Recently Gender and Women’s Studies proudly celebrated our 50th anniversary as a department here at UW Madison. Over a few exciting days, students, faculty, staff, and alumni came together to share in the memories of critical program building, feminist thought, and the potential of a degree in GWS. From a profoundly moving panel of Teaching …
Hello dear GWS and LGBTQ+ Studies Alumni, As I write this, it is a stunning fall day here in Wisconsin. The wind is encouraging the remaining leaves to loosen their grip from the trees, fall to the now-dormant grass, and curl up for the winter. The smell of late autumn is in the air. We …
“We are the storm…We are the light and the lightning and the boom back and the thundercloud. We are the storm”— Dr. Brittney Cooper In delivering Saturday’s keynote address on the 50th anniversary of the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies, Dr. Brittney Cooper gave a powerful speech. After being introduced by Professor Nicholas Syrett, …
Dear Alumnae/i and Friends: I write to you from the Gender and Women’s Studies Chair’s Office in Sterling Hall, an office I have now occupied for not quite three months. Let me first introduce myself: my name is Nick Syrett and I am new both to being chair of GWS and to the University of …
Rodlyn-mae Banting (they/them) is a Filipino American poet, journalist, and cultural critic writing at the intersections of the arts, race, gender, and empire. They graduated with an MA in Gender & Women’s Studies from UW-Madison in 2022. They also earned a BA in English & Writing with a minor in Gender & Sexuality Studies from …
Dear Gender and Women’s Studies Community, At our recent commencement event, I chatted with our graduating students about their experiences in our department. They praised individual instructors and the department for providing life-changing instruction and encouraging personal and intellectual exploration. They beamed as they recounted illuminating moments and empowering achievements, and they were eager to …
Happy Almost Summer, GWS and LGBTQ+ Studies Alumni! Writing this on Tuesday, May 6th, I am filled with gratitude in this moment, relaxing in my big, comfy chair, having given a talk about my book, Digital Girlhoods (2025), earlier this evening to a room filled with wonderful humans at the wonderful A Room of One’s …
Summer Herrmann graduated from UW Madison in 2021 with a BA in Sociology and Gender & Women’s Studies. Post graduation, Summer did a variety of jobs, including as an Administrative Accounting Assistant for an elevator company and a Supporting Educator/Continued Care Coordinator for a school. Currently, Summer works as an Overnight Shelter Advocate at DAIS …
Marlena G. Holden (she/her) graduated with a double major in English and Gender and Women’s Studies in 2000 and was a Powers-Knapp and Chancellor’s Scholar. She received her Master’s degree in Women’s Studies from The Ohio State University (’02), where she focused on feminist film theory. She is the Director of Brand & Communications at …
Dear Gender and Women’s Studies Community, It is a profoundly challenging and demoralizing moment as the Gender and Women’s Studies community, and the values we affirm, are under attack. But our community is wide and deep. Let us stand together at this difficult time. While 2025 has started off as a wildly challenging year, 2025 …