Birthing the Nation Sawyer Seminar

10/13/2025

We’re excited to welcome Cynthia Miller-Idriss for a book launch and public talk on her timely new release: “Man Up: The New Misogyny & Rise of Violent Extremism”

Thursday, October 23, 2025
6:00–7:30 p.m.
114 Welch Building, Penn State University

Books will be available for purchase on site through The Squirrel and Acorn Bookshop.

Co-sponsored by the Department of Women’s, Gender, and S*xuality Studies, the Humanities Institute, the McCourtney Institute for Democracy, and the Mellon Foundation’s Sawyer Seminar Birthing the Nation.

You're invited! Join us for the launch of “Man Up: The New Misogyny & Rise of Violent Extremism” with renowned scholar Cynthia Miller-Idriss (Princeton University Press, 2025).

Thursday, October 23
6:00–7:30 p.m.
114 Welch Building, Penn State

The Squirrel and Acorn Bookshop will be on site selling copies of the book!

This event is part of the Sawyer Seminar Birthing the Nation, made possible by the Mellon Foundation, and is co-sponsored by WGSS, the Humanities Institute, and the McCourtney Institute for Democracy.

Free and open to the public!

10/06/2025

Join us for a lecture with Julie Gottlieb!

She will explore political anxiety, anti-fascist resistance, and intellectual history through the lens of writer F.L. Lucas in 1938.

Monday, October 27
4:00–5:30 PM
Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library

Co-sponsored by the WGSS Department, Jewish Studies Program, and the Humanities Institute. Part of the Mellon Foundation–funded Sawyer Seminar Birthing the Nation.

Free and open to the public!

10/01/2025

You're invited! Join us for the launch of “Man Up: The New Misogyny & Rise of Violent Extremism” with renowned scholar Cynthia Miller-Idriss (Princeton University Press, 2025).

Thursday, October 23
6:00–7:30 p.m.
114 Welch Building, Penn State

The Squirrel and Acorn Bookshop will be on site selling copies of the book!

This event is part of the Sawyer Seminar Birthing the Nation, made possible by the Mellon Foundation, and is co-sponsored by WGSS, the Humanities Institute, and the McCourtney Institute for Democracy.

Free and open to the public!

04/07/2025

Join us for the final Sawyer Seminar of the semester!
Monday, April 14 | 5:00–6:30 PM
Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library

We are honored to welcome Dr. Jasbir K. Puar, Professor at the University of British Columbia and author of Terrorist Assemblages and The Right to Maim. In her public lecture, "Field Notes: Colonial Power at the Thresholds of Gender Studies,"

This event is cosponsored by the Department of Women’s, Gender, and S*xuality Studies, the Humanities Institute, and the Mellon Foundation’s Sawyer Seminar Program.

03/31/2025

We have an incredible week ahead at the Sawyer Seminar Series!

🗓️ Tuesday, April 2 | Public Lecture with Dr. Ruth Wodak
3:30–5:00 PM | Dewey Room W043A, Pattee Library
"Gender and the Discursive Construction of National Identities"

🗓️ Wednesday, April 3 | Two Events with Dr. Susan Gal
➤ 9:00–10:00 AM | Hybrid Research Seminar
133 Sparks Building & Zoom
"Language in the Politics of Gender: Reforms and Recontextualizations"
https://sites.psu.edu/birthingthenation/calendar_event/language-in-the-politics-of-gender-reforms-and-recontextualizations-a-hybrid-research-seminar-with-susan-gal/

➤ 11:30 AM–1:00 PM | Public Lecture
Foster Auditorium, E102 Paterno Library
"Transnational Struggles: Anti-Liberal Hungary’s Discourses on Gender, S*x and Reproduction"

🗓️ Thursday, April 4
Hybrid Research Seminar with Dr. Ruth Wodak
9:00–10:30 AM | 133 Sparks Building & Zoom
"Analysing the 'Gender Backlash' in Austrian Popular Culture: Back to Dirndls and Lederhosen"
https://sites.psu.edu/birthingthenation/calendar_event/analysing-the-gender-backlash-in-austrian-popular-culture-back-to-dirndls-and-lederhosen-a-hybrid-research-seminar-with-dr-ruth-wodak/

These events are supported by the Mellon Foundation’s Sawyer Seminar Program.

Dr. Wodak’s lectures are co-sponsored by the Chaiken Dean’s Fund for Antisemitism Education.

03/26/2025

We’re thrilled to welcome two internationally renowned speakers next week for the Sawyer Seminar Series:

Dr. Ruth Wodak and Dr. Susan Gal will be joining us for a series of public lectures and hybrid research seminars.

Find full details about their in-person events on our website and don’t forget to register for their hybrid talks if you're joining remotely: https://sites.psu.edu/birthingthenation/upcoming-events/

These events are supported by the Mellon Foundation’s Sawyer Seminar Program.

Dr. Wodak’s events are also co-sponsored by the Chaiken Dean’s Fund for Antisemitism Education.

03/26/2025

We’re so grateful to Dr. Curtis Dozier and Dr. Annie Kelly for joining us last week and offering brilliant talks on classical antiquity in far-right discourse and the evolution of the manosphere, respectively.

Missed their events? You can now find summaries and video recordings of both talks on our website:
https://sites.psu.edu/birthingthenation/category/past-events/

See you next week as we continue the Sawyer Seminar Series with more incredible speakers!

Of Boss Babes and Baby Makers: Tradwives as Reactionary Feminists (Rob Topinka) Posted on February 12, 2025 by hgv5008 Reply ABSTRACT AND BIO ACCESS THE RECORDING HERE Summary of Rob Topinka’s Talk “Of Boss Babes and Baby Makers: Tradwives as Reactionary Digital Entrepreneurs” Rob Topinka’s ...

03/24/2025

🗓 Join us next week for two events with renowned discourse scholar Dr. Ruth Wodak!

1. Public Lecture “Gender and the Discursive Construction of National Identities”
📅 Tuesday, April 1 | 3:30–5:00 PM | Dewey Room (W043A), Pattee Library
An exploration of how national identity discourses marginalize gender diversity and reinforce binary norms.

2. Hybrid Research Seminar
“Analysing the ‘Gender Backlash’ in Austrian Popular Culture: Back to Dirndls and Lederhosen”
📅 Thursday, April 3 | 9:00–10:30 AM | 133 Sparks Building & via Zoom
Register here: https://psu.zoom.us/meeting/register/h1XnMoWLTzKnSJisU9qbiQ #/registration

Dr. Wodak is Emerita Distinguished Professor of Discourse Studies at Lancaster University and affiliated with the University of Vienna.

Both events are part of the Birthing the Nation Sawyer Seminar Series and are co-sponsored by the Chaiken Dean’s Fund for Antisemitism Education, WGSS, the Humanities Institute, and the Mellon Foundation’s Sawyer Seminar Program.

03/24/2025

Join us for two events with renowned scholar Dr. Susan Gal (University of Chicago) as part of our Sawyer Seminar Series: Birthing the Nation!

📍 Wednesday, April 2
9:00–10:00 AM ET | Hybrid Research Seminar | 133 Sparks Building & Zoom
🔗 Register here: https://psu.zoom.us/meeting/register/7K1gL7YNRV2eGJx8ielqRA #/registration

📍 Wednesday, April 2 (In-person only)
11:30 AM–1:00 PM ET | Public Lecture | Foster Auditorium, E102 Paterno Library

Both events are free and open to the public.

Cosponsored by WGSS, the Humanities Institute, and the Mellon Foundation’s Sawyer Seminar Program.

03/24/2025

Happening tomorrow!
Annie Kelly joins us for a Digital Sawyer Seminar:
🕘 9–10:30 AM ET | Zoom
🎙️ From Mancaves to Mainstream: The Evolution of the Manosphere

Free & open to all — register here: https://psu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJApdeihqTkiEt3WWs0p__-9jeRVHDoPsdnH #/registration

Supported by the Mellon Foundation’s Sawyer Seminar Program.

Join us on Tuesday, March 25 at 9:00–10:30 a.m. EDT for our next Digital Sawyer event: “From Mancaves to Mainstream: The Evolution of the Manosphere” with Annie Kelly, journalist with The Guardian and Observer Newspapers.

Register here: https://sites.psu.edu/birthingthenation/calendar_event/from-mancaves-to-mainstream-the-evolution-of-the-manosphere-a-digital-sawyer-with-annie-kelly/

This event is supported by the Mellon Foundation’s Sawyer Seminar Program and cosponsored by the Department of WGSS and the Humanities Institute.

03/24/2025

We’ve got an exciting week ahead at the Birthing the Nation Sawyer Seminar Series!
📍 Tomorrow (March 25): Annie Kelly joins us to discuss the evolution of the Manosphere.
📍 Next week (April 2–4): Don’t miss Dr. Susan Gal and Dr. Ruth Wodak as they explore the intersections of language, gender, and nationalism.

Details & registration at: https://sites.psu.edu/birthingthenation/calendar/

Supported by the Mellon Foundation’s Sawyer Seminar Program.

03/18/2025

Join us on Tuesday, March 25 at 9:00–10:30 a.m. EDT for our next Digital Sawyer event: “From Mancaves to Mainstream: The Evolution of the Manosphere” with Annie Kelly, journalist with The Guardian and Observer Newspapers.

Register here: https://sites.psu.edu/birthingthenation/calendar_event/from-mancaves-to-mainstream-the-evolution-of-the-manosphere-a-digital-sawyer-with-annie-kelly/

This event is supported by the Mellon Foundation’s Sawyer Seminar Program and cosponsored by the Department of WGSS and the Humanities Institute.