Author Archive | thomaspr

Queer & Trans Studies

By thomaspr on November 10, 2022 in WGS Curriculum

This course offers a selective, interdisciplinary introduction to queer and trans studies within LGBTQ+ studies. Students will explore trans and queer history; theoretical and conceptual writing; auto-ethnography and ethnography; autobiography, memoir, creative writing, film/tv and art; political writing and documentaries. Drawing on the #TransJustice Syllabus and other sources, some focal areas of this course are QTBIPOC (queer and trans Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and white anti-racist accomplice theorizing and feminisms, bodies and health, family and community building, nationalism and migration, criminalization and abolition, and, social justice organizing/movement work. Guiding questions that we will ask ourselves in this course include the following: What are some central concerns for queer and trans peoples/communities? How are visibility, representation, and inclusion problematic? and lastly, What do historic and contemporary trans and queer lived experiences and perspectives teach us all (those of us who are queer and trans and those of us who are not) about resistance, resilience, and futurity?

WGST 321.01

CRN 23237

Mondays, 4-6:45PM

Prof. Cristina Dominguez (They/Them)

Artwork by the amazing and fabulous Art Twink!

Intersections of Spirituality, Anti-Racism, Social Justice, & Practice

By thomaspr on November 10, 2022 in WGS Curriculum

Enroll in Intersections of Spirituality, Anti-Racism, Social Justice, & Practice!

This course explores dimensions of spirituality and healing in relationship with how we collectively meet the challenges of these times. Rethinking what it means to act for change, students will consider the limitations of modernity to determine how a relational approach to social transformation may be generative.

WGS 323.02

CRN 23244

TR 9:25-10:40

Prof. Dru McDaniel (She/Her)

Abolition Feminism(s)

By thomaspr on November 10, 2022 in WGS Curriculum

WGS is offering another great option for a special topics course in the spring: Abolition Feminism(s)!

As feminists around the world call for an end to police violence and gendered criminalization, their resistance could be understood as the formation of what W.E.B. Du Bois called abolition democracy. Through the lens of intersectional feminism, and the pedagogy of facilitated dialogue, this course will allow us to liberate ourselves from carceral ways of being and to imagine a world without prisons. We will witness the deeply intertwined Indigenous feminist demands for land sovereignty and an end to climate catastrophe, alongside the radical re-imagining of public safety and an end to the prison industrial complex. We will analyze movements to abolish slavery, lynching, Jim Crow segregation, mass incarceration, police brutality, abortion bans and other mechanisms of violence, containment, and forced assimilation. And we will uplift the work of survivors and organizers who are dismantling hetero-patriarchal domination, racial capitalism, and settler colonialism to build new arrangements for care and healing.

WGST 321.02
CRN 23238
Thursdays, 4-6:45PM (online synchronous)
Prof. Kristi “Kaj” Brian (She/They)

Cristina Dominguez Featured on The College Today!

By thomaspr on October 31, 2022 in Announcements, WGS Faculty & Affiliated Faculty

New WGS faculty member, Cristina Dominguez (they/them) is featured on The College Today, CofC’s information platform for campus news. Read more at The College Today – here – or the full Q&A below!

Cristina Maria Dominguez Assistant Professor, Women’s and Gender Studies

Background: While I was born and spent the first 15 years of my life in New Jersey, I came of age, came out, into consciousness and community, in North Carolina. I have my M.A. in women’s and gender studies from San Diego State University and just completed my Ph.D. in educational studies with a concentration in cultural foundations from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Over the past decade, I have engaged in intersectional, critical, queer social justice education and action work through teaching undergraduate women’s and gender studies and education courses, and engaging in campus and community education and grassroots social justice organizing work.

Expertise: My areas of expertise and research interests include qualitative, auto-ethnographic, CAP ethnographic and post-qualitative research with a focus on liberatory pedagogies, critical community building and everyday, relational social justice work specifically within queer love, friendship, kinship/chosen family relationships.

Outside Interests: I enjoy spending time with my partner, our little one and our pups, especially outside when the weather is nice. I love to talk and connect with my chosen family, friends and given family however I can. I’m a fan of watching and critiquing TV/movies and talking pop culture and politics with loved ones who share my critical/queer analysis. I love to read creative nonfiction, poetry and fiction alongside articles, studies and research texts. I also love dancing and listening to music.

Looking Forward: The most exciting thing about the courses that I’ll teach at CofC is that, in both content and practice, they will be grounded in liberatory, intersectional, feminist, queer education that centers on the embodied, creative and relational. I’m excited to take up teaching and learning in ways that moves us toward interconnectedness and fosters collaboration with each other as well as the communities we are a part of.

Latin American Feminists & Human Rights

By thomaspr on October 26, 2022 in WGS Curriculum

Interested in Latin American feminist and human rights movements? Of course you are! Learn more about this topic by registering for WGS’ special topics course in the spring.

International human rights are designed based on the ideology that all people deserve basic rights because of their shared humanity. However, Latin American feminists commonly argue that the international human rights processes are rife with inequalities at the local, transnational, and global levels, are not effectively enforced, are resources for Western imperialism, and are Western and male centric. This class problematizes human rights failures. In particular, the class explores how human rights treaties and operations (in their present form) cannot adequately address the complexity of lived experiences, diversity, and intersectionality. This course documents how feminists throughout Latin America have mobilized against colonialism, poverty, gender discrimination, and other inequalities by engaging in domestic as well as transnational activism around international human rights. Latin American feminists have unrelentingly promoted equality and are transforming how human rights are understood throughout Latin America and the world.

Spring 2023 WGS Course List

By thomaspr on October 24, 2022 in Announcements, WGS Curriculum

WGS Spring 2023 Course Brochure

Need an advising appointment? Reach out to Dr. De Welde (deweldek@cofc.edu) or Dr. Ravalico (ravalicold@cofc.edu).

Pumpkins & Pronouns

By thomaspr on October 5, 2022 in Uncategorized

Celebrate International Pronouns Day 2022 with us! Community, candy, and crafts for all!

A previous year’s blog post included some slides to help folx learn more about what pronouns are, how they’re used, and why they’re important. View that post here: https://blogs.cofc.edu/wgsconnect/2020/10/21/pronouns-day-2020/.

From the International Pronouns Day website:

International Pronouns Day seeks to make respecting, sharing, and educating about personal pronouns commonplace.

Referring to people by the pronouns they determine for themselves is basic to human dignity. Being referred to by the wrong pronouns particularly affects transgender and gender nonconforming people. Together, we can transform society to celebrate people’s multiple, intersecting identities.

Interested in participating? Glean some ideas from International Pronouns Day. Some of our favorite ideas and tips include:

Use the #PronounsDay hashtag on social media posts
Remember to center the voices of trans folks, including trans folks, women, people of color, etc.
Invite members of the community to individually share resources and thoughts on social media about the importance of using the correct pronouns for people.
Post your own pronouns on social media.
Create a poster campaign on your campus or at your workplace, with educational messages.

Yes! I’m a Feminist. is Back

By thomaspr on October 4, 2022 in Announcements, Yes! I’m a Feminist

“Yes! I’m a Feminist.” is celebrating 10 years as an annual event and fundraiser organized by the WGS Community Advisory Board in support of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at The College of Charleston.

Today through Friday, November 4th – we are campaigning for feminist futures and a more just world for all! Donate and/or register to attend the event here: https://bit.ly/3RxqQgK

Why WGS? Info Session

By thomaspr on September 26, 2022 in Announcements

Learn more about Women’s & Gender Studies!

Join us for an info session on courses, co-curricular opportunities, grad programs, career paths, & ways WGS can enhance a wide variety of career goals!

Wednesday, September 28

Stern Center, Room 205

4:00PM-5:00PM

Welcome Gathering for Dr. Cristina Dominguez

By thomaspr on September 1, 2022 in

Join the WGS program as we welcome our new faculty member, Dr. Cristina Dominguez! Students, staff, and faculty are invited to gather with us to welcome Dr. Dominguez on Wednesday, September 14 at 7 College Way from 12PM-1PM. Light snacks and drinks will be served. Come and go as you are able!

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