I’m the new undergraduate advisor for GWSS! I joined the staff in December 2023, although I’ve taken a number of GWSS classes over the years, so I’ve been in and around the department for a while. My background is in queer and trans history. I did my undergraduate degree in history at the University of Edinburgh, then returned to the West Coast to continue my graduate studies at UW, where, as an instructor, I’ve had the privilege of working with so many enthusiastic, dedicated, socially-committed student scholars and activists—I’m thrilled to be able to continue doing so as an advisor with GWSS! I can’t wait to get to know everyone and learn about the interests you’re pursuing and the projects you’re devising!
What piece of advice would you give your college self?
Keep studying German. Archaeology 1A will be a fun elective, but in the end you’ll wish you’d taken the chance to become fluent in another language. Also, maybe don’t go to a stand-up comedy festival in the middle of a flu pandemic.
What was your favorite class in college?
I once took a seminar called “The Social History of Animals in Early Modern Europe.” We talked about the labor performed by non-human animals in European economies, as well as the philosophical project of defining humanness and personhood in the era that witnessed the expansion of racial capitalism and imperialism—it really changed my assumptions about what scholars of “the humanities” could study.
What’s your most-used emoji?
I was raised on AOL Instant Messenger, so I still tend to use emoticons rather than emojis. My most-used emoticon is probably the tongue-sticking-out face (:P) It’s goofy and playful, and I find it easier to convey playful goofiness via text with some kind of visual cue.
What is the last book you read?
I usually have a few books on the go at once. Right now I’m in the middle of Anjali Arondekar’s Abundance: Sexuality’s History, which challenges the idea that the history of sexuality is defined by gaps and silences in the archives—a subject obviously near and dear to my heart. I’ve also just finished Harry Josephine Giles’ Deep Wheel Orcadia, a clever, queer verse novel about life on a post-industrial space station which—as if “sci-fi verse novel” isn’t niche enough—is written in Orcadian Scots. There are English translations for each poem, but I loved just losing myself in the Scottish prosody.