by Sangita Gopal, Associate Professor, Department of Cinema Studies

Thank you all for making the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Center for the Study of Women and Society so rich and fruitful! And filled with joy and remembrance. Indeed, it was an eventful 18 months where we collaborated with partners across the disciplines at the University of Oregon to showcase how diverse fields imagine feminist futures and archive feminist pasts at a time when gender and justice are once more at the forefront of our attention globally. 

by Jenée Wilde, Senior Instructor, Department of English

On May 10, 2024, three panels of faculty affiliates, former grant fellows, and friends of the Center for the Study of Women in Society participated in our 50th Anniversary Alumni Symposium. 

by Jenée Wilde, Senior Instructor, Department of English

For two years, Bryant Taylor, a PhD candidate in the Department of Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies, had a special appointment working as a Graduate Employee (GE) on our 50th anniversary events and projects. I had the opportunity to chat with Bryant about his time at CSWS before he left for a summer internship on an African American archival history project at Harvard University.

by Lana Lopesi, Assistant Professor, Department of Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies

by Xiaobo Su, Professor, Department of Geography

By Marena Fleites Lear, PhD Candidate, Department of Comparative Literature 

by Magela Baudoin, PhD Candidate, Department of Romance Languages

Women’s autobiographical writing has historically faced devaluation within the realm of so-called “high” literature (Huyssen 2006). This marginalization stems from several factors: firstly, the misguided association of “literary” with “fiction,” which tends to discredit narratives perceived as not purely imaginative (Lejeune 1989; Molloy 1996); secondly, entrenched paradigms in modern Western thought...

by Anu Sugathan, PhD Student, Department of English

My interest in graphic narratives as a research topic emerged during my master of philosophy studies. While contemplating my thesis, I discovered various Indian graphic novels by contemporary writers and artists that brought back memories of my childhood comic books like Balarama, Balabhumi, and Champak. However, unlike earlier comic books, these graphic novels stood out due to their distinctive style, paper quality, and thematic depth...

by Min Young Park, PhD Candidate, Department of English

Nella Larsen’s Quicksand opens with a vivid portrait of Helga Crane’s room. It is brimming with furniture and garments of her “rare and intensely personal taste” (1). The emphasis on the privacy of her taste is easily overlooked as it is soon followed by a disturbing remark by a white priest who claims that “Naxos Negroes…had good taste” because “[t]hey knew enough to stay in their place” (3)...

by Annie Ring, PhD Candidate, Department of Philosophy 

J.L. Austin’s How to Do Things with Words demonstrates that language is not just descriptive but in some cases is performative. That is, Austin’s speech act theory argues that language itself performs, changes, or does things in the world. Speech act theory classically considered institutions like marriage, where a pronouncement weds people into a legally binding relation, or boat christening, where naming and blessing a boat before the maiden voyage protects its passengers (Austin).

by Rosa M. O’Connor Acevedo, PhD Candidate, Department of Philosophy