Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Kansas

We are looking for a postdoc researcher! We are so excited to share this opportunity with you all. Be sure to follow the link in our second photo to apply!

Join us tomorrow for donuts as we discuss the impact of the election

We, as a department, call the Chancellor, Provost, and Student Affairs to save our centers. Through our official statement, we voice our deep concerns and disappointment with the choices being made to the centers on our campus that have not only a rich history, but an enormous amount of importance to the student population and community at large. Save our centers!!!

On October 8th, Christina Sharpe will speak at the ECM on “Ordinary Notes.” The WGSS Department’s fantastic faculty member Abe Weil will lead this discussion alongside Anthony Boynton (English). We encourage all who are interested to sign up to attend this incredible event! ✨

The J. Wayne and Elsie M. Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction is pleased to announce our 3rd Annual Sturgeon Symposium, to be held October 24-25, 2024. We are delighted that Samuel R. Delany has accepted our invitation to speak at the symposium. As an innovative author, Delany has redefined the boundaries of SFF as well as literary criticism through his explorations of language, society, sexuality, and narrative form. This year's symposium acknowledges his lasting impact on science fiction, speculative fiction, and literary criticism.

Congratulations to our graduates!! We are so proud of you all and cannot wait to see what’s next for you all!!🎉✨

Shawna Shipley-Gates has successfully defended her dissertation with honors! Congratulations Dr. Shipley-Gates! 🎉✨

All current WGSS students and the WGSS-curious are invited to stop by the Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies Department on Friday March 29 between noon and 2 pm to learn more about our upcoming classes, compare recs with other WGSS students, and enjoy some tasty treats.

Hope to see you there!

Trans Studies Initiative presents! ✨

“If I’m Wrong I Don’t Wanna be Right”: The Wrong Body Undone

a talk with Dr. Meredith Lee
Gender Studies, Indiana University

Tuesday, April 9 at 4pm
Spencer Research Library
Johnson Room

featuring trans archival holdings from KU's Spencer Research on display!

This talk examines the unthought relation among antiblackness, anachronism, and the wrong body narrative within sexological literature from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. To do so, I construct a genealogical framework I call the constitutive anachronism of wrong bodiness to excavate the sexological archive for moments where this unthought relation becomes evident, especially in the work of Havelock Ellis, Magnus Hirschfeld, and Sigmund Freud. These moments illuminate a contemporary white(ned) trans identification that (un)intentionally hinges on antiblack and pathologizing sexological frameworks that necessitate a sustained interrogation of racist and classist hegemonic trans movements.

This Wednesday (2/21), our very own WGSS PhD student Marian August Phillips is presenting their work on locating the q***r discourse of monster theory for the Trans and Gender Hall Center Seminars. Please join us for this exciting conversation on q***r monstrosity and Jennifer’s Body (2009)! ✨

Happy spring semester!!! A new semester is upon us, which means a world of possibilities to expand your knowledge, explore new topics, and venture further into the exciting world of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies! We are thrilled to see you all back in the classroom with us 🏳️‍🌈🌻