Advisers: Jigna Desai and Richa Nagar

University of Minnesota Department of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies

Feminist doctoral program

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

PhD IN FEMINIST STUDIES The Ph.D. program in Feminist Studies is designed to help students develop a high level of competence in feminist theories, interdisciplinary methods and methodologies, feminist epistemology and feminist pedagogies.

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

UNIQUE EXPERIENCE

Interdisciplinary research training  Possibilities for collaboration  Feminist pedagogy  Public engagement  Departmental governance  Close mentoring  Graduate conference travel funding 

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

Intellectual concentrations Women of color feminism  Transnational feminism and queer studies  Critical sexuality and queer studies  Feminist science, environmental, health, and disability studies 

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

Curriculum Our

interdisciplinary curriculum emphasizes the interaction of social conditions such as class, ethnicity, race, sexualities, and national identity with gender. These interactions and their effects are examined in cultural productions such as media representations or colonialist paradigms in social systems and relations of power; in aspects of science such as genetics and new technologies; in epistemologies and philosophy; and in professional areas such as health care to public policy. 

We have a twofold commitment to develop scholars who will:Advance interdisciplinary feminist research; and integrate an interdisciplinary feminist perspective into disciplinary research

We • • • • •

have a wide variety of courses that includes: Transnational feminism Social movements Critical sexualities Environmental justice Intersections of race, ethnicity, and nationalism http://www.gwss.umn.edu

Course requirements 

 

  

Required Core Courses (12 credits) ◦ GWSS 8107 Feminist Pedagogies (3 cr) ◦ GWSS 8108 Genealogies of Feminist Theory (3 cr) ◦ GWSS 8109 Feminist Knowledge Production (3 cr) ◦ GWSS 8997 Feminist Research and Writing ( 3 cr) Colloquia Credits (4 credits) ◦ Feminist Studies Colloquium (1 cr, 4 semesters) GWSS Seminars (6 credits, choose from two) ◦ GWSS 8210 Feminist Theory and Praxis (3 cr) ◦ GWSS 8220 Science, Technology, and Environmental Justice (3 cr) ◦ GWSS 8230 Cultural Criticism and Media Studies (3 cr) ◦ GWSS 8240 Transnational, Postcolonial, Diaspora (3 cr) ◦ GWSS 8250 Nation, State, Citizenship (3 cr) ◦ GWSS 8260 Race, Representation, and Resistance (3 cr) ◦ GWSS 8270 Theories of Body (3 cr) ◦ GWSS 8280 Critical Sexuality Studies (3 cr) Research Methods and Tools (6 credits) Minor/External Supporting Program (12 credits taken in other departments or as part of a minor in another graduate program) Doctoral Thesis Credits (24 credits taken to support progress towards degree milestones http://www.gwss.umn.edu

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

I pursued the FEST Ph.D. because of the long history of advanced feminist research at the U. Moreover, I was drawn in by the strong interdisciplinary nature of the program and the faculty’s diverse academic endeavors. GWSS is absolutely the right “home” for my graduate career because of the support I receive for my own interdisciplinary project. I also cherish the small size of our department because of how it fosters close and personal intellectual relationships with my peers.

While I didn’t think of it when applying, I am now grateful for the amazing opportunities we have in GWSS to teach and develop our own pedagogical practices and philosophies. I am certain I will leave this program as strong and educator as I am and academic. – Angela Carter, PhD candidate (queer studies and disability studies) http://www.gwss.umn.edu

Ananya Dance Theater Ananya Chatterjea (Dance and GWSS)

Over eighty affiliate faculty from over 30 different programs, departments, colleges and institutes at the University.

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

The feminist studies doctoral program at the University of Minnesota is distinctive for the diversity of student research interests that faculty, staff, and fellow grad students support with enthusiasm.To me, this demonstrates our program’s refreshing, forward thinking and inclusive stance on the breadth of pursuits considered constitutive of feminist studies. – Michelle Garvey, PhD candidate (environmental feminist and justice)

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

Programming   

 

Colloquium series Journal Club Graduate group on sexuality studies Graduate group on critical race studies Pedagogy Workshops

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

Funding Five years of funding  Eligible for departmental, collegiate, and university-wide fellowships  Teaching assistantships as graders and/or instructors  Research assistantships  Summer funding opportunities available 

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

Strong record of placement Twenty two students have completed the doctoral program since its inception in 1998 Many have been placed in tenure track positions, postdoctoral fellowships, and visiting professor positions

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

2013 Dissertation Titles

Charlotte Karem Albrecht: "Peddling Arab American Histories: Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Early Syrian American Communities.'" Adviser: Jigna Desai. Diane Detournay: "The Encounter Between Feminism and Liberalism: An Itinerary of 'Woman.'" Advisers: Jigna Desai and Richa Nagar. Aniruddha Dutta: "Globalizing through the Vernacular: Gender/sexual Transnationalism and the Making of Sexual Minorities in Eastern India." Advisers: Jigna Desai and Richa Nagar. Xiumei Pu: "Imagining the Decolonial Spirit: Ecowomanist Literature and Criticism in the Chinese Diaspora." Adviser: Edén Torres. http://www.gwss.umn.edu

DR. CHARLOTTE ALBRECHT

Postdoctoral Fellow – Denison University

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

DR. ANIRUDDHA DUTTA

Assistant Professor – University of Iowa

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

DR. XIUMEI PU

Visiting Assistant Professor – University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

DR. DIANE DETOURNAY

Postdoctoral Fellow– University of Western Cape, South Africa

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

2012 Dissertation Titles

Patricia Connolly: "Staging Cross-Border (Reading) Alliances: Feminist Testimonials at Work." Advisers: Amy Kaminsky and Richa Nagar. Jessica Giusti : "Burlesque Female Behemoths": Transgressions of Fat, Femme Burlesque. Advisers: Ananya Chatterjea and Jacquelyn Zita. Yeonbo Jeong : Science, Nation, and Women's Bodies: Economies of Reproductive Tissues and Stem Cell Research in South Korea. Advisers: Susan Craddock and Jacquelyn Zita.

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

2011 Dissertation Titles

Papori Bora: “The Nation and its Margins: Reading Gender and the Politics of Sovereignty in India’s Northeast” Advisers: Jigna Desai and Richa Nagar

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

GWSS undergrads participate in class project

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

2010 Dissertation Titles

Kandace Creel-Falcón: “This is Our Home!: Chicana Oral Histories:(Story)Telling Life, Love and Identity in the Midwest” Advisers: Edén Torres and Lisa Albrecht Helen Crump: “Bodied Knowledges (Where Our Blood is Born): Maternal Narratives and Articulations of Black Diaspora Identity” Advisers: Amy Kaminsky and Gwen Pough Eileen Muller-Myrdahl: “Orientalist Knowledges at the European Periphery: Norwegian Racial Projects, 1970-2005” Adviser: Jigna Desai Ayana Weekley: “Now That’s a Good Girl:The Politics of Respectability in African American HIV/AIDS Discourses” Advisers: Jigna Desai and Gwen Pough http://www.gwss.umn.edu

2009 Dissertation Titles

Rachel Raimist: “Grinding the Walls to Dust” Adviser: Edén Torres

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

2008 Dissertation Titles

Margalit Chu: “Resistance, Dependency, and Resilience:The Everyday Politics and Geographies of NGO Development in Marginalized Gitano Communities” Adviser: Richa Nagar

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

2006 Dissertation Titles

Danielle Bouchard: “The Feminist Order of Things: Interdisciplinarity, Globalization, and Postcoloniality in Contemporary Feminist Theory” Adviser: Jigna Desai Amy Brandzel: “Queering the Subject(s) of U.S. Citizenship: Beyond the Normative Citizen in Law and Culture. Advisers: Jigna Desai, Richa Nagar, and Barbara Welke Dawn Rae Davis: “De-colonizing Love: Feminist Subjects and the Ability of Not Knowing”. Adviser: Naomi Scheman

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

2005 Dissertation Titles

Sam Bullington: “From the ‘Rainbow Nation’ to the ‘New Apartheid’: Sexual Orientation and HIV/AIDS in Contemporary South African Nation Building. Adviser: Susan Craddock Sara Hottinger: “Making Mathematical Knowledge: A Cultural Study of Late-Eighteenth Century British Mathematics”. Advisers: Jacquelyn Zita and Helen Longino Linda Wayne: “Sexes, Genders, and Sexualities: From Second to Third Wave Feminism”. Adviser: Ellen-Messer Davidow

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

2003 Dissertation Titles

Amanda Swarr: “Exploring the Boundaries of Gender and Sex: Transgendered Expressions in Contemporary South Africa” Advisers: Amy Kaminsky and Richa Nagar

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

2002 Dissertation Titles

Sidney Matrix: “Inventing Cyberculture and Cybersubjectivity: A Critical Study of Cyberfictional Media” Advisers: John Mowitt and Naomi Scheman

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

Brittany Lewis, PhD candidate (black feminist politics and activism) http://www.gwss.umn.edu

Tia Gardener, PhD candidate (Black feminist arts and literature)

Carolyn Erler, PhD candidate (Feminist epistemology and biopoliitcs)

2013 Admits to Ph.D. Program http://www.gwss.umn.edu

GWSS faculty

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

Jigna Desai Research Interests: Asian American literature and media, feminist theory, postcolonial studies, queer/sexuality studies, South Asian diasporas, critical disability studies, autism, neuronormativity

Richa Nagar Research Interests: transnational feminism, politics of development, feminism and praxis, people’s movements

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

Naomi Scheman Research Interests: politics of epistemology, feminist theory, trustworthiness and community engagement, responsibility in research, queer/sexuality studies, transgender studies

Edén Torres Research Interests: race, class & gender, Chicana/o cultural studies, Chicana/Chicano history and politics, Chicana feminist theory, Feminist & Critical Pedagogies, Gender, Labor & Politics

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

Amy Kaminsky Research Interests: Spanish and Latin American literature, feminist literary theory and criticism, Latin American film, Exile and national identity in Latin America, Jewish writing and film in Argentina, race, gender, and sexuality

Zenzele Isoke Research Interests: U.S. Black Women’s Politics and Activism, black feminist thought, urban studies, urban ethnography, feminist geography, feminist theory and methods

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

Susan Craddock Research Interests: AIDS, disease, health, Tuberculosis, public-private networks for neglected disease vaccine and drug production

Jacquelyn Zita Research Interests: Women’s biology, environmental justice, feminist environmental studies, sexuality, corporeal philosophy, lgbt studies, feminist theory and philosophy

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

Annie Hill (Visiting Faculty Member) Research Interests: Rhetorical theory and criticism; cultural studies/public policy and crime,; gender and sexuality studies; feminist theory; race theory and western science

Research Interests: Media, race and politics; gender and media studies; public sphere studies

Catherine Squires (Director of Graduate Studies) http://www.gwss.umn.edu

Digital Media and Innovations Rachel Raimist Feminist Media Center The Rachel Raimist Feminist Media Center (RRFMC) is a a teaching classroom and open lab for Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies and GLBT Studies students, faculty and staff, and a multimedia training and production facility. Powerful multimedia tools exist, such as Dreamweaver, Photoshop, and Final Cut Pro on all of the computers.  This lab provides the physical space and infrastructure to support a variety of instructor and faculty training, curriculum development, and research efforts for the department and the broader community  As a whole, our department continues to seek out collaboration opportunities with other interdisciplinary units to expand the use of digital technology and media through the humanities. 

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

http://www.gwss.umn.edu

http://www.gwss.umn.edu