Women’s and Gender Studies had a packed 2023. The year was filled with events, celebrations, and community! Click on the arrows to view the slideshow of a recap of this years happenings.
2023 Year in Review
Archive | Uncategorized
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 Birth Work for CofC Students
WGS and our co-sponsors are delighted to announce a workshop hosted by Moss the Doula entitled: Gender Affirming Birth Work for CofC Students. This is a great learning resource for CofC students, and we hope to see you there!
Topics will include:
- Context for what trans & queer families experience on the perinatal journey
- Gender non-assuming language for gestation and birth related topics
- Creating a trans-affirming resources & referrals lists
- Supporting a client when they’re being misgendered
- Myths & misinformation about trans-specific reproductive issues
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 & Conversation with Moss the Doula
Please join WGS and our wonderful co-sponsors as we host a welcome gathering and conversation with special guest, Moss the Doula! This welcome event will take place Thursday, March 16th from 1:50PM – 4:15PM at Stern Center Ballroom located at 71 George St. Enjoy a casual discussion and Q & A with us.
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.
Annual Black History Month Lecture Presented By Dr. Tamika Y. Nunley, PH.D.
WGS is excited to be co-sponsoring the 3rd annual Black History Month lecturer, Dr. Tamika Nunley. Join the Department of History at College of Charleston and co-sponsors of this event on Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 5:30 p.m. in the Septima Clark Auditorium on the College of Charleston campus (ECTR 118, 25 St. Philip St). 🤩
Tamika Nunley is Associate Professor of History at Cornell University. Her first book, At the Threshold of Liberty: Women, Slavery, and Shifting Identities in Washington, D.C. (University of North Carolina Press, 2021) reveals how African American women—enslaved, fugitive, and free—imagined new identities and lives beyond the oppressive restrictions intended to prevent them from experiencing liberty, self-respect, and power. Nunley traces how black women navigated social and legal proscriptions to develop their own ideas about liberty as they escaped from slavery, initiated freedom suits, created entrepreneurial economies, pursued education, and participated in political work. In telling these stories, Nunley places black women at the vanguard of the history of Washington D.C., and illuminates how they contributed to the momentous transformations of nineteenth-century America. This book was named the 2021 Letitia Woods Brown Book prize winner for best book in African American women’s history and the 2021 Pauli Murray Book prize winner for best book in Black intellectual history. Nunley is currently finishing a second book, The Demands of Justice: Enslaved Women, Capital Crime, and Clemency in Early Virginia, 1662-1865 with the University of North Carolina Press.
This lecture is co-sponsored by the African American Studies Program, the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, Carolina Lowcountry and Atlantic World, Center for Public Choice and Market Process, Center for the Study of Slavery in Charleston, Department of Political Science, Office of Institutional Diversity, and the Women’s and Gender Studies Program. Registration is not required.
If you would like to pre-register for the lecture, you may do so here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/black-womens-history-as-american-history-with-tamika-nunley-tickets-514881984877?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
Pumpkins & Pronouns
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.
What IFF?: Transvisibility with Denver Tanner
In spring 2022, student, Marissa Haynes (she/her), launched a new podcast in conjunction with WGS. What IFF? is dedicated to sparking discussion about making change in our campus community and beyond by centering intersectional feminist thought and uplifting members of our community who are actively moving toward justice, and inspiring those of us who want to learn more. 
Today we’re revisiting What IFF?’s initial episode where Marissa interviews fellow CofC student, Denver Tanner (they/them). They discuss activism, trans rights and mental health, and so much more. Read a brief excerpt from the episode, and click over to What IFF? to listen to the entire interview!
Excerpt from What IFF?, episode 1 – Transvisibility with Denver Tanner:
MH: How do you feel like the classes that you’ve taken, or the work that you’ve done has prepared you for the life that you dream of?
DT: I think it definitely has . The College has provided me so many great opportunities. I’m actually this year, joining the gardening club, so we’re circling back to the learning how to grow your own food with that one. But academically, one of my favorite projects was my anarchy capstone with Dr. McGinnis for my political science end of the year project. I wrote a thesis paper called Be Gay, Do Crime: An Analysis of Queer Anarchy.
MH: Okay, wow, love that. Queer anarchy? Can you expand on that.
DT: Yes, definitely. So, queer anarchy is, in essence, studying how your identity as a gay person or a trans person, is an act of rebellion against the state. So, for example, in my research for this paper, I learned that the City of Charleston, back in the seventeenth century, used to outlaw dressing of an opposite sex, which obviously is transphobic inherently but even racist as it dates back to origins and not allowing people of a different socioeconomic class to dress as if they were wealthier.
MH: Wow! I love that, too, because what you’re talking about is that this innate just being and walking in life is activism, right? Like, walking and existing as a queer person. That in and of itself is activism. I wanted to ask you: What does it mean to be an activist? What does it take to be an activist?
DT: What a great question! Because if you asked me that a couple weeks ago I would have said, “Oh, I don’t know. I’m not an activist.” But now that I sit here and have this dialogue with you and think about my college experiences and what motivates me every day. I realize: to be an activist, you really just have to care about something. You have to have an identity with something and a passion. And I think activism is much simpler than we perceive it to be, and it really can be a part of your everyday life, just like Women’s and Gender Studies.
Sexualities and Queer Studies Courses in WGS!
In honor of LGBTQ History Month, we’ve created a special video about our course offerings in Sexualities and Queer Studies . Hear about these courses from the professors themselves!
Come out on October 11th to the Barnet Courtyard for a celebration of LGBTQ History Month and National Coming Out Day!
Spring 2022 WGS Course List
Explore our spring 2022 course options below!
Need an advising appointment? Reach out to Dr. De Welde (deweldek@cofc.edu) or Dr. Curtis (curtisc@cofc.edu).