Jacobs' research focuses on of genocide, collective memory and the intergenerational transmission of trauma. She is the author of several books, including Hidden Heritage: The Legacy of the Crypto-Jews, for which she won the distinguished book award from the Society for the Social Scientific Study of Religion, and Memorializing the Holocaust: Gender, Genocide and Collective Memory. Her work has been internationally recognized as contributing to global efforts to support women and children in the aftermath of mass trauma.

Jacobs was honored for this achievement at an event in Old Main Chapel on Monday, September 24th, where she presented a lecture “Sites of Terror and the Memory of Genocidal Trauma.” In addition, two other CU faculty were recognized for this honor: Mitchell C. Begelman of Astrophysical & Planetary Sciences, and Christopher Braider, from the Department of French and Italian. The event was followed by a reception in the Heritage Center.

Dr. Jacobs is a previous recipient of the Hazel Barnes prize, the largest and most prestigious single faculty award funded by the �鶹ӰԺ, which recognizes “the enriching interrelationship between teaching and research.”

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The newest addition to the Department of Women and Gender Studies, Dr. Maisam Alomar has joined our faculty this semester as an assistant professor. Her research lies mainly in the areas of disability studies, cultural studies, and ethnic studies.

Alomar comes to us from the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, San Diego, where she completed her dissertation, "‘To Be Seen Whole’: The Racialization of Disability after World War II" under the advisement of Dr. Patrick Anderson. In this work, she examined popular culture, laws, and historical documents to find how ideologies of race and gender have interacted to construct disability as a social and scientific category. Her interdisciplinary research included archival investigation, legal analysis, the collection of original social science data from public databases, and film and literary analysis.

Alomar notes that “disability studies raises important questions about inclusion, access, representation, embodiment, space, and reproduction.” Her work also incorporated black studies and critical races scholarship to analyze ways racial categories shape what is considered a disability, who is considered disabled, and the legal and social consequences of such categorization. She received grants for her research from the Black Studies Project and the Institute of Arts and Humanities at UCSD, and by the University of California Humanities Research Institute.

Alomar also contributed to the UC San Diego’s Black Studies Project by organizing events and facilitating seminars. The Black Studies Project is an interdisciplinary research collaborative that includes faculty, graduate and undergraduate students. It offers a platform for cross-departmental and cross-campus intellectual exchange in the field of Black Studies.  She also contributed to the UC San Diego’s as a digital archivist and outreach coordinator. This project aims to digitize and promote the unique genre of drawings made by the Plains Indians between 1860 and 1900, and give researchers such as Alomar first-hand experience in the history and significance of representation through Native American material culture. This artwork has been scattered and the ledger books have been disbanded by private owners over the past few decades. The project promotes accessibility in part to allow indigenous people whose communities historically produced this artwork to regain access to it.

Alomar has authored an upcoming publication entitled “‘This Isn’t the South Bronx’: Race, Criminality, and Disability in the Contemporary Opioid Epidemic” which is currently under review with the journal Catalyst: Feminism, Theory, Technoscience. The essay takes up the issue of “substance use disorder” and argues that the discourse surrounding the 1980s crack cocaine epidemic and the present-day opioid epidemic rely on similarly racialized rhetoric, and its implications regarding pain and suffering, safety and employment to establish substance use disorder as a (white) disability and not a (black) criminal liability as it was understood throughout the Reagan-Bush era War on Drugs. These racially disparate characterizations of substance use disorder help to shape and, in turn, are perpetuated by the respective technologies of rehabilitation and criminalization developed in response. The essay takes the debate surrounding the categorization of substance use disorder as a prominent case study in how state and civil society understand and relate to an emergent disability through the deployment of law and technology.

Alomar is currently teaching Gender, Race, Sex and the Body, which studies the body as a site for the production of social difference, meaning and inequality. The course is supported by course readings from feminist theory, critical race studies, sociology of the body, and cultural studies, including from authors Angela Davis, Roxane Gay, Judith Butler, Dorothy Roberts, and Danielle Wong. She is also teaching a social science seminar for the Miramontes Arts and Sciences Program regarding gender and race in film.

This spring, Alomar has created a new course Gender, Race, Science and Technology (WGST 3702) which examines the role of science and technology in forming conceptions of race, gender, and class, and vice-versa. They examine how some populations benefit from scientific knowledge-production while others are excluded, or come to be its subjects. The class will also ask how and why we might engage in scientific knowledge-production in light of this history.

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Nadia Brecl, 2018 Van Ek Award Winner

Nadia is a recent CU graduate, with dual degrees in sociology and women and gender Studies, a minor in Ethnic Studies and certificates in both LGBTQ studies and public health. They were one of three WGST students to be awarded the Jacob Van Ek award for 2018, one of the highest honors awarded to students in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Nadia was nominated for the Van Ek award based on both their exemplary academic performance, and their commitment to issues of social justice in the campus community and beyond. “It has been an honor to get to know Nadia inside the classroom as well as beyond,” noted Dr. Celeste Montoya, “they are an exemplary student: thoughtful, engaged, inquisitive, responsive, and hard working.” Nadia shared their appreciation of WGST for offering some of their favorite classes, including Trans Studies, Queer Theory, and Feminist Theories, giving "special thanks to WGST faculty Celeste Montoya, Emmanuel David, and Robert Wyrod for your mentorship and support."

As a student, Nadia was highly involved in departmental activities. They were an active member of the Gender Justice League, and a member of the Triota Honor Society. Nadia also helped organize and create an online archive for the annual TRANSforming Gender Conference with a group of students in Professor Emmanuel David’s Trans Studies class. "My experience in Women and Gender Studies classes and with communities that center intersectionality, social justice, and gender equity has equipped me with some of the tools that I value the most. The ability to critically examine systematic injustices as well as the intersections of my own identities allows me to create positive change for myself and for communities with which I engage."

While an undergraduate, Nadia worked for the CU Women’s Resource Center as a program coordinator; facilitated the group Queer Women in Community; facilitated the WRC’s training, “Wait Your Turn: Recognizing and Interrupting Sexism”; and planned and emceed the annual Sexpressions talent showcase four years in a row. They were also involved in numerous student groups, including the CU Gender & Sexuality Alliance hosting the very popular CU Drag Show and Queer Formal, and was a co-founder of the Polycule Student Group, which provides a space for people to learn about and support non-normative relationships. “Nadia exhibits a strong commitment to bringing in an intersectional (or inclusive) approach to this work,” adds Dr. Montoya. In addition to their work on campus, Nadia was employed by a local ambulance company as an Emergency Medical Technician, helping to transport patients across the Denver metro area.

Nadia now works as an administrative assistant with the Student Affairs and Career Development offices at Colorado Law. In this role, Nadia assists the registrar, plans events, sends weekly career development newsletters, and manages job postings and letters of recommendation. Nadia shared, "as an alum that worked in Student Affairs as an undergrad, I enjoy getting to continue to engage in CU’s community and with students in this position." In their off-time, Nadia plays roller derby with the �鶹ӰԺ County Bombers, and co-heads the human resources committee within their league.

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Mallory Hale, 2018 Van Ek Award Winner

A double major in women and gender studies and international affairs, with minors in political science and Arabic, Mallory Hale was chosen for the Jacob Van Ek award for their “flawless academic performance as well as the impressive work they have been doing to build an inclusive climate on our campus,” according to Dr. Deepti Misri.

Mallory is the president of the student club The F-Word as well as an active member of the Gender Justice League student practicum group. They were instrumental in organizing and finding funding for last year’s visit by acclaimed radical trans* South Asian performance artist Alok Vaid-Menon. “Mallory’s commitments indicate to me a genuine effort to work towards gender and racial justice on our campus and beyond,” notes Dr. Misri. 

Additionally, Mallory has worked on campus as a student ambassador, leading tours for prospective students and their families, and as a facilitator for the CU Restorative Justice Program, working with student offenders to repair the harm done by creating actionable plans that help build community. “My work with the Restorative Justice Program has been influential in that it introduced me to a more equitable form of justice, a springboard for my support of prison abolition and the approach I hope to take to my legal career,” shares Mallory.

Mallory’s academic excellence has landed them on the Dean’s list every semester of their CU career. They have received two grants through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program both under the supervision of WGST associate faculty and political science professor Dr. Michaele Ferguson. The most recent of them was used to fund Mallory’s undergraduate thesis on the discourse surrounding sexual exploitation and abuse on UN peacekeeping missions.

Mallory is also active in the community at large – completing all of the training required to work as a victim advocate for Moving to End Sexual Assault (MESA), providing in-hospital response for victims of sexual abuse, staffing the 24-hour crisis hotline for 40 hours each month, and now working as an intern. Mallory also worked as a campaign intern for Jared Polis’ successful re-election to Congress in 2016. 

Mallory credits their coursework in women and gender studies for introducing them to new subjects and immersing them "in a community that has defined my undergraduate career.” Mallory also notes “the faculty and my peers have modeled for me a healthy approach to public service that I hope to uphold.”

Following graduation this spring, Mallory plans to pursue a law degree, with a particular interest in social justice. According to Dr. Misri, “this speaks to yet another example of their specific commitments to gender, racial and economic justice, as they embark on what will no doubt be an outstanding career in public service.”

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