently learned that she had been awarded the scholarship, which will provide her with a monthly stipend while she is abroad.

Williams notes that the kind of research she is doing requires an understanding that regardless of the protections and the regulations afforded sex workers in the Netherlands, the work is still stigmatized. “Nevertheless, those protections were super important to make my research ethical. I think sex work, in general, is just very complicated, and you have to be very careful when you’re doing research.”

With her yearlong sojourn beginning at the end of August, Williams insists that access to interdisciplinary studies at ������Ƶ has been key.

“I was able to minor in women’s and gender studies and sociology and realized that sociology was what I was looking for the whole time,” says Williams. “I’m interested in identity studies and education. Sociology is the place where these interests meet and a field in which I feel I can make an impact.”

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In a world where traditional health care often falls short, Sociology Professor Naomi Braine believes there are many ways to enhance health outcomes beyond the clinical environment. With deep-rooted experience as an activist and educator, Braine’s work is focused on women’s health, drug addiction, HIV, and other issues that disproportionately affect historically resilient populations.

Since arriving at ������Ƶ in 2008, Braine has empowered her students to become the next generation of thought and action leaders in areas of public health. Reflecting on her journey, Braine shares her transition from pursuing a psychology degree to eventually embracing sociology as a means to explore social policy. She also credits her early experiences in grassroots activism as shaping both her research and teaching philosophy.

Having worked in academia, the nonprofit sector, and within grassroots activism, what initially drew you to sociology, and how has your perspective on the field evolved through your experiences in these varied roles?

I worked with teenagers while going to college and ended up a psychology major because I could get some tuition reimbursement from my job. When I graduated, I had come to understand that I didn’t want to be a therapist or a social services administrator.

I went to grad school for sociology as a pathway to studying social policy, and that continues to shape my professional work, although my interests shifted to public health. My first professional job after getting my Ph.D. came through activist connections, not academic ones, and my involvement with grassroots movements continues to shape my research and teaching. I value the ways sociology enables me to work within and across different professional worlds.

������Ƶ is known for its diverse student body. How has teaching here influenced your research and activism, and what do you hope your students take away from studying sociology with you?

Many of the students in my classes are engaged with their communities on and off campus, and they bring that energy and insight to the classroom. Together, we create a space that can exceed the boundaries of the classroom, bringing important contemporary issues into dialog with readings, assignments, and historical material.

The challenges of teaching and learning in an underfunded public institution have shaped my activism through engagement with the faculty-staff union as we strive to build the educational environment our students deserve, one that will enable them to gain the knowledge and experience necessary for the lives they aspire to create.

I take great pride in seeing my students pursue meaningful work beyond the classroom. I had the opportunity to facilitate an internship for one of my former students, Victoria St. Clair, with an organization now known as Pregnancy Justice, which operates at the intersection of reproductive justice and drug policy. Victoria not only embraced the opportunity but turned it into a full-time role, providing research and administrative support for its legal staff. She later carried that experience forward, performing similar duties for Brooklyn Defender Services.

Your current work focuses on self-managed abortion, the term commonly used to describe when a person chooses to induce their own abortion through medications taken outside of a medical setting. Can you share what inspired this focus and how you see it shaping public discourse and policy in the coming years?

My work on self-managed abortion came out of earlier work on drug-related harm reduction, both of which are examples of social movements that work at the intersection of public health and community-based action around issues that have been criminalized and marginalized.

We can see the power of self-managed abortion as a practice and a form of feminist activism in the wake of the Dobbs decision that overturned federal protections for the right to an abortion. In states where abortion has been restricted or banned, people with undesired pregnancies have been able to maintain their autonomy and self-determination with information and support from community activists.

Your book, Abortion Beyond the Law: Building a Global Feminist Movement for Self-Managed Abortion, was published at the end of 2023. What do you want readers to learn most from it?

explores the work of transnational feminist networks that support and enable self-managed abortion. I hope readers will see that it is possible to work together with other people to protect health while enabling those with undesired pregnancies to maintain bodily autonomy. I think the work of the activists in the book can also inspire and perhaps provide some guidance to people facing a range of issues at the intersection of health, justice, and self-determination.

How can people who are not sociologists or health care professionals stay informed about issues related to reproductive rights?

Reproductive health and reproductive justice are issues that everyone needs to engage with, not just specialists. Learn from and follow reliable information sources, like ReproAction or Physicians for Reproductive Health, and get involved locally with an abortion fund or women’s health organization. This is a moment when everyone needs to be actively engaged around the issues that are important to them, and remember that democracy is not just about elections and is definitely not a spectator sport.

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Flash forward to college, where he studied anthropology and African/African-American studies at Rollins College. During this time, Richards became particularly interested in Black American and African histories and cultures. He then completed a master’s program in museum anthropology at Arizona State University, where he examined how African art is often misinterpreted, or provided with limited descriptions, in museums. As part of the degree program, Richards arranged for an internship at the Museum for African Art in Long Island City, New York.

Although the museum no longer exists, it was helping develop an exhibition proposal on African fashion that made him realize he could blend his love of fashion, art, and African culture into a viable career path. Since then, Richards has been able to study, learn, and teach the relevancy of African art, coupled with the importance of fashion as a meaningful art form.

With a Ph.D. in African art from the University of Florida, and now a decade of teaching experience as an associate professor of art history, Richards has recently accepted a new role as director of Women’s and Gender Studies. Richards talked about how diversity, inclusion, and understanding are at the root of much of his work.

Why is African art and clothing so important to you, and what can students learn from studying it?

What I have observed, and what I often teach my students, is that dress and fashion are one of the most important and valued forms of artistic and cultural expression for Africans. Whereas specific sculptures or forms of masquerade may no longer be practiced or understood, dress and fashion are constantly being engaged with, discussed, and reimagined. It’s also incredibly accessible; anyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or wealth, can adorn their bodies in meaningful ways. By exploring African art and fashion, students can learn the sheer complexity of African visual culture and how their own lives and heritages are often linked to practices rooted on the African continent. It also teaches them to be culturally sensitive, and that to fully understand a specific art form or practice, it’s necessary to know its original, cultural context.

You have a new multiyear exhibit this year showcasing . How did that come about?

It started in 2015 when I guest-curated my first exhibition, Kabas and Couture: Contemporary Ghanaian Fashion. At the time, there had been very few exhibitions that examined the fashion culture of a single African nation. It was really a celebration of designer and everyday fashions in both historical and contemporary contexts. Almost 10 years later, the Harn Museum of Art has asked me to revisit that initial exhibition, drawing upon its unprecedented collection of Ghanaian fashion, which I helped build. Much has changed in the last 10 years in terms of research on African fashion, so I’m excited to be reassessing specific garments in new ways. There will be three distinct themes, with the first exhibition focusing on African feminism and fashion.

You are also the author of What inspired you to write that?

“Cosmopolitanism and Women’s Fashion in Ghana: History, Artistry and Nationalist Inspirations” by Christopher L. Richards

My dissertation focused on the history of fashion in Ghana, and I attempted to document every designer who contributed to building and maintaining Ghana’s fashion culture from the 1950s through today. While transforming my dissertation into a book, I realized that African men frequently receive more accolades and global promotion as fashion designers than women. I found this troubling, as the forerunners of Ghanaian fashion were all women. I decided to shift the focus of my book to make a clear statement: that women have been and continue to be the creators and innovators of Ghanaian fashion. I wrote the book to tell these women’s stories, and to show that fashion has been an integral part of Ghanaian culture since before the country’s independence in 1957. I ultimately hope the book can contribute to de-centering the notion of fashion as an explicitly European form of expression.

Speaking of books, you also helped launch the LBGTQ+ Resource Center’s book club with director Kelly Spivey. Talk a little about that.

The LGBTQ+ Book Club has been one of the most delightfully surprising events I’ve helped organize at ������Ƶ! It started with an idea, as a way to engage students in a more casual and relaxed setting, but to allow them to think and discuss issues critical to the LGBTQ+ community. We began in November 2023 and have had meetings every month. At one meeting, I looked around and realized we had over 20 attendees! It’s a great feeling to know that we’re fostering a supportive community for our students, through a shared love of reading, and that they enjoy coming together and discussing LGBTQ+-themed graphic novels. Although the book club is on hiatus for the summer, we’ll be back in the fall, and we already have quite a few exciting books chosen.

As the new director of the Women’s and Gender Studies program, what will your expertise and experience bring to the role, and what most do you want students to learn?

I think I am the first art historian to hold the position of director, so I’m excited to bring my background and knowledge of art and art history to the program. In terms of what I want students to learn, I think what’s most important is that having a knowledge of women’s history and issues surrounding gender is important for all fields of study. Regardless of whether a student is studying psychology or computer science, taking classes in the Women’s and Gender Studies program, and my courses on African art, will help make them more informed, culturally aware, and well-rounded/sensitive global citizens!

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Binder graduated in 2018 with a double major in theater and women’s and gender studies and a minor in LGBTQ studies. A student at the time of the center’s founding, Binder recalls how, before it opened in 2014, “queer students didn’t really have a space on campus where they could go and get the help they might need.”

Today, the center not only provides a welcoming space, but sponsors academic talks, film screenings, social events, identity-based workshops, as well as connections to personal counseling and mentoring opportunities, all “aimed at fostering a sense of belonging on campus,” says Director Kelly Spivey. Binder and Spivey, the center’s first full-time head, are its core staff.

The center also engages in joint initiatives with the Women’s Center and other identity-based groups on campus, and partners with off-campus organizations to provide access to resources that, says Binder, “our campus does not provide at the moment, like gender affirming care or hormone replacement therapy.”

In addition to this kind of structured support, a crucial function of the center is to maintain a safe place to convene, in 219 Student Center, “where students come to meet each other, play video games, use computers, drink coffee, and study,” says Spivey.

Students enjoy spending time there, says Binder, because for some, “this might be the only place where they’re able to be out and be their true self.” Many students live at home, says Binder, and some of those students “might not be out to their families—or they might not even be out elsewhere on campus—but when they come here, they are able to be in a safe and inclusive environment.”

Binder has long worked to make the ������Ƶ campus “a safer, more inclusive space.” As an undergraduate, Binder served as president of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Alliance (LGBTA) student club and was involved in the project to institute all-gender restrooms on campus. Today, there’s at least one all-gender restroom in each building on campus.

The need for safe, inclusive spaces feels particularly urgent to Binder in the current political climate, in which LGBTQ+ book bans have increased and anti-trans legislation is being introduced across the nation. Responding to this rise in intolerance, Binder has been assembling a list of laws and policies in New York City and New York State, so that the center can make sure ������Ƶ students stay informed about what protections they have.

Even in light of these concerns, Binder leaves room for optimism. “I think overall, there is progress being made on campus and [off],” Binder says, and sees knowledge as a crucial tool for combating homophobia and transphobia, which is why the center hosts a wide variety of guest speakers and panels.

“Events are really important because they put a face to an identity,” says Binder, “You get to see, oh, this person is bi or this person is trans or this person is intersex, and so on. And you see them as a real person and not just a label. You see that they have their whole lived experience, and being queer is just part of that.”

Recently, ������Ƶ’s first in-person Lavender graduation ceremony featured guest speakers, performers, and messages of congratulation from President Anderson and others. Afterward, Binder received a message from a graduating student who shared, “It was such an honor, and very gracious of [the center] to ensure that those in our community know how loved, valuable, and special they are! That’s truly how I was made to feel!”

This message and the success of the ceremony buoyed Binder. “It feels great to be able to provide a space like this for our students,” says Binder.

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Senior Lily Bello knows this, and so do clients at the Name Change Project of the (TLDEF), where she completed an internship this past fall.

“Finding work is very difficult when your documents don’t all match up,” says Bello. ”A legal name change cuts down on the discrimination you face.”

The reality of this—that names are a nexus for the legal, personal, and political—is what spurs people to contact the Name Change Project. And when they do, it is to divulge crucial personal information to someone they have never met, maybe through a translator.

As an intern, Bello was that person.

She conducted initial phone interviews with community members interested in TLDEF’s pro bono name change services. Her job was to find out whether interviewees—mostly based in New York or Pennsylvania, but some from elsewhere in the United States—were eligible for the program to connect them with a lawyer.

But during this process, she discussed sensitive topics,  such as previous marriages and divorces. “I’ve had people start crying on the phone, so it’s a lot to process.”

For these interviews, Bello—an anthropology major and LGBTQ studies minor, preparing for graduate work in the anthropological study of transgender communities—drew on her ������Ƶ training, enacting what she sees as the “heart of anthropology”: communication with other people, the attempt to “get on their level and see what they’re seeing, to be able to relate to them easier.”

And when conversations got difficult, Bello shared her own story. It became a point of connection “that I am trans and that I have been through the name change process already.” Despite the challenging nature of these conversations, “people are incredibly appreciative of the free resource,” says Bello of the Name Change Project’s clients, all of whom have low incomes. “So definitely it feels rewarding.”

Professor of and Paisley Currah connected Bello with the internship, designed to accompany the LGBTQ studies minor (but not restricted to students who choose that minor).

Currah, who studies transgender law and policy, has worked with TLDEF in the past, including recently as an expert witness. When a contact at the organization reached out to him about the Name Change Project internship, he recognized it as a valuable opportunity to match “competent, qualified, caring students with a population that’s really in need.”

Bello was the first ������Ƶ student to complete the internship. Her strong work—she has been asked to return in a paid capacity this semester—has paved the way for other ������Ƶ students in the future.

Currah is also looking to expand the LGBTQ community internship so that more students have opportunities to do meaningful and engaging work, at a variety of institutions. “Because I know people, I’ve been able to place [students] in good internships,” he says. “And now, I would like to scale it up.”

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Smith’s lecture, “What I Believe,” will be an intimate exploration into her life as a trailblazer who broke new ground as a Black feminist, lesbian, activist, author, publisher, and independent scholar who inspired generations. She was among the first to define an African American women’s literary tradition and to build Black women’s studies and Black feminism in the United States. She has been politically active in many movements for social justice since the 1960s.

“I am so honored to serve as the Hess Scholar-in-Residence during the 2022–23 academic year,” Smith said. “At a time when some in our nation wish to limit the information and ideas that students can access, I look forward to expansive dialogues with members of ������Ƶ’s wonderfully diverse community.”

“As a writer, publisher, teacher, and organizer, Barbara Smith is a transformative force for justice. Her work has reshaped the American academy and society. We are honored to host her for a week of events culminating in the Hess Memorial Lecture,” said Gaston Alonso, interim director for the Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute for the Humanities and associate professor of political science at ������Ƶ.

This lecture event is free and open to the public and serves as the main highlight of the college’s  for 2022–23.

The event will also feature President Michelle J. Anderson as well as , distinguished professor of political science, and Professor of English , interim dean, School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

On November 29, Smith was part of a conversation on campus with Theoharis when they discussed selected clips from the documentary , which features Smith and is based on Theoharis’ research and  of the same name.

A prolific writer and publisher, Smith has edited three major collections about Black women: Conditions: Five, The Black Women’s Issue (with Lorraine Bethel, 1979); All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men, But Some of Us Are Brave: Black Women’s Studies (with Gloria T. Hull and Patricia Bell-Scott, 1982); and Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology (1983). She is also the co-author, with Elly Bulkin and Minnie Bruce Pratt, of Yours in Struggle: Three Feminist Perspectives on Anti-Semitism and Racism (1984). Smith is the general editor of The Reader’s Companion to U.S. Women’s History (with Wilma Mankiller, Gwendolyn Mink, Marysa Navarro, and Gloria Steinem, 1998). A collection of her essays, The Truth That Never Hurts: Writings on Race, Gender, and Freedom, was published by Rutgers University Press in 1998. Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around: Forty Years of Movement Building with Barbara Smith, edited by Alethia Jones and Virginia Eubanks with Barbara Smith, was published by SUNY Press in 2014.

The evening will also include mezzo-soprano Lucia Bradford and the Conservatory Singers, ������Ƶ’s select chamber ensemble, who will perform “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around.” The group will be conducted by Associate Professor/Director of Choral Studies , director of the New York Philharmonic Chorus.

This signature event will be held on Thursday, March 16, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Claire Tow Theater at ������Ƶ. It will also be livestreamed on the .

Highlights From the Hess Week Calendar, March 13–20

Full calendar and speakers

Barbara Smith—Hess Scholar-in-Residence Library Exhibit: An exhibit located in the main entrance of the ������Ƶ Library that will highlight the works and legacy of Barbara Smith. Archival material from the Robert L. Hess Collection will also be presented. Curated by Professor and Librarian Helen Georgas.

March 13, 11 a.m.–12:15 p.m.: President Anderson Welcomes 2022–23 Hess Scholar-in-Residence Barbara Smith Woody Tanger Auditorium, ������Ƶ Library, and on Zoom

March 13, 2:15–3:30 p.m.: “If Black women were free…”: The State of Black Feminism 2023 Woody Tanger Auditorium, ������Ƶ Library, and on Zoom

March 14, 2:15–3:45 p.m.: “Transforming the U.S. Academy” Woody Tanger Auditorium, ������Ƶ Library, and livestreamed on the .

March 15, 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m.: “Justice or Just Us?: Defining a Queer Agenda” Woody Tanger Auditorium, ������Ƶ Library, and livestreamed on the .

March 15, 3:40–4:55 p.m.: “Teaching as a Liberating Practice” Woody Tanger Auditorium, ������Ƶ Library, and livestreamed on the .

March 16, 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m.: “Working for Liberation and Having a Damn Good Time” Woody Tanger Auditorium, ������Ƶ Library, and livestreamed on the .

March 20, 6–7:15 p.m.: “Putting Class Back Into Intersectionality” Online via Zoom

About the Robert L. Hess Scholar-in-Residence Program

The Robert L. Hess Scholar-in-Residence Program, established by ������Ƶ, is supported by the Robert L. Hess Fund. The program serves as a permanent tribute to the scholarly commitment of Robert L. Hess, exemplified during his tenure as president of ������Ƶ. It represents the ideal of the educated individual—knowledgeable, thoughtful, inquiring, alive to the shared purposes and concerns linking all intellectual pursuits. More particularly, it evokes the scholarly and academic virtues embodied in the curriculum at ������Ƶ.

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Jeanne Theoharis

On November 29, from 2:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Smith will be part of a conversation on campus with ������Ƶ’s Distinguished Professor of Political Science Jeanne Theoharis. The pair will discuss selected clips from the documentary, “,” which features Smith and is also based on Theoharis’ research and book of the same name. Smith and Theoharis will explore Rosa Parks’ life of freedom fighting, how the many myths of Parks and the movement cloud our understandings of social change, the roles and experiences of women in the movement, and the lessons this history provides for the work of organizing and social justice today. After their conversation, there will be a Q&A period for students, staff, and faculty.

The event will be held in the library’s Woody Tanger Auditorium and will also be livestreamed on the Wolfe Institute’s YouTube channel. At the speaker’s request, masks are required for the in-person event. Room 441 in the library will also be open for guests to watch the lecture online.

You can watch the livestream of the event

To stream the documentary for free before the event, ������Ƶ students, faculty, and staff can email: wolfeinstitute@brooklyn.cuny.edu

More Hess Scholar-in-Residence lectures will be held in March 2023, and a complete schedule of events will be made available soon.

About the Robert L. Hess Scholar-in-Residence Program

The Robert L. Hess Scholar-in-Residence Program, established by ������Ƶ, is supported by the Robert L. Hess Fund. The program serves as a permanent tribute to the scholarly commitment of Robert L. Hess, exemplified during his tenure as president of ������Ƶ. It represents the ideal of the educated individual—knowledgeable, thoughtful, inquiring, alive to the shared purposes and concerns linking all intellectual pursuits. More particularly, it evokes the scholarly and academic virtues embodied in the curriculum at ������Ƶ.

Sponsors

Africana Studies Department; American Studies Program; Anthropology Department; Caribbean Studies Program; Classics Department; the Shirley Chisholm Project; Communications Arts, Sciences, and Disorders Department; English Department; Film Department; History Department; the Honors Academy; Judaic Studies Department; the LGBTQ Resource Center; Modern Languages and Literatures Department; Philosophy Department; Political Science Department; Puerto Rican and Latino Studies Department; Sociology Department; Women’s and Gender Studies Program; and the Women’s Center at ������Ƶ.

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Others join in, evolving the conversation into a deeper dive on various disasters and leading to a group recognition of the root causes: child marriage, poverty, and regime and climate change.

“When you first began to speak,” says Florence to the student, “you said, oh no, maybe I shouldn’t. But look at the space that has opened up. Look what we would have missed, if you hadn’t spoken up!”

Recognizing, negotiating, and envisioning intellectually empathic learning communities underpins the interdisciplinary program, both in its curriculum and pedagogy, and in the faculty’s scholarship and student engagement. The program offers some , from “,” “,” to “,” and “.” There are also classes that delve into ancient religious traditions and Chicana/Latin, European, Indian, and African communities across the globe.

Florence, a professor of secondary education whose own research explores the impact of formal and informal structures on self image and cultural identity, helmed the program just as the pandemic hit in 2020 and leads it against the backdrop of the #metoo movement, the “don’t say gay” agenda in Florida, the threat to abortion rights, and an uptick in the prominence of gender identity politics.

“Across the globe, many feel left out socially, economically, and politically by virtue of their race, gender, religion, sexuality, and nationality,” says Florence. “We are creating global citizens for an already globalized world.”

Teaching at such a diverse institution gives Florence a chance to engage in cross-cultural sensitivity and what she calls a “greater appreciation of alternative educational experiences.”

What follows are highlights from a conversation with eight students who are taking courses in Women’s and Gender Studies who discuss why they like the program, what issues most ignite action in them, and what they plan to do after they graduate.

Chadley Britton, Women’s and Gender Studies

Chadley Britton, Senior, Women’s and Gender Studies

Chadley Britton works with mental health programs for people of color and the queer community advocating for sex workers. She would also like to work with Black urban farmers, especially women. She has a friend who is the event coordinator for East New York Farms in Brownsville, which does a lot of community outreach, educational programming, and food advocacy.

“I’m looking forward to taking what I learned about food sovereignty, urban agriculture and herbal medicine and applying it to women’s spaces and programs for Black, Indigenous, and people of color,” she says.

Britton says that students should  talk to everyone: professors, department heads, guest speakers, and academic elders. “There is an entire community of people who want to help and uplift you. Professor Florence has been a guiding angel that way.”

Nitu Farhin, Macaulay’s Honors College

Nitu Farhin, Sophomore, Macaulay Honors College

Nitu Farhin is taking her first class, “Intro to Women’s and Gender Studies” during the summer semester. She ventured into the course because she hopes to attend medical school and become an OB-GYN.

“Without the background knowledge of the diverse experiences that different women undergo here, it’s difficult to become a good physician in a place like New York City,” she says. “You need to learn about and study people from diverse cultures and backgrounds to advocate for and treat them.”

Farhin is also interested in women’s health on a global level.

“Especially about the health issues that young women face because of cultural traditions, the stress of married life and pregnancy at young ages, having to spend their lives experiencing health issues as a result,” she says. “It hurts me to think about it.”

She would like to work for UNICEF and an organization called Girls, Not Brides.

Zahra Jamil, Macaulay Honors College, Chemistry

Zahra Jamil, Senior, Macaulay Honors College, Chemistry

Chemistry major Zahra Jamil was looking for a course outside of science when she found “Introduction to Women’s Studies,” where they discussed race, gender, and sex.

“We talked about body image and aging. We discussed how beauty in the media is often shown in such a way that the people viewing the images are not reflected in them,” she says. “I see so many brilliant and beautiful people and they all look different.”

One big takeaway from the many class discussions was “to be your own unique self, no matter what.”

Jamil says the program has also helped her learn more about what she wants for herself.

“No one asked me what I wanted in life. People told me what I should want. Yes, ask for opinions, but finally, make your own judgment. Listen with a smart head, make your own decisions,” she says.

As importantly, she believes the program is necessary to give her tools as she enters the world of medicine.

“We’re all going to go out into the world,” she says. “Some of us already are.”

Jaia Jones, Macaulay Honors College, Women’s and Gender Studies

Jaia Jones, Sophomore, Macaulay Honors College, Women’s and Gender Studies

Jaia Jones entered ������Ƶ with a view toward choosing a STEM major as part of her plan to attend medical school. Then a friend told her about Women’s and Gender Studies. It seemed interesting, and as she took a closer look, she realized that majoring in Women’s and Gender Studies would be crucial. “I want to get in tune with and understand women who deal with domestic violence,” says Jones. “I feel they lose their voices and their life’s path. They need to be reminded that they are still worth something. We need doctors out there who can understand them and empathize.”

Serving the marginalized and underserved is heavy on her mind. “All the women in my life who have passed who were important to me died from heart disease and cancer. You realize that only 2.7 percent of female physicians are Black,” says Jones. “The leading cause of death in women of color is heart disease and cancer.”

For Jones, the numbers do not add up. “I want to be a cardiac surgeon. We need doctors out there who can empathize.”

Megan Klein, Women’s and Gender Studies

Megan Klein ’22, Women’s and Gender Studies

Like several of those who gravitate to the program, Megan Klein had done some community service and was drawn to social work. She says that while learning about the feminist movement and women’s history, she learned much about herself and has a heightened awareness of issues surrounding the LGBTQ community.

“We legalized gay marriage and more and more people are identifying as trans and fluid gender,” she says. It wasn’t that way even in most of the last half the 20th century, yet we have this ‘don’t say gay,’ movement,” she says. “We still have work to do.”

When determining a career path, Klein says she learned the hard way, but others do not have to. “Don’t be scared, but think long and hard whether it is where you want to be five years or ten years in the future. Never stop learning. I still plan to study forensics one day.”

Alexander Lewis, Women’s and Gender Studies

Alexander Lewis ’22, Women’s and Gender Studies

Alexander Lewis joined the program because he wanted to help bring more awareness to the growing importance of feminist theories. He has conducted research on gender-fluid characters in American and Japanese comics and graphic novels.

“The program opened up an opportunity that I did not think would be possible, being able to study what was essentially a hobby in a way that is critical, seeing how representation can be done in those mediums,” he says. “Each course is so rich.”

Lewis says he would like to write graphic novels and urges those with the slightest interest in women and gender studies to go for it. He also says to make room for failures. “They are a part of life, but each time you overcome them, you get better.

Jayson (J.D.) Miller, Women’s and Gender Studies

Jayson (J.D.) Miller, Junior, Women’s and Gender Studies

Jayson Miller, who uses the they pronoun, came to ������Ƶ with a bachelor’s degree in social work from San Francisco State University that included a minor in LGBTQ studies, human sexuality and counseling. They also have a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University. When they looked to continue their education, they found ������Ƶ.

Having their identity and a variety of others represented in an academic setting was something new for Miller.

“We all have so many different parts that make us who we are, but to see some of who I am reflected in the people that are teaching me is great,” they say,

As an assistant director and founder of the Identity and Acceptance program at the NY Foundling, Miller works at undoing the damage done from transphobia, homophobia, racism, ableism and classism.

Mardzhona Odinaeva, Women’s and Gender Studies

Mardzhona Odinaeva ’22, Women’s and Gender Studies

Mardzhona Odinaeva is an immigrant from Tajikistan in central Asia. She says that her identity was shaped first as a daughter, then a wife, and then a mom. “I was never me,” she says. “I decided on Women’s and Gender Studies because I want to learn about myself.  If I go back to central Asia, how can I make it easier for other women there? How can I help them not to grow up to serve husbands and families only, but to be something for just themselves?”

Odinaeva, who is minoring in LGBTQ studies, recognizes the need to help those who are marginalized and bullied, a phenomenon she can hardly believe is happening in this day and age. “[In places in this country] If you are openly transgender, you are persecuted,” she says. She aims to work for an organization like the United Nations, helping young people globally.

The post A Generation of Artists, Activists, and Advocates Are Emerging From the Women’s and Gender Studies Program appeared first on ������Ƶ.

The ������Ƶ family was gifted an intimate look into the life journey of one of the greatest human rights activists of our time when 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Leymah Roberta Gbowee joined President Michelle J. Anderson for a special lecture in front of students, staff, and faculty in the Woody Tanger Auditorium on Apr. 8.

In a powerful, intimate, and honest discussion led by Anderson, Gbowee—who helped lead the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace that worked to end the 14-year civil war in Liberia—shared memories from various stages of her life that propelled her to become a global force who has worked for peace, human rights, and gender equality throughout her life.

Starting with her childhood, she emphasized the loving hometown she grew up in.

She provided an example of the strong community bond and dedication to learning by telling a story about how she walked from house to house with other children, forced to show their report cards to each neighbor. This dedication to learning was also instilled by her grandmother, a teacher, who Gbowee called her earliest feminist role model.

“I consider myself a daughter of the community, a daughter of the generosity of many people, and a daughter of many tribes,” Gbowee said. “But there was also a lot of love.”

As an older student, Gbowee said it was receiving an F on a paper written for a class in which she never spoke up that helped light a fire in her. After confronting the teacher, who had not read her paper due to her non-participation, the teacher took it home, read it, and gave her an A.

That life lesson taught Gbowee that no one would ever judge her on the basis of her silence.

“That was the beginning of finding my voice,” Gbowee explained.

When the discussion turned to the Liberian Civil War, Gbowee said the powerful forces that pulled apart the fabric of her once harmonious homeland, coupled with the violence against her fellow Liberians at the hands of the warlord Charles Taylor, spurred her to become an outspoken advocate for peace and human rights. This dedication to bringing harmony and security to troubled areas of the world has never been better illustrated than by her work in her home country, where she led a movement of Liberian women, both Muslim and Christian. Starting with seven and ending with thousands, and marching mostly dressed in white, they eventually ended a war.

Gbowee said the movement started with a dream for peace and was grounded by many philosophical principles she carries to this day, the most important of which was: “You can’t be a peace activist if you don’t know peace.”

Gbowee is also the founding head of the Liberian Reconciliation Initiative, a forum for the victims and perpetrators of human rights violations to bring about healing and produce a more accurate accounting of the country’s devastating civil war. Today, she is the executive director of Women Peace and Security Network Africa, established in Ghana in 2006 as a nongovernmental organization to advance women’s leadership in the governance of the continent’s peace and security.

During a Q&A session, acting student Nathaelle Denis asked Gbowee how she persevered through so many obstacles to find her own voice. Gbowee’s response was simple but strong: “I was down, down, down,” she said about earlier points in her life. “But you need to celebrate small victories. You need to appreciate the process, the journey, and yourself.”

When asked about being a leader, her response was equally thoughtful: “You need to be the first to arrive and the last to leave. You need to serve first and be the last to be served.”

When the questions turned to the current war raging in Ukraine, Gbowee shared one of her most poignant observations. Stating that peace is not solely about ending war, she added: “Peace is the presence of conditions that dignify all of us…You can have no war, but you can also not have peace… Work for peace in your own way.”

This event was co-sponsored by the Women’s Center, the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, the Department of Africana Studies, and the Department of History.

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Gbowee will discuss her life and activism on gender, law, transitional justice, reconstruction, and human rights and talk about her life as an activist whose leadership of a nonviolent women’s peace movement played a pivotal role in ending Liberia’s 14-year civil war.

“We are thrilled to have Leymah Gbowee on campus to allow our community to hear from one of the most important human rights leaders of our time,” said ������Ƶ President Michelle J. Anderson.

An unceasing champion of human rights and an advocate for peace, Gbowee is the founder and president of the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa, established in 2012 to provide quality education and leadership opportunities to women and youth as a path to economic security and peace.

Born in central Liberia in 1972, Gbowee was living with her family in the capital of Monrovia when the First Liberian Civil War broke out. The brutality that she witnessed against her fellow Liberians—particularly women and children—spurred her to train as a social worker specializing in trauma counseling. Gbowee’s dedication to bringing peace and security to troubled areas of the world has never been better illustrated than by her work in her home country, where she led a movement of Liberian women, both Muslim and Christian, to call for peace through nonviolent protest. The Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace played a crucial role in ending civil war in Liberia in 2003.

Gbowee was the founding head of the Liberian Reconciliation Initiative, a forum for the victims and perpetrators of human rights violations to bring about healing and produce a more accurate accounting of the country’s devastating civil war. Today, she is the executive director of , established in Ghana in 2006 as a nongovernmental organization to advance women’s leadership in the governance of the continent’s peace and security.

As an experienced social worker and women’s rights advocate, Gbowee has counseled refugees at the Ministry of Health Displaced Shelter and is the founding member and former Liberia coordinator of the . She served as a member of the High-Level Task Force for the International Conference on Population and Development and on the board of directors of the Nobel Women’s Initiative, the Federation of Liberian Youth, and the PeaceJam Foundation, a youth organization led by Nobel laureates to mentor future leaders in global peace. In addition, Gbowee is a member of the African Women Leaders Network for Reproductive Health and Family Planning and an Oxfam Global Ambassador.

In 2014, Gbowee received the Women’s Refugee Council’s Voices of Courage Award and in 2016, the Lifetime Africa Achievement Prize for Peace in Africa by the Millennium Excellence Foundation. In 2018, she was appointed to the Gender Equality Advisory Council for Canada’s G7 Presidency.

Gbowee holds a Master of Arts in conflict transformation from Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia and was a Distinguished Fellow in Social Justice at Barnard College from 2013 to 2015.

This event will be held on April 8 at 11 a.m. in the Woody Tanger Auditorium. It will also be livestreamed on the . It is co-sponsored by the Women’s Center, the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, the Department of Africana Studies, and the Department of History.

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