‘50 Years Strong’
About Us
Welcome From the Chair
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.
One of our commitments is to always engage our students in not only questions of enormous contemporary value but also find ways to include them in research and projects which allow them to develop their skills as scholars and activists. When we celebrated our department’s 50th year, our students created multiple resources that explored how feminism has changed since 1973. Their projects appear here: https://sites.udel.edu/wgs-celebrates-history/
As you read this, we are in the second year of a three-year project focused violence against and the silencing of Black and other marginalized people, entitled “Recovering Silenced Voices.”
Each year, several of our spring courses are organized into an integrated curriculum, allowing students to explore multiple ways in which they might reflect upon the history of and contemporary experience of violence and injustice and find ways to both understand and confront them.
In our first year of that project (2024) we explored the theme of exonerations and wrongful convictions by focusing closely across multiple courses on different aspects of two cases: that of Darryl Hunt, a wrongfully convicted Black man who spent twenty years incarcerated for a crime of rape and murder that he did not commit, and of The Central Park Five. We invited Dr. Yusef Salaam, one of the now “Exonerated Central Park Five” as our speaker. This was a major event, attended by students across the University. Have a look at the original theater production of “The Trails of Darryl Hunt,” written and produced by our senior capstone students.
Our current year (2025) focuses on the topic of American Violence, asking “is violence an American tradition?” embedded in our laws, customs, norms, and practices? From gun violence to domestic violence, the courses in our Spring curriculum will explore the history of violence in the United States, addressing topics such as the history of colonial settlers and the American frontier, modern-day mass murders, and racist and gender violence. Our special speaker, Brandon Wolf, is a survival of the Pulse Nightclub massacre and an anti-gun and anti-LGTBQ violence activists.
As you can see, 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 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
Visitor Information
The University of Delaware campus is located in Newark, Delaware, which is about 20 minutes away from Wilmington, an hour from either Philadelphia or Baltimore, two hours from Washington D.C., and two and a half hours from New York City.
WGS Celebrated 50 years!
In fall 2022 the Department of Women & Gender Studies celebrated 50 years of teaching about, studying, and advocating for the rights of women and justice for all marginalized people.
Over three semesters the department held events, lecture series, exhibits, discussions and more to reflect on legislative victories, explore lessons from history, and mobilize to create a better future for all people experiencing discrimination and marginalization.
50 Years of Women & Gender Studies
Women & Gender Studies Courses and Information Through the Years
Created by students in our capstone course in honor of our 50-year anniversary
50 Feminist Books That Changed Our Lives
James Smith Hall Freedom Making Murals
About the James Smith Hall Freedom Making Murals (pictured above)
During the Fall of 2017, members of the LGBTQ+ and Racial Activism Living Learning Community, the Visual Arts Living Learning Community, and student residents from the University of Delaware's all-gender housing participated in the design and painting of a mural entitled "Freedom Making," a phrase developed by black feminist intellectual and activist Barbara Ransby. Located in the main lounge of James Smith Hall on UD's North campus, "Freedom Making" is the product of exciting collaborations between LGBTQ+ and Racial Justice Activism LLC academic coordinator Pascha Bueno-Hansen, Global Arts Director Colin Miller, visiting muralist Aurora Sidney-Ando, Residential Life staff, and an amazing group of student artists and activists.
"Freedom Making" is conceived as artivism (artist + activist), which speaks to the intentionality of the artistic process of collective creation and meaning-making as well as the socio-political intervention of the art piece itself. The act of creation, made visible in a public space, enacts the struggle for social justice and engages the political openings that result. The interactive mural installed in James Smith Hall has front panels that mirror the four back panels, honoring the way the present shapes images of a future, highlighted with messages of change and equality. Each panel emphasizes an element (water, fire, air, earth), acknowledging the healing power of nature and the wisdom it holds. Black chalkboard panels are hung between the imagery, inviting viewers to write hopes or action steps for change, reflections, and messages to spark discussions. Strings of butterflies connect the panels as well as the whole space.
Viewers are invited to walk through the images and consider what they can do to bridge the gap between the world as it exists now and the hopes of a future defined by freedom and justice. The "Freedom Making" mural exemplifies the possibilities that are within our reach when we focus our efforts towards healing, connecting with each other, and valuing all beings.
Statement of Solidarity, Support and Action
The Faculty of the Department of Women & Gender Studies commits to the following principles:
We stand in solidarity with our Black students, staff, and colleagues and all communities of color in opposition to systemic white supremacy. As a department of intersectional feminists, we know that there is systemic state-sanctioned violence against Black women, men, trans, non-binary, and intersex people, and we know that what may look like isolated incidents are part of a historical process in this country. We know that the intersections of race, class, sexuality, and other oppressive structures are key components that must be recognized and acknowledged in any conversation about these injustices. It is these intersections that have rendered largely invisible the violence against Black women, both cis- and transgender, although such violence has been brutally inflicted throughout centuries. We need to Say Her Name and fight for a better future without state-sanctioned violence. To do so, we must also dismantle the systems of white supremacy, racial capitalism, and hetero-patriarchy which maintain these power differentials.
Racial violence existed even before the official founding of the United States, violence continues to be perpetrated against Black bodies, and protests have arisen in response to several incidents including the police murder of George Floyd by four police officers in Minneapolis, MN; of Tony McDade in Tallahassee, FL; the killing of Ahmaud Arbery while jogging by two armed white men, acting as police surrogates, in Brunswick, GA; and the shooting of Breonna Taylor in her own home by police officers in Louisville, KY (among countless other instances of police brutality). These, and many other murders by police and police surrogates have reignited the protests begun by the Black Lives Matter movement founded by three radical Black women organizers, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. As the United States is reckoning with institutionalized racism and systemic white supremacy, our department continues to reflect on our own practices and legacies.
We are committed to using our positions as professors to amplify scholarship, pedagogy, advocacy, and activism focused on dismantling all systems of oppression in our department, the University of Delaware campus, and the broader community. We invite you to share your thoughts, concerns, and ideas about ways in which the Department of Women & Gender Studies can support the work of students, staff, faculty and community partners with whom we engage. We are ready to listen and to act.
The College’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Diversity, equity and inclusion are significant parts of the University of Delaware's College of Arts and Sciences's values and goals. The college's commitment to these values is not just evident in its student body but also its faculty, staff, and curriculum, ensuring a fully inclusive experience. Through this steadfast dedication to diversity and inclusivity, the college continues to enrich its educational offering, allowing each student to benefit from a wide array of viewpoints and experiences.
