WGS SOUTH
REGIONAL ACADEMIC CONFERENCE INSPIRES STUDENTS
WRITTEN BY MORGAN ALLEN (she/they), WGS MAJOR, PSYCHOLOGY MINOR, AND LAUREN RAVALICO (she/her), WGS DIRECTOR
The 2024 WGS South Conference took place March 28-30 at the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg, SC, and was organized around the theme “Care Feminisms, Crip Futures.” Key topics included ableism in academia, the fight to protect reproductive healthcare, the application of ‘care’ in women’s and gender studies, and the intersections of ableism, racism, sexism, and homophobia.
With nine undergraduates and five faculty excitedly in attendance, WGS @ the College of Charleston proudly holds the record for bringing the largest contingent of undergraduate students and faculty to this year’s conference! WGS major Kennedy Nova (she/they) said this about her experience: “I was immersed in the feeling of care and community with new and old friends. I loved seeing the minds, spirits, and work represented by those I admire and who are teaching and training my peers to be better people.”
Left to right, front row: Bek Meyers, Kristen Graham ‘24, Dr. Kris De Welde, WGS Director Dr. Lauren Ravalico, Morgan Allen. Back row: brin nesryn, Kennedy Nova, Mo Spragins, Reagan Williams ’23, Molly Dickerson.
Seven WGS students, including Nova, were recipients of WGS Student Opportunities grants to support their travel and participation. Undergraduates brin nesryn (they/them) and Molly Dickerson (she/her) gave their first formal academic conference presentations at a special student caucus. brin reflects: “Presenting at an academic conference outside of the College of Charleston was both anxiety-inducing and inspiring. Collaborating with graduate and doctoral students as an undergraduate was initially intimidating, but I soon recognized that my research proposal was more ambitious and substantial than I had previously perceived. I’m grateful for the opportunity to embrace more vulnerability, messiness, and co-creation in the writing process. Participating in WGS South has deepened my appreciation for the exceptional faculty and mentors in the WGS Program, particularly Dr. Dominguez, who guided me through numerous project drafts and ultimately encouraged me to apply.”
Assistant Professor of Teacher Education, WGS faculty affiliate, and WGS Executive Committee member, Dr. Tiffany Harris (she/her), presented with her graduate student, Ashleigh Werth (she/her), on “Women Redefining Education: Caregiving/taking, Invisible Disabilities, and Pedagogical Practices.” WGS Director Dr. Lauren Ravalico attended their session: “The mentorship dynamic between Dr. Harris and her student during their talk epitomized the theory that grounds their shared research. Dr. Harris integrated her autobiographical poetry into the conceptual framework, which was canny, effective, and moving.” Dr. Harris used the conference location to her advantage, traveling to Cherokee, NC, afterward to work on her WGS-Mellon Impact Starter Grant project, “The South Still Got Something to Say: Black and Indigenous Perspectives on Speculative Worldmaking.”
Dr. Kathy Béres Rogers (she/her), Professor of English, Director of Medical Humanities, WGS faculty affiliate, and another WGS-Mellon Impact Grant awardee, is a passionate proponent of teaching intersectionality through disability studies. She presented a chapter from her second book manuscript, currently in progress, on representations of intellectual disabilities in British Romantic literature.
WGS major Morgan Allen showing off their new conference-inspired tattoo (stack of books, “Liberation”). Photo credit: Lauren Ravalico
Dr. Cristina Dominguez (they/them), Assistant Professor of WGS, presented research-in-progress with their co-author, Ph.D. candidate (NC State), Meghan Watts (they/them): “We Will Save Our Children from “The Family”: Building Liberatory (Queer) Kinships against the State.” The talk featured a case study the pair are completing on “Mothers for Ceasefire,” a community organization in Durham, NC.
Ravalico organized, moderated, and presented on a panel with three other current and former WGS directors: “Caring for WGSS in the South: Perspectives from South Carolina.” The panel interventions and the discussion it generated with the audience ranged from practical advice (especially fundraising!) to the application of theory to everyday praxis in higher education. Former WGS Director and current WGS Professor Dr. Kris De Welde (she/ella) shared her research on academic justice to drive home this point. Ravalico examined how her background in French feminism and multilingualism informs her leadership in the U.S. scene of women’s and gender studies.
The conference also featured some feminist superstars, including keynote speaker Dr. Sara Ahmed, author of The Feminist Killjoy Handbook (2023). Ahmed’s “Killing Joy as a Queer Project” included “sharing truths” from her book: “Just because they want you doesn’t mean they’ll expect you to turn up,” and “get a ‘no’ out so that others can follow suit.”
Several students in attendance cited the BIPOC Caucus Panel as especially poignant and inspirational: “Black Mothering as a Site of BIPOC Revolutionary Ethics of Care.” Dr. Felecia Harris discussed the historical exploitation and stigmatization of the Black female body and its correlation with medical bias today. Dr. Julia S. Jordan-Zachery, Professor and Chair of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (Wake Forest University), moved nearly the entire room to tears with her essay, “Where does Black Feminine Grief Reside? An Exploratory Essay on the Death of My Mother and My Mourning as a Communal Care Practice,” in which she urges Black women to reject the toxic notion of repressing their emotions.
Overall, the WGS South Conference was an enlightening and enriching experience that provided deep insights and fostered a strong sense of community. The conference’s impactful sessions and inspiring speakers made it a truly memorable experiential learning opportunity.