Did you miss our panel: Diaspora, Conflict Bodies, and the Power of Art? No worries! You can listen to the panel discussion on WGS’ podcast, WHAT IFF? The episode link is https://whatiff.buzzsprout.com/1962748/13814351
Tag Archives | women’s and gender studies
2023 HSS Scholar: Taylor McElwain
WGS is excited to share our HSS Scholars! 🎉 Our other scholar is Taylor McElwain!
The School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) Scholars Awards Ceremony is an annual event that celebrates the top two students in each of the 11 undergraduate major programs within HSS. Faculty, students, family and friends gather to celebrate our scholars – students who’ve achieved an exemplary academic performance during their time at the College of Charleston.
From Taylor:
Educational Highlights: During my time at the College, I was awarded the Outstanding First Year Writing Award for my essay on Iraqi refugees in Mosul. My most significant projects include research papers examining the differences in the use of sexual violence by militant groups, the implications of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda’s ruling that rape is a weapon of genocide, and how former colonial powers have enabled genocides in order to protect their economic interests. I’ve served as an intern for the nonprofits Enough Pie and the Charleston Climate Coalition as well as working as a research intern with the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre. Most recently, I worked as a refugee resettlement intern with Lutheran Services Carolinas. My poetry has been featured in the College’s literary magazine, Miscellany.
Research Focus: My research focuses include the use of sexual and gender-based violence as a weapon during times of conflict and genocide, as well as a focus on the field of genocide studies, with emphasis on the Biafran genocide, the Rwandan genocide, and the Holocaust.
Future Plans: I plan to work in victim advocacy and women’s empowerment. I’ve been looking at jobs in Ukraine that would allow me to use both my Russian and my expertise on issues of gendered violence.
What IFF?: Queering Trauma Recovery
A new episode of What IFF? is out! We are joined by two trauma-informed experts to break down the misconceptions about sexual assault, trauma recovery, and patterns of serial perpetration. Katie Mai, LMSW, is a therapist with the Sexual Assault Services program at MUSC. Lyn Maples is an outreach coordinator and victim advocate with Tri-County S.P.E.A.K.S.
Together, we analyze data on victimization to better understand what’s happening in our culture. Then, we use that knowledge to create supportive practices for survivor healing and improve educational tools to change social attitudes about gender-based violence.
To speak with a victim advocate, call the Tri-County S.P.E.A.K.S. 24-hour hotline at 843-745-0144 or the National Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE.
Music by Clean Mind Sounds
Podcast Producer: WGS student, Bria Ferguson
Alison Piepmeier Outstanding Student Award: Maddy Landa
Please join WGS in congratulating and celebrating Maddy Landa (she/her), who has been named the 2023 WGS South Alison Piepmeier Outstanding Student! Maddy is double majoring in Political Science and International Studies with minors in Women’s and Gender Studies and Spanish.
WGS South is a regional feminist organization that actively supports and promotes all aspects of women’s studies at every level of involvement (formerly SEWSA, the Southeastern Women’s Studies Assoc.). The Alison Piepmeier Outstanding student award is named after CofC’s beloved Alison, who was director of WGS for many years until her untimely death in 2016. Alison was “a fierce feminist, promoter of the field, and public intellectual; and a dedicated mentor. This award was created in gratitude and in honor of her memory.” (WGS South).
This award is intended to support the research and professional development or activism of undergraduate students. As a fearless activist and superb scholar herself, Maddy wrote a STELLA research proposal that earned her the award. She is working on a research project with Dr. Jordan Ragusa (Political Science) titled Gender, Race and Violent State Intervention. The project aims to apply an intersectional lens to the documented gender gap in support for violent state intervention on an international scale.
In nomination materials, WGS director, Dr. Kris De Welde, wrote, “Maddy is emblematic of the kind of student that honors Alison’s legacy. Maddy is a fierce activist, a generous colleague, and a whip smart scholar. All of her endeavors are squarely focused on identifying and resisting oppressions – from her on and off campus activism with Planned Parenthood Generation Action to her internship with our Gender and Sexuality Equity Center, her off-campus support of refugee resettlement and her diverse areas of research in and across WGS, Political Science, International Studies and Spanish. Maddy is truly a remarkable scholar-activist that is deserving of this recognition.”
Congratulations, Maddy! You have made us so proud!
Fall 2023 Course Brochure
NOTE: Download PDF for most up-to-date course offerings for Fall 2023
Need an advising appointment? Reach out to Dr. De Welde (deweldek@cofc.edu) or Dr. Ravalico (ravalicold@cofc.edu).
Gender Affirming Reproductive Healthcare For Faculty, Staff, & Community
WGS and our co-sponsors are delighted to announce a workshop hosted by Moss the Doula entitled: Gender Affirming Reproductive Healthcare For Faculty, Staff, & Community. This is a great learning resource for CofC faculty and staff as well as community members in the Charleston area.
Topics will include:
- Context for what trans & queer families experience on the perinatal journey
- Common use terms & definitions for trans identities & experiences
- Gender non-assuming language for gestation and birth related topics
- Best practices for adapting perinatal support practice to a gender affirming model
- Time and space to practice and ask questions
Moss Froom is a nonbinary birth worker and educator living in Baltimore, MD. Moss offers trans and queer centered support services for people at all stages of their reproductive and family building journeys, and teaches other birth workers and healthcare providers how to provide support that’s affirming and celebratory of trans and queer families.
Welcome Gathering for WGS Community Leader in Residence
Please stop by our welcome reception next Tuesday 2/28 to say hello to Mika Gadsden, our inaugural Community Leader in Residence. We will have light refreshments from 4:30-6pm. There will not be a formal program, just time and space to engage with each other and with Mika!
We hope you can join us.
WGS Intersections | The Ends of Rainbows
Join WGS and The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art for a panel discussion organized by the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at the College of Charleston around themes explored in Jovencio de la Paz: The Ends of Rainbows on Wednesday, February 8, 2023 at 6:00PM.
This event will take place in person with a virtual participation option at halsey.cofc.edu/live
The panel participants are selected by WGS and is comprised of:
Kris de Welde, Director and Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies
Sarah Schoemann, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science
Christina García, Assistant Professor, Department of Hispanic Studies
WGS Connect Issue 9
WGS is excited to share our next issue of our WGS Connect Newsletter! This issue features WGS’s podcast What IFF? that was launched by student Marissa Haynes, new faculty and affiliate faculty members (Cristina Dominguez and John Thomas), introducing WGS’s new Associate Director – Lauren Ravalico, REI reflections with WGS student Kristen Graham, and more!
We hope you enjoy this special issue! WGS is already outlining the next newsletter, and we cannot wait to share the next iteration of WGS Connect in the spring! In the meantime, be sure to check this blog site and our social media to keep up-to-date on Women’s and Gender Studies’ current events and spotlights.
WGS would also love to hear from you! Always feel free to reach out with ideas for the blog or newsletter. We embrace all things collaboratively produced and will continue to embody that philosophy in all that we do.
Use the button below to view this special digital PDF, complete with embedded links and lots of great info on WGS students, faculty, events, and more.
Ketner Scholarship Recipients for 2022-2023
WGS is excited to highlight the recipients of 2022-2023 Ketner-Crunelle LGBTQ+ Scholarship and Ketner Emerging Leaders Scholarship.
The Ketner-Crunelle LGBTQ+ Endowed Scholarship is the only one of its kind at the College of Charleston. It is offered to those who will contribute significantly in matters of concern to lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or queer persons, because they have worked to build coalitions that advance the full equality and dignity of LGBTQ+ persons, and because they are able to describe how they plan to help advance LGBTQ+ persons’ full equity, equality, and dignity during their time at the College of Charleston.
The Ketner Emerging Leaders Scholarship was established to reward students with a record of working to achieve social justice, to encourage students to become integrally involved in activities to promote social justice, and promote leadership that leads to social justice. The intent is to inspire and financially aid students who are actively engaged in creating and promoting social justice locally, nationally, and globally. It is the Donor’s wish that through this scholarship, and the experiences that recipients have at the College, that Ketner Emerging Leaders will be change agents who identify social problems and devise steps to ameliorate those problems. Ketner scholars are not simply volunteers. They are change agents that are committed to making a positive impact locally, nationally, and globally.
Scholarship applications are available from December 1st through February 8th every year. Learn how to apply through CofC’s Cougar Scholarship Awarding System (CSAS) here. Stay tuned for the 2022-2023 cohort announcement!