13/05/2022
Champions of Cambridge: Wolfson College triumphant after historic basketball cuppers win
Gender has long been—and continues to be—an important feature in understanding and promoting equality and inclusivity. 2020 has seen a spike in gendered issues, including a ‘shadow pandemic’ of intimate partner violence coinciding with COVID-19 lockdows, an increase in violence against trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming folx (especially toward Black trans women), and a lack of emotional support networks available to men dealing with mental health challenges. Gender is everywhere in our daily lives, and we hope that this Hub can facilitate lasting conversations approaching gender from a variety of disciplines and perspectives.
The Hub brings together passionate individuals spanning a variety of disciplines and generations through accessible events, informal discussions, and advocacy initiatives. Drawing on Wolfson’s strengths of its diverse international student base, professional networks, and world-class researchers, our Hub fosters important discussions about gender and creates a platform for college members to highlight their own work on gendered issues. Our work also recognizes that gender intersects with other axes of oppression, inclusive of race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, class, and dis/ability status, among others. The Hub is committed to understanding and emphasizing these intersections in the events we hold and the initiatives we put forward.
Strategic Priorities
The Gender Research Hub is committed to offering a platform to elevate gender-related research at college, and create lasting conversations about gender issues amongst our members. Our strategic priorities include:
- Fostering an intellectual community among all scholars whose research relates to gender, understood broadly to encompass a variety of disciplines and sexualities.
- Raising the profile of college members who are doing research on gender, and providing them with ample opportunities to discuss their research with others through work-in-progress talks, conferences, and informal events.
Current Initiatives and Projects:
- Transgender Day of Remembrance Indoor Picnic and Film Screening of “Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen” (20 Nov, 12.00-15.00 in the Gatsby Room. We encourage everyone to bring food or drink to share with the group, but if you’re unable to, please bring something for yourself so that we can all eat together! Additional information on Facebook. Please make sure to sign up.
- A gender-focused book club
- Wolfson's third International Women's Day Conference (8 March 2022)
- A work-in-progress series for students to casually discuss their research with an audience at college
- Informal social events, including Gender Hub formals, brunches, and more!
You can follow the Gender Hub on Facebook and sign up for their newsletter to hear updates about events and activities.
Gender Hub Organised Research Experience (GHORE)
We’ve just launched the Gender Hub Organised Research Experience (GHORE), a change for students to assist with short-term research projects under the supervision of upper-year researchers within the Wolfson community, as a way to build up research experience and expand their skillsets. We’re looking for Research Assistants to join the team for our first GHORE project, which involves analysing existing systems of gender-affirming support for transgender* students within the Cambridge community using a qualitative approach consisting of resource searches, semi-structured interviews, and thematic coding. The project will run from January to July 2022. Applications are open to everyone, regardless of level of study or discipline. It’s a fantastic way for students to gain additional research expertise, so please apply if you’re interested!
More information, including the project brief and RA responsibilities, can be found in the application submission form. Applications close on 10 December 2022.
*A note on language: we use trans as an umbrella term to include people who's gender is not the same as, or does not sit comfortably with, the sex they were assigned at birth. This includes students who identify as transgender, non-binary, and genderqueer, among other identities. Our definition is taken from Stonewall.
Past Events
Recordings of past events are available in the Media Collection.
- 2021/2022 Kick Off Event, on 22 September 2021
- Beyond Borders: Women's Movements Around the World, on 14 May 2021
- Professors Jane Rhodes and Lynn Hudson - From Mississippi to Cambridge: Marie Battle Singer, Britain's first Black psychoanalyst, on 10 March 2021
- International Women's Day Conference, on 8 March 2021
- Sex Work and Borders: International Sex Workers' Rights Day, on 4 March 2021
- Let’s Talk: Tackling Violence Against Women, on 25 November 2020
- ‘Since U Been Gone’ Screening in observance of Transgender Awareness Week, followed by Q&A with Playwright & Performer Tabby Lamb, on 20 November 2020
- WCSA’s LGBTQ+ Officer, with the support of the Hub, put on a series of events to commemorate Pride Month.
