Interested in the intersections of social justice, gender, race, class, sexuality and other aspects of identity? In the Department of Gender, Race, and Identity, you will directly engage in these issues through experience and application. We offer a number of undergraduate and graduate degrees that will meet your interests.
Our degree programs focus on a range of human experiences and analyze difference and oppression in its various forms on individuals and societies. Deep exploration of inequality and social justice prepares students for careers in public advocacy, politics, sustainability and education. Our alumni hold leading positions in government, community organizing, national foundations, education and law.
Dear GRI Community,
We are very saddened to learn of the passing of Mary White Stewart, Professor Emerita of Sociology and former Director of Women’s Studies and Gender, Race, and Identity. Dr. Stewart was deeply committed to students, colleagues, and members of the local community, and we are so grateful for her outstanding leadership of — and countless contributions to — Women’s Studies and GRI over the years.
Dr. Stewart’s vision for an interdisciplinary, intersectional program dedicated to the study of power, injustice, and identity resulted in the formation of the Gender, Race, and Identity Program and the development of an M.A. and Graduate Certificate in Gender, Race, and Identity, among other accomplishments. In addition to inspiring and facilitating collaborations across disciplines and departments, she was an outstanding mentor and advocate for faculty members and undergraduate and graduate students throughout the university. When she was first appointed as director of Women’s Studies in 2002, the program included a lecturer, an administrator, and a group of committed affiliated faculty across University departments. Her vision and years of hard work led to the formation of the Gender, Race, and Identity Program in 2007, a new structure which brought together the Women’s Studies major and minor, and minors in Ethnic Studies; Holocaust, Genocide, and Peace Studies; and Religious Studies. Dr. Stewart fiercely protected Women’s Studies and GRI during the 2007-2009 recession, and the program grew in the years that followed. Extending Dr. Stewart’s foundational work, Gender, Race, and Identity recently became a department (July 1, 2020), and is currently home to nine faculty and staff members, more than 50 faculty associates, and 13 existing and soon-to-be-launched undergraduate and graduate programs, including minors in Black Studies, Indigenous Studies, Latinx Studies, and LGBTQ Studies. We are indebted to Dr. Stewart for her vision to build such a vibrant community of students, scholars, and community partners.
Dr. Stewart was professor, colleague, mentor, and friend to so many of us. We send heartfelt condolences to her loved ones. We are extremely grateful for her ground-breaking research about gendered violence, skilled teaching in and outside of the classroom, wonderful sense of humor, and longstanding dedication to creating community on campus and beyond. She will be missed.
Warmly,
The Department of Gender, Race, and Identity
