Department of Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies, University at Albany

10/02/2026

Please join us for a talk by Amy Reid to hear about how direct and indirect forms of academic censorship are narrowing options for America's students.

Amy Reid is the Program Director for PEN America’s Freedom to Learn Program. She works with other PEN America staff and with colleagues from across the country to push back against government censorship in higher education. She is an ardent advocate for public education and the liberal arts.

For more information, visit: https://www.albany.edu/womensstudies/news/2026-teaching-gender-race-and-feminism-troubled-times-wgss-fall-2026-series

09/26/2026

New Tech, Old Biases: AI’s Impact on Gender, Race, and the Classroom

Mutale Nkonde, Founder of AI for the People

Mutale Nkonde is a researcher at the Center of Digital Humanities at Cambridge University and founder of AI for the People, a national non-profit that advocates responsible approaches to AI development.

As part of this work, she has taken part in advisory services to the Biden-Harris White House, Tik Tok and provided testimony at the United Nations. She also holds fellowships at the Berkman Klein Center of Internet and Society at Harvard University, the Digital Civic Society Lab at Stanford, and at the Oxford Internet Institute, at which she is now affiliated.

More information: https://www.albany.edu/womensstudies/news/2026-teaching-gender-race-and-feminism-troubled-times-wgss-fall-2026-series

09/23/2026

Film screening of "First They Came for My College" (Patrick Bresnan, 2026)

September 23, 3pm, Humanities 354, University at Albany, uptown campus.

This new documentary tells the story of the political right-wing takeover of the New College of Florida, the first public college to be “transformed by a political coup,” thus setting a precedent for academic censorship and political interference, specifically targeting interdisciplinary programs like Gender Studies, which was forced to close in 2023. This is both a cautionary tale and an inspiring lesson on how, despite these challenges, students and faculty still found ways to fight back.

09/20/2026

Professor Barbara Sutton, Chair of the Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies department at UAlbany, received a SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities. WGSS affiliates Jennifer Dodge (Public Administration and Policy), Susan Cumings (Writing & Critical Inquiry), and Elise Andaya (Anthropology) were also honored at the ceremony, receiving Chancellor's Awards for Excellence in Teaching. We are proud that WGSS is well represented among the recipients of this state-level recognition.

09/19/2026

On September 9, 2026, Mayor Dorcey Applyrs came to the University at Albany uptown campus and met with the combined first-year classes of Professors Janell Hobson and Aiesha Turman, to talk about women's leadership and their futures. The topics reflect each themed freshman seminar: Professor Hobson's on "Black Women's Leadership" and Professor Turman's on "Afrofuturism.

09/19/2026

The Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department (WGSS) is pleased to announce its Fall 2026 Series, “Teaching Gender, Race, and Feminism in Troubled Times.”

Each lecture or film begins at 3 p.m. in Humanities 354 on UAlbany's Uptown Campus. Live Zoom also available.

Visit the WGSS website to see the full schedule and details:

The Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department (WGSS) is pleased to announce its Fall 2026 Series, “Teaching Gender, Race, and Feminism in Troubled Times.”

05/07/2026

The WGSS sessions at the 2026 UAlbany Showcase were a big success! Congratulations to all the students who shared their research, scholarship, and creativity at this important event.

05/06/2026

The WGSS sessions at the 2026 UAlbany Showcase were a big success! Congratulations to all the students who shared their research, scholarship, and creativity at this important event.