News and Events
Community is at the heart of WSGS. Come meet other Loyola students and faculty at our events. We hope to see you there!
Celebrate LGBTQ History Month with Women’s Studies and Gender Studies!
Wednesday, October 21 4pm LSB 142
Pamela L. Caughie
“The Short Life, and Long Legacy, of Lili Elbe”
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Fall 2026 Feminist Lecture Series
| Date | Speaker and Topic |
|---|---|
|
October 14 |
Alice Weinreb, Fatima Taha, Shaumika Prahan, and Kaitlin Colwell Researching the Rise of Eating Disorders – Interdisciplinary Approaches to Psychiatry, Feminism, and the History of Women’s Minds and Bodies |
| October 16 4:00-5:00pm IC 230 |
Jarilo Perkovic Johannine Women: Can Women in the Gospel of John Prove Synoptic Influence? |
| November 4 4:00-5:00pm IC 230 |
Melody Kpahn and Ellenor Zorn Trans* Representation: Exploring the Past, Present, and Future of Gender Variance in Film |
| November 11 4:00-5:00pm Zoom |
Jena DiMaggio Staging the Limitations of Medical Knowledge in Sidney Kingsley’s Men in White |
Past Events
Friday, October 2, 2026
THE BORDERS OF AMÉRICA: Authoritarianism, Border Regimes, & Migrant Resistance Roundtable
Corboy Law Center, Room 211
25 E. Pearson St., Chicago, IL 60611
9:30am - 1:00pm,
To mark the publication of The Borders of América (Duke University Press, 2026), this two-panel event brings together migration scholars from Chicago, throughout the United States, and across the Américas to discuss transformations in human mobility, border regimes, migrant dispossession, and the transnational struggles contesting them.
Schedule of events:
9:30am: Introductions and Welcome
9:45am - 11:15am: Border Regimes and Migrant Resistance Roundtable
Moderator: Dr. Cristian Paredes, Professor - Sociology and Program Director - Race & Ethnicity Interdisciplinary Minor, Loyola University Chicago
| Dr. Soledad Álvarez Velasco (University of Illinois Chicago) | The Trans-American Border Regime Shifting the Andean Region Connecting Node | Dr. Soledad Álvarez Velasco is a Social Anthropologist and Human Geographer. She works as an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Anthropology and Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of Illinois Chicago. Her research focuses on the interconnection of mobility, control and spatial transformation across the Americas. She is the author of Frontera Sur Chiapaneca el muro humano de la violencia (2016), co-editor of Luchas Migrantes en tiempos Endémicos y de Crisis (2025), and is currently completing a new monograph: Inhabiting Transit: the migrant spatial struggle form South America to the U.S. and back South Again. |
| Dr. Eduardo Domenech (Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina) | The Trans-American Border Regime and the Infrastructural Politics of Mobility Containment | Dr. Eduardo Domenech is a researcher at the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), based at the Institute of Anthropology of Córdoba (IDACOR), Argentina. He investigates the transformation of migration and border regimes in Latin America. He recently published the book Fronteras en disputa [Contested Borders] (CALAS, 2025). |
| Dr. Nicholas de Genova (University of Houston) | Toward a Genealogy of the Trans-American Border Regime | Dr. Nicholas De Genova is Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Comparative Studies at the University of Houston. He is the author or editor of 9 books, including Toward Border Abolition: Migrant Struggles and the Law (2026). He is currently completing two new monographs: The Migrant Metropolis and Border Fascism. |
| Dr. Gustavo Dias (Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros (UNIMONTES), Brasil) | Confins International Airport: A Brazilian Node within the Trans-American Border Regime | Dr. Gustavo Dias is a professor and researcher at the State University of Montes Claros, Brazil, and also coordinator of the Odyssey: Abdelmalek Sayad Research Group. He completed his PhD in Sociology at Goldsmiths / University of London-UK. His research is concerned with Brazilian international migration, border regimes, and Abdelmalek Sayad’s critical perspectives on migration. |
11:15am - 11:30am: Break
11:30am - 1:00pm: Chicagolandia: A Sanctuary City
Moderator: Dra. Suzanne Bost, Professor and Chair, English, Loyola University Chicago
| Dr. María Vidal de Hymes (Loyola University Chicago) | Witness and Accompaniment as Collective Care and Sanctuary Practice | Dr. María Vidal is a Professor and Director of the Center for Immigrant and Refugee Accompaniment (CIRA) at Loyola University Chicago School of Social Work, where she teaches social welfare and immigration policy courses. Her background is in migration studies, social welfare policy and program development and evaluation. Her research focuses on violence and displacement of Central American youth, socio-emotional accompaniment of migrants and refugees, social determinants of health and mental health in immigrant communities, and the intersection of immigration and social welfare systems. |
| Dr. A. Naomi Paik (University of Illinois Chicago) | Sanctuary by the People | A. Naomi Paik is the author of Bans, Walls, Raids, Sanctuary: Understanding U.S. Immigration for the 21st Century and Rightlessness: Testimony and Redress in U.S. Prison Camps since World War II. She revised and updated Ronald Takaki’s A Different Mirror for Young People: A History of Multicultural America (2026). She coedited four special issues of the Radical History Review on militarism and capitalism, sanctuary, policing, and the Anthropocene. She coedits the “Borderlands” section of Public Books and “The Politics of Sanctuary” blog at the Smithsonian. She is an associate professor of Criminology, Law, and Justice and Global Asian Studies at the University of Illinois Chicago. |
| Dr. Héctor García-Chávez (Loyola University Chicago) | Lit&Luz Festivals: Creating Intercultural Artistic Spaces throughout Chicagolandia | Dr. Héctor García Chávez holds a joint appointment in the Women's/Gender Studies Program and the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at Loyola University Chicago. His specialties include Mexican literature and film plus U.S. Latinx studies with a focus on Chicagolandia. He serves as Head of Graduate Programs and Gender Studies and teaches interdisciplinary courses on Queer/Cuir Theory, Masculinity Studies, and Migration, Gender & Sexuality. For more than 20 years he has been a collaborator and lecturer at UNAM-Chicago. |
| Directorx Maya Piña (Casa Michoacán-Elgin / Director, La Feria del Libro en Chicago) | Los tigres del verbo: migración, cultura y resistencia en Chicago | Maya Piña is the Director of Casa Michoacán Elgin, a nonprofit organization committed to advancing the well-being, empowerment, and civic engagement of the Latino community throughout Elgin and Kane County, Illinois. She is also a cultural promoter, transgender advocate, writer, and editor who has cofounded several influential literary and cultural magazines in Chicago. Through El Beisman Press, Piña has contributed to the publication of numerous catalogs showcasing Latino artists and promoting Latino arts, literature, and culture. |
Feminist Lecture Series Previous Semesters:
Spring 2026 Feminist Lecture Series
| Date | Speaker and Topic |
|---|---|
|
January 28 |
Suzanne Bost "Gloria Anzaldúa’s Prieta is Dreaming" |
| March 11 4:00-5:00pm CH 111 |
Dyna Arriaga "Thinking Outside of the "Man" Box: Utilizing Masculinity Theory in Higher Education Programming |
| March 25 4:00-5:00pm IC 230 |
Alexander Meeus " Women are the Champions: The Surprisingly Persistent Neglect of Women's Sports in Ancient Greek History" |
| April 15 4:00-5:00pm IC 230 |
Sofia Gabriel "The Feminist Collective Body. Performance and Feminisms in Latin America" |
Fall 2025 Feminist Lecture Series
| Date | Speaker and Topic |
|---|---|
|
September 24 |
Jana Kopal and Ariana Santos - Las Fronteras Divinas: Cross-Cultural Mythologies in Latina Literature |
| October 8 4:30-5:30pm Crown 141 |
Maryam Rizvi - Queerness in Islam told through "Hijab Butch Blues" |
| November 12 4:30-5:30pm Crown 141 |
Grace Kubek - Limitations Among Transgressions: The Evolution of Lesbian Activist Fashion from 1950-1980 |
| December 3 4:30-5:30pm Crown 141 |
Evangeline Stott - Rewilding the Creative Process |
New Advanced Master's Pathway (AMP)!
Interested in a WSGS MA? Our new AMP allows Loyola undergraduates of any major to begin graduate coursework during their senior year! Learn more here.
Internships
Attention majors! WSGS 398/Internship is a requirement for your major. If you need to take this course over the summer or in the upcoming year, please begin thinking about what you want to do soon. You should review the WSGS Internship and Practicum page on the WSGS website (linked below). We strongly suggest that you meet with Dr. Boychenko to go over the syllabus and requirements for the internship so that you can be registered for the class and fill out required forms.
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Feminist Lecture Series
Call for proposals for SPRING 2027 Feminist Lecture Series! Every semester, the Women’s Studies & Gender Studies program holds the Feminist Lecture Series as an opportunity for individuals or groups to present their research, academic, or professional work. The series includes a wide variety of topics and disciplines with special attention to women and gender in policy and global issues, social justice movements, reproductive rights, and interdisciplinary work. Please use the QR code on our flyer to apply. Click on 'Learn More' to apply for the spring series.
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Queer Theory Reading Group
Interested in learning more about the multi-faceted discipline of Queer Theory? Check out our Queer Theory Reading Group!
Looking to the Past to Envision the Future
TCGQT is a colloquium highlighting the works of Undergraduate and Graduate students, which will continue to take place every spring semester. Click 'Details' for more information on panel topics from our last conference.
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