Feminist and Gender Studies

The #FemStemSymposium

The #FemSTEMSymposium was co-created by Dr. Heidi R. Lewis and Dr. Andrea Bruder to illustrate how the interdisciplinary study of power and inequity necessitates pedagogical and scholarly collaboration among intellectuals in myriad fields within and outside of the academy, not just those that may be more obviously connected than others. The symposium includes free and open lectures and convergence classes co-taught by Colorado College professors across disciplines intended to help audiences better examine the crises of our times, particularly those relevant to the relationships between feminism, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

2021-2022

This year, the symposium featured Natural Killer cell enthusiast Dr. Bérénice Mbiribindi Nvunabandi, Principal Scientific Researcher in Translational Oncology at Genentech and member of the #BlackInImmuno Board of Directors. After earning her Ph.D. in Infection, Inflammation, and Immunity from the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom, Dr. Nvunabandi also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Stanford University School of Medicine’s Transplant Immunology Lab.

Special thanks to Dr. Olivia Hatton, Associate Professor of Molecular Biology at Colorado COllege, for organizing this year’s events.

2020-2021

This year, the symposium featured a webinar, “Race, Racism, & Vaccines,” hosted by Dr. Heidi R. Lewis and Dr. Neena Grover (Professor of Biochemistry & Chemistry) and facilitated by students in Dr. Lewis' Black Feminist Theory course and Dr. Grover's Biochemistry II course. In Black Feminist Theory, students converse with key Black feminists, such as bell hooks, Patricia Hill Collins, Audre Lorde, and Alice Walker, to discuss Black women’s relationships with Black men, motherhood, work inside and outside of the home, religion and spirituality, and other concerns. In Biochemistry II, students students study how HIV-1 and Coronavirus work and how they cause AIDS and Covid, as well as the ways medicines and vaccines work. They also examine the history of science and the current state of science to understand the differences in outcomes of diseases, development of medicine, and reasons for skepticism in particular communities.

2019-2020

This year, the symposium featured a talk by Cynthia Chapple, Founder and Managing Director of Black Girls Do STEM (BGDS), which was created to provide middle school-aged Black girls with opportunities to learn, create, and build confidence in their abilities to become STEM professionals while they are still curious and excited to learn new things. Ms. Chapple was also a former student in Dr. Heidi R. Lewis' after school program, The Tarajia Project, for Black girls at Lafayette Jefferson High School in Lafayette, IN. In addition to giving her talk and leading a convergence class with Dr. Heidi R. Lewis' Feminist Theory students and Professor Kadari Taylor-Watson’s Black Feminist Theory students, Ms. Chapple conducted a workshop entitled “Biotechnology: DNA Extraction” for Black girls at Horizon Middle School in District 49, which included Dr. Lewis' daughter. Special thanks to Assistant Principal Elizabeth Dalzell-Wagers for her support with co-organizing the workshop.

2018-2019

This year, the symposium featured a talk by Dr. Rachel Ivie, Director of the Statistical Research Center at the American Institute of Physics, organized and hosted by Dr. Kristine Lang, Associate Professor of Physics at Colorado College, and a talk by Dr. Deboleena Roy, Chair and Associate Professor of Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies and Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology at Emory University, organized in large part by Malone DeYoung (Feminist & Gender Studies ’20) and Nan Elpers (Psychology major and Feminist & Gender Studies minor ’20), Co-Chairs of the Feminist Collective (FemCo).

The Inaugural Year, 2017-2018

We kicked off the symposium with a talk by Dr. Samantha Blackmon, Associate Professor of English at Purdue University and Co-Founder of Not Your Mamma’s Gamer, followed by a talk co-sponsored by the Harold D. and Rhoda N. Roberts Memorial Fund Lecture featuring Dr. Talithia Williams, Associate Professor of Mathematics and Associate Dean for Research and Experiential Learning at Harvey Mudd College and host of PBS’ NOVA Wonders. We concluded with a screening of Hidden Figures followed by a discussion featuring Dr. Lewis, Dr. Bruder, and Desirae Martinez ('13), the first Colorado College student to graduate with a major in Mathematics and minor in Feminist & Gender Studies.

Report an issue - Last updated: 04/23/2022