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National Women's Studies Association letter on Charlottesville:  
 

The National Women's Studies Association denounces the actions of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend that terrorized that community and shocked the entire country. We further condemn the actions of James Alex Fields, Jr., who drove into a crowd of counter-protestors killing 32-year old Heather Heyer and injuring at least 19 others, and the stick-wielding vigilantes that viscously attacked and beat a young Black man, De’Andre Harris in a nearby parking structure. 

White supremacy and fascism have always been intricately connected with misogyny, patriarchy, transphobia, homophobia, ableism, and settler-colonial logics. This fact is evidenced both by the make up of those who rallied last weekend—primarily young, white, able-bodied, cisgender men—and the messages promoted at the rally and by those supporting it, which included anti-woman and anti-LGBT slogans and statements. The NWSA believes that ending white supremacy is a primary feminist political objective. The Combahee River Collective, whose 40th anniversary we will honor at our annual conference in November, wrote in their famous Black Feminist Statement in 1977: “we are actively committed to struggling against racial, sexual, heterosexual, and class oppression and see as our particular task the development of an integrated analysis and practice based upon the fact that the major systems of oppression are interlocking.” That commitment remains just as vital today.

We praise cities such as Baltimore, where our convention will be held this year, for tearing down statues honoring leaders of the confederacy as an important symbolic gesture to denounce white supremacist monuments in the United States that pay homage to pro-slavery ideas and the defenders of slavery. However, symbolic gestures are not enough. The present legacy of white supremacy and the Confederate and U.S. commitment to the system of chattel slavery remains alive and well in the existence of the prison industrial complex. The 13th amendment of the U.S. constitution essentially allows legal slavery inside prisons. Those prisons are predominately populated by African Americans and other people of color, and a steady increase in the number of incarcerated women. Without material steps to end that system, white supremacy and the misogyny, transphobia, homophobia, ableism, class exploitation, and settler-colonial logics it engenders will continue. The NWSA sends condolences to the families and communities of the most recent victims of white supremacist violence in Charlottesville and affirms its commitment to feminist values that see the end to white supremacy as a top priority.

We know that white supremacists seek to instill fear and leverage power using harassment, violence, and the threat of violence.  We encourage NWSA members to join together and raise their voices in the wake of these threats even as we recognize that some of our members face greater risk than others in speaking out.  We know that intersectional feminist analyses offer the frameworks our campuses and communities need to challenge white supremacist ideologies. We applaud our colleagues at University of Virginia and their courageous students who spoke truth in the face of violence when a hateful mob of fascists marched through their campus bearing torches, shouting Nazi slogans and attacking students.

We know that our members embrace our mission to promote a more just world in which all persons can develop to their fullest potential—one free from racist ideologies, systems of privilege or structures that oppress or exploit some for the advantage of others.  Now more than ever we need to recommit ourselves to this vision and engage in meaningful actions that can advance our goals. 

Barbara Ransby, President
Elora Halim Chowdhury, Vice President
Karma Chávez, Treasurer
Carrie Baker, Secretary
Vivian M. May, Past President 

 

* What history can teach us:  This video is from 1943 and has remarkable relevance for today's world:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k0971Hy5eo
 

*  Dr. Cristina Alcalde was awarded the inaugural Marie Rich Endowed Professorship from the College of Arts and Sciences. Dean Mark Kornbluh recognized Dr. Alcalde at the College of Arts and Science’s Hall of Fame awards ceremony. Afterward, they enjoyed a reception with Mr. Robert E. Rich, whose family created the professorship to honor his grandmother’s long legacy of community work and dedication to home and family. Ms. Rich, or “Aunt Ree” as she was lovingly called, lived to be more than 100 years old and remained civically engaged well into her last years. A leading scholar of transnationalism, violence, and migration, Dr. Alcalde has a robust research profile that honors Ms. Rich’s interest in Peru as well as her overarching commitment to social harmony.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Dr. Ellen Riggle was awarded the 2017 William B. Sturgill Award for outstanding contributions to graduate education in Political Science and Gender and Women’s Studies. In a ceremony on April 25th in the Gatton School of Business and Economics, representatives from the Graduate Council heralded Professor Riggle’s exemplary work. They said, “She embodies all of the characteristics that make UK proud of the faculty – she is an outstanding teacher; a valued colleague and citizen of her department, college, and campus; a well-respected researcher; and, most importantly for the Sturgill Award, an exemplary mentor to graduate students.” We in GWS are proud that this university-wide prize was awarded to Dr. Riggle, a constant advocate of graduate students and of our PhD program in Gender and Women’s Studies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Dr. Susan Bordo recently celebrated the publication of her sixth book, The Destruction of Hillary Clinton. Released to wide acclaim, Dr. Bordo has completed speaking engagements about the book at Purdue University, in Washington D.C., and in New York City with author and friend Katha Pollitt. Called “...a fascinating take on the painfully long campaign and how the political upset happened” by Bustle, Dr. Bordo’s work is an “...in-depth look at the political forces and media culture that vilified and ultimately brought down Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential campaign.” The book was also recently spotted on singer Katy Perry’s instagram feed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Dr. Melissa Stein recently celebrated a promotion from assistant professor to associate professor with tenure. Her first book, Measuring Manhood: Race and the Science of Masculinity, 1830–1934, published by the University of Minnesota Press, received swift and unanimous acclaim from scholars in the field of feminist science studies, medical history, American history, and sexuality studies. According to Anne Fausto-Sterling, Measuring Manhood is "the first in-depth scholarly exploration of just how the history of racial science, sexual science (including scientific accounts of gender and human sexuality), and citizenship intertwined and mutually constituted each other over the course of a tumultuous century in American history." Within the department, Dr. Stein has most recently served as a supportive and enthusiastic teaching assistant coordinator. Congratulations, Dr. Stein!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Congratulations to Chamara Kwakye for recognition of her work at the William Wells Brown Community Center:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*GWS graduate students Shawna Felkins and MaryAnn Kozlowski recently presented at the Southern Feminisms Conference at Arkansas State University.