The Center for the Study of Women in Society has funded three Research Interest Groups (RIGs) for AY 2024-25 in fields ranging from intersectional psychology to decolonial comics studies and feminist philosophy. 
RIG grants of up to $1,000 provide an opportunity for University of Oregon faculty and graduate students to organize interdisciplinary groups that explore and examine the complex nature of gender identities and inequalities through a variety of activities. RIG funding may be used to pay for reading group materials, visits by scholars, on-campus symposia and conferences, and similar campus activities.  

Two of the funded RIGs are new to CSWS.  

First, the Intersectional Theory Primer for Psychology Students RIG is a reading group that coordinators say, “aims to provide theory background to engage in research outside of limiting race and gender variables to the traditional dichotomous categories as well as critique many of the default methodologies psychological science employs.” Aimed at graduate students and early career faculty, coordinators hope that the RIG will “invigorate researchers’ praxis in incorporating an intersectional lens to their work and intellectual community” in the psychological sciences. For more information, contact RIG coordinators Gretchen Nihill (gnihill@uoregon.edu) and Chanel Meyers (chanelm@uoregon.edu).  

Second, the Decolonial, Feminist Futures of Comics Studies RIG is a reading group that asks, “How can Comics Studies become a space for antiracist, feminist, ecocritical, interdisciplinary work?” and “What are the stakes involved in contemporary careers based in visual media?” The RIG plans to read selected texts and host conversations with experts about the future of the field. According to RIG coordinators, “Our goal is to conceptualize Comics Studies with and against comparator disciplines, while recognizing the unique frameworks and histories that have coalesced in its current instantiations” in order to reimagine the field and produce scholarship and programming in support of that goal. For more information, contact RIG coordinators Kate Kelp-Stebbins (kkelp@uoregon.edu) and Anu Sugathan (asugatha@uoregon.edu).  

Finally, CSWS is pleased to renew support for the Decolonial Philosophies Collaboratory RIG, which started as an interdisciplinary reading group in 2020 and has since gone on to organize conferences and symposia. “Our group is devoted to the study of decolonial, postcolonial, anti-colonial, and indigenous scholarship to establish a conversation between these fields that will help us rethink and reimagine pathways for decolonization across different geopolitical spaces,” state RIG coordinators. The group is planning a three-day Decolonization and Global Justice conference for Winter 2025 “that brings to the UO a unique opportunity to engage with feminist leaders, feminist academics, and community organizers who focus on global justice in various geopolitical locations.” For more information, contact RIG coordinators Cintia Martinez Velasco (cintiam@uoregon.edu) and Matt Tuten (mtuten@uoregon.edu). 

RIG funding applications are due by May 1 for the following academic year. For more information on applying for RIG grants, go to csws.uoregon.edu/rig-funding.