Recent News
Petrus Liu has been a presence in our graduate seminars for the past two years, as his work assigned and wrestled with across multiple courses. His March visit gave our community the chance to bring that engagement into the room with him. Graduate students, faculty, and undergraduates packed together for his talk, ready for a conversation that had, in many ways, already been building.Liu,…
Our department recently came together for a hybrid conversation and creative workshop to launch the book Navigating Academia as a Transnational Scholar from the Global South: Treasuring All the Knowledges, a collection that weaves together the experiences of 16 women and non-binary scholars who navigated postgraduate life as non-elite international students and (un)documented migrants in…
Our department recently partnered with Cinema & Media Studies to bring director Maria Breaux to campus for a screening of and conversation about their 2022 film, Vulveeta. This improvised mockumentary follows Grrrilda Beausoleil as she attempts to reunite her 1990s riot grrrl band. Beausoleil didn’t leave the band on very good terms, and she attempts to reunite with them amidst long-…
GWSS alum Marley Blonsky '08 released her first children's book, The Ragtag Best Friends Bicycle Club this week. The book follows Maisie, her sister, and friends as they adventure on their bikes. “Maisie is about to learn that even if she can't ride fast, that's okay. In fact, riding her own way is her super power, and she's bringing everyone along for the ride.” Her book, released to…
GWSS is excited to announce that PhD student Shelley Pryde has been selected as a 2026 Fellow in the Los Angeles Review of Books (LARB) Publishing Workshop.The highly competitive program, which received a record number of applicants this year, offers intensive training in publishing across book and magazine tracks. Pryde has also received a full fellowship, sponsored by the Los Angeles Review of…
GWSS’s recent event Vulveeta—a film screening and director Q&A with filmmaker Maria Breaux—has been featured in The Daily. The article, “Punk rock is alive and well, and it’s in ‘Vulveeta,’” highlights the film’s themes and the energy of the screening and discussion.Read…
GWSS alumna Martha Gonzalez (Ph.D. ’13) is featured in the UW Graduate School’s inaugural magazine, In Community. The story, “Tapestry of Sound & Story,” highlights Gonzalez’s work as a Grammy Award–winning musician, MacArthur “Genius” Fellow, and scholar whose art and activism are deeply intertwined.Gonzalez…
GWSS PhD candidate Ramon Johnson has been featured by the UW Graduate School in a recent student spotlight, “Finding the Path.” The piece highlights Ramon’s dissertation work examining progress narratives at Historically Black colleges and universities, as well as his approach to scholarship grounded in love and accountability.Read the full story on the…
GWSS congratulates PhD student Shelley Pryde who has been awarded the Ottenberg-Winans Fellowship from the African Studies Program at the University of Washington.The fellowship provides $3,000 to support her pre-dissertation fieldwork travel to Cape Town, South Africa, planned for 2026.Pryde’s research examines the socio-political role of “alternative” queer nightlife spaces in Cape Town,…
In Fall 2025, our department partnered with the Henry Art Gallery to bring acclaimed interdisciplinary artist Chloë Bass to campus. As part of Bass' visit, four undergraduate students were selected to create original audio companions to her sculptural installation at Volunteer Park, collectively titled Soft Services.The experience was immersive by design. Students traveled to Volunteer Park for a…