Topics in Intersectional Transfeminisms

Spring 2023 Topic: In response to the 2022 Supreme
Court reversal on Roe v. Wade and its immediate
and widespread impact on access to abortion and
reproductive care in much of the US, our class
will focus on the history, politics, activism and
art surrounding the reproductive justice movement
in the US and internationally. Moving beyond the
narrow rhetoric of "choice" and "women's bodies,"
our class will focus on bodily autonomy more
broadly, exploring the connections between the
recent abortion bans and similar bans limiting
access to healthcare, representation, and social
inclusion for transgender people, especially
children. We will also find connections with
global feminist struggles for bodily autonomy, and
gender expression, including the "green wave" of
abortion rights victories in Latin America and the
revolution in Iran ignited and led by young women.
Students will complete short weekly written
assignments using a combination of personal and
critical writing and will produce a class
presentation about a group, organization, or
artist's work related to reproductive justice and
bodily autonomy.

Topics for the course change each semester, always
with an intersectional and international
analytical framework that centers intersectional
and antiracist feminism, transgender rights and
inclusion, and the progressive history of feminist
thought and organizing throughout the world. The
course is intended to be introductory and
welcoming to all; though the topics are
challenging and charged, we will practice a mode
of inquiry and discussion that is inclusive,
courageous, and respectful.
Through this class students will be introduced to
the social transformational model of feminist
studies in the context of examining, and
participating in, some of the most active and
urgent social issues of our current moment, both
in the US and internationally.