Acting Chair, Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies
Vivyan Adair
Vivyan Adair’s research interests are representations of women on welfare, and the impact of welfare reform, education and policy.
Women's and Gender Studies
The department provides an interdisciplinary and transnational analysis of the historical, theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of women and gender. Innovative teaching and research experiences help students analyze social and cultural differences, transform their understanding of traditional areas of study and develop their ability to interact with the world in personal and intellectual ways.
About the Major
Women’s and gender studies will provide you with a powerful perspective on cultural and world history by putting women at the center of its analysis. You may be inspired to pursue a grant to conduct summer research with a professor. Women’s and gender studies students at Hamilton have, for instance, researched women day laborers, feminism and sexual assault on college campuses and the identities of contemporary Cuban women.
It isn’t easy to be a women’s studies major because it forces you to acknowledge both the privileges that you have and the privileges that are denied to you in life. Once your eyes are opened to those things you can’t really continue along in blissful ignorance. But it’s also incredibly powerful because you have a much more nuanced understanding of the world and, I believe, a much more compassionate way of approaching people and life.
Danielle Burby — Women's studies major
Women’s and gender studies at Hamilton certainly is not for women only. It is not even exclusively about women. Who are we as individuals and as members of a society? Who shapes those identities, and how? How do gender, power, race and class affect the interactions of women and men? These are issues that every thoughtful person must address. Above all, women’s studies is about personal and intellectual growth.
Careers After Hamilton
- Director of Operations, Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston
- Program Officer, Building Movements, Ms. Foundation for Women
- Nurse Midwife, URMC Midwifery Group
- 4th Grade Teacher, The IDEAL School of Manhattan
- Attorney, Laskoff & Associates
- Mental Health Counselor/Play Therapist, Integrative Counseling Services
- Physician, Rhode Island Hospital
Meet Our Faculty
Visiting Assistant Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies
Joyce Barry
Joyce Barry examines connections between gender and environmental justice thought and praxis.
the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies
Margaret Gentry
Margaret Gentry’s interests include widowhood, women and aging, and marriage and family life.
Chair, Associate Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies
Anne Lacsamana
Anne E. Lacsamana specializes in transnational feminist theory with particular attention to women’s labor and the political economy.
Elihu Root Postdoctoral Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor Women’s and Gender Studies
Stina Soderling
Soderling’s main area of research is rural queer studies.
A Sampling of Courses
Women and Madness 190
Examination of historical, cultural, literary, artistic and psychological constructions and representations of women as “mad.” Uses feminist sociopolitical perspectives to explore how these representations are connected to topics such as anger, violence, sexuality, race, class, conformity and resistance to female roles, and the psychiatric and psychological communities.
View All CoursesIntroduction to Feminist Thought 201S
An interdisciplinary examination of the history and contemporary practice of feminist thought. Topics include the history of feminist thought in Western culture, the broadening and complication of that canon to include examinations of race, class, gender, sexuality, ableism and ageism, and the implications of global feminist thought. Writing-intensive.
View All CoursesWomen, Law, Public Policy and Activism in the Contemporary United States 225S
An examination of feminist analysis of legislation and legal theory; public, educational and social policy; and legal/policy activism in the U.S. Opportunity for law or public policy research and/or internship in area. Writing-intensive.
View All CoursesThe Straight Story?: Rethinking the Romance 278
A study of the ways in which various forms of sexual desire (overt or closeted) drive the plot of literary works. How is desire constructed? How have authors used, manipulated and resisted the marriage plot for aesthetic and political ends? Special attention to works by gay and lesbian authors. Readings, which include works of theory as well as imaginative texts, to include such authors as Austen, Diderot, Balzac, Zola, Wilde, Baldwin.
View All CoursesFeminist Methodological Perspectives 301F
An interdisciplinary exploration of feminist methods of social analysis. Emphasis on how feminist inquiry has transformed how we think about and study gender in the sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities. Writing-intensive.
View All CoursesKitchen Culture: Women, Gender and the Politics of Food 334S
A cultural studies examination of women’s long-standing association with the private space of the home, in particular the kitchen, and the production and consumption of food. Grounded by feminist theoretical discussions of domesticity, the class analyzes how notions of family, community and cultural practices connected to food are differentiated by race, class, ethnicity and nationality.
View All CoursesToday and Tomorrow
Research and Discovery
Exploring Colorism in the Latinx Community
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