Our core faculty are an accomplished and diverse group of instructors united under the common goal of spotlighting social justice issues relating to women, gender and sexuality. Affiliate faculty members support the interdisciplinary approach of the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies.
If you are a University of South Carolina faculty member whose research and teaching intersect with Women's and Gender Studies, please fill out our online application form [doc]. Learn more about the Women's and Gender Studies Department's current affiliates on our Affiliate Faculty page.
Explore our faculty directory for the full list of program instructors.
Want to learn more about the research profiles of WGST's faculty? Review our research profile document here.
Research areas: Gender and sexuality, feminist rhetoric, religious communication, transgender studies
Research areas: Global women's health, gender and health, reproductive health, health equity, diversity and inclusion
Research areas: Gender representation in media and pop culture, contemporary feminist social movements
Research areas: Black women’s cultural production and political traditions in the twentieth and twentieth-first centuries, Black feminist theory, womanist theory and theology
Research areas: health, gender, and culture in Europe and the United States, with a particular focus on reproduction, pregnancy, and childbirth
Research areas: Sexuality studies & Irish studies, Irish masculinities, gay rugby, Irish literature, poetry
Research areas: Gender and sexuality studies, feminist studies of health and medicine, reproductive justice, LGBTQ health, qualitative methods
Research areas: Feminist philosophy, philosophy of medicine, medical ethics
Research areas: African-American/diasporan women and spirituality, black feminist theory, gender and religion
Research Areas: abolition, stigma, sexualized violence, social perception, social determinants of health
Research areas: relationship between culture and the construction of racial and ethnic identities
Research areas: Interpersonal and dating violence, sexual violence, drugging
Research areas: Civic responsibility, service-learning, Archiving South Carolina Women Collection
Research areas: gender and politics, inclusion and representation, political, feminist, and democratic theory, social movements, the gender politics of the US South
Research areas: intersectionality, critical literacy, multicultural education, the history of white supremacy in education in the south
Research areas: Economic anthropology, digital finance, gender, feminism, labor, peace & conflict studies, South-Asia
Responsible for business manager duties, coordination of course scheduling, managing
administrative assistant and management for undergraduate and graduate programs (including
GA hiring).
I am currently a senior double majoring in Political Science and Women’s & Gender Studies. I started out as a WGST minor in my very first semester at USC, and ended up loving it so much I decided to add it as a second major. WGST was always the course of study I chose simply because it was interesting and exciting to me, so it means a lot to become further involved outside of academics. My most memorable experience with the department so far was completing my WGST 499 Community Service Internship with the League of Women Voters of the Columbia Area VOTE411 Committee this past semester! I am looking forward to spending my last semester of undergrad serving as the WGST Event Planner & Office Manager.
I am currently a junior studying WGST with a minor of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, and a concentration in Reproductive Justice and Advocacy. Growing up I was always passionate about Women's Health, and after taking Women's Health 113 with Dr. Suzanne Swan, I knew the Department of Women's and Gender Studies is where I belong. This is my second year working in the Department alongside so many extraordinary scholars and students. Working for the Department allows me as a student to connect with so many people across different fields who all have WGST in common! Working on our Women's and Gender Studies: Unboxed podcast, helping with our first Annual WGST Summer Institute, and working with young girls for WWBI have been my favorite parts about working for the Department.
I am a Junior studying Studio Arts with a concentration in Graphic Design with a minor in Women's and Gender Studies and Art History. I have always been passionate about women's activism and wanted to get more involved after taking my first class in the department last year. Going out and volunteering with organizations such as Planned Parenthood changed my perspective deeply and I am so glad to have this opportunity to stay involved with the department this year. My favorite part of working in this department is the people who work in it. I get to meet and work with inspiring and passionate people and have learned so much.
I am a senior majoring in Women's and Gender Studies with a minor in Japanese Studies. I am excited to continue my second year as a student assistant in the Women's and Gender Studies department. My freshman year, I took Dr. Water's WGST 112 class and became interested in Women's and Gender Studies. Taking her lesson introduced me to problems such as racism, gender, and sexuality, which are frequently disregarded in an unjust way. By the end of her course, I was cleared of obliviousness, declared a major, and have been learning more and more ever since.
My name is Jayla Porcha and I am a senior. I’m currently majoring in Public Health with a minor in Women’s in Gender Studies. Currently, I am a student assistant with the WGST Department. WGST is an amazing department and I am so glad to be a part of it. In my spare time, I love hanging with friends, singing, and cooking
I am a Junior with a double major in Political Science and Women’s and Gender Studies and a minor in Law and Society. I am very grateful to have been able to join the Women’s and Gender Studies department as a student assistant! I have been able to learn so much from every member of the department as well as the other student assistants and their perspectives. I have also been able to participate in amazing opportunities, my favorite being helping to work on and host our student-led podcast Women’s and Gender Studies: Unboxed!
