WGS in Review: Reflections from the Interim Director
by Kendra R. Parker
We have had a busy academic year in the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, and I have been pleased to serve as the interim director for the Spring 2019 semester.
It is only fitting, then, that our last blog post of the 2018-2019 academic year offers some of our Program’s highlights. Check out our infographic for a snapshot. Want additional details or to know our plans for next academic year? Scroll down for more!
In Review: WGS 2018-2019
Our 2019 Phi Beta Kappa recipient is Nina D. Kay, a double major in Women’s & Gender Studies and Art History with a minor in Creative Writing. Nina has an impressive record at Hope, both in and out of the classroom. Nina is a Mellon Scholar, the founder and past president of the Women’s Empowerment Organization, and a co-director of Hope’s 2019 Vagina Monologues production. Additionally, Nina is the recipient of several awards including the 2017 Recipient of Arts & Humanities Dean’s Award for Research and the 2016 recipient of The Stephenson First-Year Writing Prize recipient. The latter was awarded for her fall 2015 essay, “Bowing to No One: Black Feminism in Frances E.W. Harper’s ‘Vashti’ and Janelle Monae’s ‘Q.U.E.E.N.’” Nina’s research interests in children’s media led to a national presentation at the South Atlantic Modern Language Association Conference in November 2017. Congratulations, Nina!
This academic year, WGS co-sponsored 2 Panel Discussions. In October, WGS Program was one of several co-sponsors for “A Civil Dialogue on Abortion,” a two-person panel featuring philosophers Dr. Jack Mulder (Hope Philosophy) and Dr. Bertha Manninen.
In January, WGS co-sponsored and organized three-week series with S.T.E.P and the Communication Department to educate Hope’s campus about sexual assault, provide historical context for contemporary discussions, and offer safe spaces for discussion. The three-week series began with the screening of Confirmation (2016), and the second event was a moderated faculty and staff panel. The final event was a small group discussion series. Special thanks go out to Dr. Marissa Doshi, Christian Gibson, and Dr. Sarah Kornfield for their work in organizing the event series.
Additionally, 3 WGS co-sponsored three speakers.
- Dr. Davia J. Crutchfield’s November visit which boasted standing room only in Fried-Hemenway Auditorium. If you missed Dr. Crutchfield’s presentation, don’t fret. Watch “Faith, Intersectionality, and Black Masculinity: Kendrick Lamar’s Urban Theology,” on YouTube.
- In early April, we hosted Sara Wachter-Boettcher, author of Technically Wrong (2016). In addition to her lecture, “Inclusive Design, Ethical Tech, and All of Us,” (reviewed by Gracyn Carter) Sara dined with two WGS faculty and several students enrolled in WGS 200. They enjoyed a candid dinner conversation and got a sneak peek at some of her insights for her lecture.
- The third speaker, Crystal Carr, a Ph.D. Candidate in Biopsychology at the University of Michigan, spoke on “A Novel Model of Cocaine Addiction.” Part of Carr’s presentation included a discussion of sex differences in cocaine addiction (among mice), and students were fascinated with the results.
Four WGS majors/minors participated in the 2019 Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity held on Friday, April 12, 2019, in DeVos Fieldhouse.
- Hannah Barnes, “Disability in Black Women’s Speculative Fiction”
- Ester Fletcher, “The Alternative Black Girl in Popular Culture: An Examination”
- Cadence Jones, “Hysteria: A Look at Sexism in Medicine”
- Kamryn Ramsay, “Legalized Abortion and Women’s Health: The True Defender of Life”
For the 2018-2019 academic year, 5 faculty published articles and books. Check out the list below!
- Dr. Marissa J. Doshi, “Barbies, Goddesses, and Entrepreneurs: Discourses of Gendered Digital Embodiment in Women’s Health Apps”
- Doshi, “Hybridizing National Identity: Reflections on the Media Consumption of Middle-Class Catholic Women in Urban India.“
- Dr. Sarah J. Kornfield, “Speaking in the Language of White Women: Second- and Third-Wave Metaphors”
- Dr. Kendra R. Parker, She Bites Back: Black Female Vampires in African American Women’s Novels, 1977-2011
- Dr. Jeanne Petit, “’We Must Not Fail Either the Church or the Nation’: Mobilizing Laywomen in the World War I United States.”
We honored 8 Graduating Seniors at the 2019 Senior Celebration “Brinner,” held Monday, April 29, 2019, at Haworth Inn.
This year, graduating seniors chose their own book gifts from a list of 8 curated by WGS faculty. The books they chose?
- Living a Feminist Life (Sara Ahmed)
- Thick: And Other Essays (Tressie McMillan Cottom)
- Essential Essays: Culture, Politics, and the Art of Poetry (Adrienne Rich; edited by Sandra Gilbert)
- Written on the Body: Letters from Trans and Non-Binary Survivors of Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence (edited by Lexie Bean)
- The Meaning of Freedom: And Other Difficult Dialogues (Angela Davis)
Below is a photo gallery of the 2019 Senior Celebration, featuring guests, students, and faculty (current and emeritus).
In a new move this year, Hope’s Day of Giving allowed for donors to give to their areas of choice, and we are so thankful for our 9 Day of Giving Donors!
Thank you for giving to the Women’s and Gender Studies Program.
Last, but not least, we showcased 10 Interviews on our blog. Did you miss the interviews? No worries! They are hyperlinked below for your convenience.
- Sophia Bouma-Prediger ’17
- Crystal Carr
- Dr. Vanessa Ann Claus, 08
- Anna J. Clutterbuck-Cook, ’05
- Dr. Davia J. Crutchfield
- Allyson Harper, ’14
- Rebekah Taylor, ’12
- Emme Veenbaas, ’16
- Dr. Phillip Waalkes, ’04
- Sara Wachter-Boettcher
On behalf of the WGS Program, I’d like to thank the 7 WGS alumni who offered interviews for our blog. Your insight and experiences are invaluable, and I thank you for contributing to the life of the program. Your blogs were also quite important for incoming students. Dr. Sarah Kornfield, who hosted admitted student day, remarked, “[the alumni interviews] made it so easy to put together brief alumni profiles and show a range of careers and applications of WGS.”
Looking Back, Looking Forward: Final Remarks
As we look back at this academic year, it is safe to say it has been a whirlwind; we completed an external review; 
we’ve had several speakers; we’ve featured student insights on the blog; we celebrated Dr. Kornfield’s tenure & promotion–and more. So, what’s next? In addition to our fall course offerings (pictured to your right), we have a new course coming your way.
In Spring 2020, Dr. Marissa Doshi will offer a new 300-level course: WGS 395. WGS 395, or “Transnational Feminisms: From Allies to Accomplices,” will meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9:30-10:20 AM.
And still, there’s more. The “what’s next?” question also warrants a personal response from me:
As I step down as interim WGS director, I also step away from Hope College; I will join the Department of Literature at the Georgia Southern University, Armstrong campus in Savannah, GA. I look forward to the new opportunity, and I take with me the wisdom and good memories from the WGS Program, WGS students, and WGS alumni. To each of you, I tip my proverbial hat.
Spera in Deo.
Dr. KP