CSGS Autumn 2025 Newsletter

poster from the exhibition

Community

Graphics

Friday,

A Note from the Faculty Director

Dear CSGS community,

It is my privilege to be addressing you once more as the Faculty Director of the CSGS; in chaotic and challenging times, I’m grateful to be part of this collective. I’m joined this year by a new partner, the extraordinary Tate Brazas, who has been promoted into the role of Associate Director of the Center, and whose experience and vision we’re fortunate to have.

As you might already have heard, the Center is celebrating its 30th anniversary! Planning this year’s events has prompted us to look back at our roots, and in this spirit I took the opportunity to read the CSGS’s inaugural newsletter, with its welcome letter penned by the first director, our colleague and affiliate Leora Auslander;

it left me inspired and heartened by the vision and dedication of our founders. The core commitments of the Center, as articulated by Leora, remain relevant today. Unconstrained by discipline, geography, historical period, administrative unit, or campus boundaries, we seek to build connections–intellectual, social, professional, curricular–and to work in solidarity with others, whether those are our housemates at the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture, our colleagues at UChicago, our neighbors in Chicago and especially across the south side, or our counterparts doing similar work at centers like ours across the country and the world. At CSGS we recognize the power–and to some, the menace–of thinking critically about, and imagining the infinite possibilities and configurations of, gender, sex, and sexuality.

Continued on Page 2

FEATURED EVENTS

Fri Oct 3 at 4:30pm

5733 Open House with the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture

Wed Oct 8 at 4:00pm Opening Celebration for Radical Posters: Women’s Graphics Collectives

Tue Oct 14 at 5:00pm Gender and Sexuality Studies Info Session

Thu Oct 23 at 12:30pm

2025 OUTstanding Speaker

Series Lecture: Steven W. Thrasher, “Seeking Sanctuary, Embracing Exile: Queer Life on the Run”

Tue Oct 28 at 5:00pm Re: Monique Wittig with Jonathan Flatley, Annabel Kim, Sophie Lewis, and Alice Centamore

Thu Nov 13 at 5:00pm

CSGS Faculty Book Party

The Center’s inaugural lecture, on the topic Gender and the Politics of Higher Education, was delivered by Joan Scott. In this lecture, excerpted in the first newsletter, Scott talked about the pressures facing centers like ours from within and without university administrations. Those pressures have only intensified in our time, and thoughtful analysis and discussion of gender, sex, and sexuality are more urgently required than ever. Equally urgent is the need to stand in solidarity with one another – those whose rights and well-being are visibly threatened, those who occupy positions of relative security, and those who imagine they are untouched by recent events.

We have designed a year of diverse programming in an effort to provide opportunities to dedicate time to ideas, to work alongside others, and also to find both solace and joy in community. Here are some of the highlights of our anniversary year:

On Thursday, October 23 at 12:30pm we’ll host this year’s OUTstanding Speaker Series Lecture Steven W. Thrasher will deliver a talk entitled “Seeking Sanctuary, Embracing Exile: Queer Life on the Run.” Steven is currently doing research in Africa and so he’ll be Zooming in, but we’ll host lunch for those who wish to attend the talk in the company of others. Steven will be introduced by this year’s recipient of the LGBTQ Community Engagement Award, Andrea Romero

On Thursday, November 13 at 5:00pm, we celebrate the achievements of our imaginative, brilliant, and hard-working colleagues at our annual CSGS Faculty Book Party.

The Iris Marion Young Distinguished Faculty Lecture will be given by former CSGS director Kristen Schilt on Wednesday, February 4 at 4:30pm, and the Distinguished Alumni lecture,

the University’s alumni weekend, will be given by Kavita Daiya, speaking on “Migration, Representation, and Imaginings of Hope.”

This spring we’re holding a 30th Anniversary Symposium with a keynote lecture by Alexis Pauline Gumbs on Thursday, April 9, followed by a set of panels and discussions on Friday, April 10, and concluding with a dance party and celebration. Start planning your outfit now!

I look forward to seeing many of you at these and other events. And if you have ideas or proposals for programming, please get in touch! It’s my hope that every member of the CSGS community will continue to find what they need, personally and professionally, at the Center.

I’d like to express my gratitude to those whose efforts make the Center’s success possible: Heather Keenleyside, the Center’s Director of Studies; the members of our Governing Board, Joe Bruch (Public Health Sciences), Maliha Chishti (Divinity), Jonathan Flatley (English and Comparative Literature), Rochona Majumdar (SALC/CMS), Hillary McLaren (BSD), Lisa Moore (Crown), Kaneesha Parsard (English), Ella Wilhoit (MAPSS), and Gabriel Winant (History); our outstanding instructional faculty Rhiannon Auriemma and Red Tremmel; and last but in no way least our exceptional staff, Tate Brazas and Bonnie Kanter. In closing, I extend thanks to each of you, who together comprise the community of individual persons who are the intellectual center, the ethical core, and the beating heart of the Center.

Daisy Delogu

Faculty Director, Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality Howard L. Willett Professor of French Literature, Department of

Student News

The start of a new year means a whole new crop of PhD students moving into the Center. A warm welcome to our Dissertation Completion Fellow and longtime CSGS resident, Michael Stablein (English/Theater and Performance Studies) and our joint CSGS/CSRPC Dissertation Completion Fellow Soo Young Lee (Crown School of Social Work). The Center is also happy to host a great group of PhD students from many disciplines across campus as Residential Fellows: Andy Archer (Crown School of Social Work), Bret Hart (Cinema and Media Studies), Fabien Maltais-Bayda (English/Theater and Performance Studies), Anne Ruelle (Crown School of Social Work), Burak Tan (Political Science), Abigail Taylor-Roth (Committee on Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science), and our joint CSGS/CSRPC Residential Fellow Peyton Cunningham (Sociology). To learn more about their research, please join our Gender and Sexuality Studies Workshop as the fellows all will present this year.

In addition, we’re happy to have Kat Myers in residence (Divinity Teaching Fellow) and serving as our BA Preceptor. Gabi OjedaSague (English/Humanities Teaching Fellow) and Omar Safadi (Political Science/Social Science Teaching Fellow) are also joining us in the building this year.

Prizes

“Photography and Opacity: Rethinking Deana Lawson’s Nude Black Femme” by Elizabeth Desir (Art History) and “Global Babies, Local Science – Transnational Reproductive Migration for Lesbian Families in Taiwan” by Binjie Hsieh (Gender and Sexuality Studies/Sociology) were the co-winners of the 2025 Ruth Murray BA Thesis Prize in Women’s Studies, Feminist Criticism, Gender or Sexuality Studies! The committee also awarded an Honorable Mention to “The Paradox of Progressive Development” by Olivia Fowler (Gender and Sexuality Studies/ Law, Letters, and Society/Psychology).

Andrea Romero has been awarded the 2025 UChicago LGBTQ+ Community Engagement Award, sponsored by the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality and UChicago Alumni Pride. Andrea has been the co-chair of Booth Pride, the evening and weekend Chicago Booth MBA LGBTQ+ student group, and has done incredible work both inside and outside the Booth community while working a full-time job and commuting between New York and Chicago every weekend for classes. Andrea will speak about her work and introduce Steven Thrasher at the OUTstanding Speakers Series Lecture on Thursday, October 23.

The second annual Course Design Prize, designed to encourage creativity and innovation in PhD student stand-alone course syllabi, went to Madeline Adams in History for her upcoming class, “Queer Modern Europe.” The committee was made up of students and faculty and all are looking forward to having this course available for students in Spring Quarter 2026.

Undergraduate Summer Internships

As in past summers, CSGS provided summer funding for students interested in internships related to gender/sexuality that would otherwise be unpaid by the host organization. We’re proud to be able to support students who are doing important work while also learning about potential career paths. This year’s interns were Nhi Ðào (Therapy Access Project), Cleo Delogu (TransCare Clinic at UChicago Medicine), Maddie Mathes (A Long Walk Home), Grace Moritz (Paddock Project), Nayu Shimo (Ohio Women’s Alliance), Clare Smith (Lambda Legal) and Jessica Washington (Start Early). There will be a report-back event about their experiences at an information session in January.

Student Advisory Board

Thank you to all of the students who joined our re-invigorated Student Advisory Board (SAB) in 2024-25, with special thanks to 4th years Shayla Beltran, Catalina Garcia, Ellie GilbertBair, Roshni Patel, Madison Rhee and Alondra Romero (who is continuing this year as a MAPH student!) who all participated on both the SAB and other committees at the Center. The 202526 SAB will be comprised of the following returning major/ minor members: Ella Fast, Charlotte Littlefield, Antonio Both Schenatto and newcomers Calandra Cavallaro and Jack Poon. Looking forward to a great year!

Workshop

The Autumn 2025 schedule for the Gender and Sexuality Studies Workshop is now available. Sessions will be held on alternate Tuesdays from 5:00 to 6:20pm Central Time (unless otherwise noted) at the CSGS, 5733 S University Ave, in room 103. Papers will be made available in advance via our email list. If you are interested in joining the email list, go to https://lists.uchicago. edu/web/info/sexuality-gender-wkshp. If you have any questions or accommodation requests, please don’t hesitate to contact the workshop co-coordinators, Malavika Parthasarathy or Hugo Ljungbäck, at gssworkshop@gmail.com

Working Group

The Gender and Sexuality Studies Working Group welcomes students and papers from any field, discipline, or methodological tradition, as long as the research is relevant to gender and sexuality studies, broadly defined. Submitted work may be partial or rough, including rough drafts of papers or dissertation chapters, work nearing completion, survey designs, literature reviews, or methodological sections. Meeting time consists largely of discussion of the submitted research or work following brief comments from the presenter. We ask that only students, graduate or undergraduate, attend.

In Autumn Quarter, the Gender and Sexuality Studies Working Group will meet every other Friday at 11:30am in Room 103 of the CSGS. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to the Working Group Co-Coordinators Olivia Jenkins (History) and alicehank winham (Divinity) at gssworkinggroup@gmail.com.

Student Spotlight: Meet Abigail Taylor-Roth!

Abigail (she/they) is a 6th year Ph.D. candidate in the Committee on Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science studying the history of modern mathematics and feminist science and technology studies. Her dissertation explores how mathematicians relate to state and military projects by following a broad history of fractal geometry and related works across the 20th century, from Britain to the U.S. In this project, they ask, when does mathematization feed into state control and how do mathematicians notice or participate in that process? What does it mean for mathematics work to be of “national importance” and what is at stake in that designation? And, how should we understand the role of female mathematicians in military projects? Attending to how mathematicians, intentionally or unintentionally, position themselves and their work across different political and mathematical landscapes both develops a richer picture of the field of fractal geometry and provides insight into the challenges and possibilities of developing antimilitarist mathematics. They are always thinking and teaching about the role of mathematics and quantification in social movements and are committed to building towards scientific and mathematical knowledge that is not rooted in militarism, extraction, and carceral technologies.

She is now entering her second year as a Residential Fellow at CSGS and is looking forward to another year of working in community with everyone in the building. Abigail has enjoyed their time at the Center and has benefited immensely from having a place to gather and attend events, find community with other scholars, and simply write quietly. Through teaching and TAing courses and presenting at the workshop, she has found a home here outside of her department.

Curriculum News

GNSE Major and Minor

The Gender and Sexuality Studies major continues to grow and attract fantastic students. Our 2025 graduating class consisted of GNSE majors Zach Braunschweig, Syd Casey-Willig, Olivia Fowler, Catalina Garcia, Anna German, Ellie GilbertBair, Bingjie Hsieh, Pietro Juvara, Dallas Knox, Courtney McDermott, Aashna Moorjani, Roshni Patel, Kassie Rivera, Natalie Smith, Jalen Sutton, Abigail Scharf and Abigail Whalon. We highly recommend spending time on our BA Symposium site to see the amazing work done by the students who completed the optional thesis. Congrats also go out to GNSE minors Raquel Buriani, Sharon Florez, Julia Jackson, Joshua Lee, Rosemary Li, Amelie Martin, Jane Ritch, Alondra Romero, Megan Schmitz, Donaji Torres-Marques and Madison Rhee. Good luck to one and all!

CSGS STAFF

Tate Brazas, Associate Director

Daisy Delogu, Faculty Director

Bonnie Kanter, Assistant Director for Student Affairs and Curriculum

Quinn Kou, Event and Admin Intern

Cari Street, Communications and Media Intern

CSGS Graduate Certificate

We celebrated another great year in our Certificate Program. Congratulations and warmest wishes to the 2024/2025 cohort of Gender and Sexuality Studies certificate recipients: Lizette Arellano (PhD, Romance Languages and Literatures); Fara Taddei (PhD, Romance Languages and Literatures); Sheila Shankar (PhD, Crown School of Social Work); Jiarui Sun (PhD, East Asian Languages and Civilizations); Yunning Zhang (Department of Comparative Literature, PhD); Nathan Travis (MA, Divinity School); Jingyi Fu, Olivia Tenoglia, Maya Vasdani, Allyson White, Jingchen Xiao, Youyuan Zhang, Jialin Zhou (MAPSS). Sherry Huang, Jade Hurley, Haden Ringel, Kira Schukar and Aashna Sing completed the MAPH specialization. Congratulations to all! Your dedication and scholarship will continue to enrich our academic community.

Find

https://www.facebook.com/UChicagoGender

https://www.youtube.com/user/UChicagoGender

https://www.instagram.com/uchicagocsgs/