Members of the women’s and gender studies program will be in the spotlight as their ongoing research will go on public display for Friday’s open house in celebration of the department’s 25th anniversary.
The open house will be from 1:30-4 p.m. in room 435 of the Liberal Arts and Humanities Building and will feature research from faculty members, undergraduate and graduate students.
Some projects on display, including senior philosophy major Desirae Embree’s, cover topics beyond the traditional boundaries of gender-related issues.
Embree said she will showcase her most recent research on the experiences of Holocaust survivors and how their accounts of suffering can change the way we think about the self. She said her background in women’s and gender studies helped develop the methodology and theory of her research.
“While not directly related to women’s and gender studies, my research is heavily influenced by the analytic methodology that I’ve learned from feminist theory, which is why I think the open house is important,” Embree said. “It shows that women’s and gender studies has applicability beyond topics like gender and sexuality. The tools that it has developed are helpful for looking at all sorts of things, including the topics I’m researching.”
The open house will give women’s and gender studies students and faculty a chance to claim credit for the work done through the program.
Michael Gonzales, senior English major, said the event gives him a chance to display research he has been working on since summer, and potentially attract interest in the process.
“Much of the recent scholarship in the humanities is pursued through the lenses of genders, various feminisms and sexualities, so an open house and its displays that might lure more students into the program is important,” Gonzales said. “Students working in the humanities today need to have a working knowledge of the issues and theories examined in women’s and gender studies courses.”
Gonzales said the open house will raise awareness for the program, which he said is not well known among the general A&M student body.
“Hopefully it can attract students working outside of the humanities as well, for gender and sexuality and their intersections with race and a host of other identities,” Gonzales said. “Everything examined in women’s and gender studies courses is an important part of everyday life and becoming educated about, and conscious of, these issues is an important part of becoming an educated citizen.”
Claire Katz, event organizer and director of the women’s and gender studies program, said all who are interested are invited to come learn more about the program while taking part in the celebration.
“We are hoping to show the accomplishments, both teaching and research, of our faculty and students,” Katz said.