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The Department of
Women & Gender Studies at the University of Delaware is an
interdisciplinary department that provides students with the tools to develop
their critical perspectives as scholars and social activists. We teach students
to re-examine traditional beliefs and to recognize that systems of oppression
must be examined, whether they concern patriarchy, gender, race, class,
ethnicity, age, sexuality, or nationality. Our voices, courses, and writing
focus on the complexities and dynamics of intersectional approaches and our calendar
and classrooms provide students with resources for examining and identifying
pathways to social change.
Last year, partnering with departments and units
across the UD campus, Women & Gender Studies spearheaded the major teaching
initiative "OUR VOTE: History. Advocacy. Justice" to commemorate the power and privilege of suffrage. We engaged
students and the community on topics and events that reflected upon the passage
of both the 19th and 15th Amendments. We addressed the history and impact of
social justice advocacy, the democratic process, and laws which both advance
and restrict the rights of citizenship and political access and the ways in
which voting rights remained under attack in many states, disproportionately
affecting low-income and minority voters.
The faculty and
students in Women & Gender Studies are feminists, scholars, and activists
committed to understanding ways in which systems of inequality are reproduced
and maintained, and are equally committed to seeking strategies for building
social justice. As you discover our Department and its many offerings and
programs, you will learn about the extraordinary engagements, scholarship,
solutions, and creativity that reflect what we do and what we care about in
Women & Gender Studies—and the enormous contribution that our faculty,
students, and partnerships make within and far beyond the University of
Delaware.
– Patricia Sloane-White
