Disability World-Making: Gender, Art, and Culture
Event Details
When:
Thu, Apr 16, 2026, 4pm - 7:30pm
Location:
Online: Zoom
Reception:
Academic West Skybridge
4:00-5:30pm
In-Person at WWU:
Academic West 204
6:00-7:30pm
Price:
Free
Description
Join us in celebrating 50 years of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) as we welcome the inaugural speaker of the Anderson/Helfgott Endowed Speaker Series. We’ll begin with a reception prior to Rosemarie Garland‑Thomson’s presentation.
Disability Studies understands disability as a concept, a social identity, a community, and a shared human experience represented in history, art, literature, artifacts. This presentation explores the way images show how we think about disability and people with disabilities and shape the way we understand variation in human bodies and minds.
Featuring:
Rosemarie Garland-Thomson is professor emerita of English and bioethics at Emory University. RGT is a senior advisor and fellow at the Hastings Center, where she is also chief project advisor for “The Art of Flourishing: Conversations on Disability and Technology,” a project supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities. She is also a 2020 National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar and a Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar for 2021-22.
RGT’s work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Radcliffe Institute, the Fulbright Program, the Hastings Center, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the American Association of University Women, the Bogliasco Fellowship at the Liguria Study Center for the Arts and Humanities, the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst Research Award, Australian National University, University of Sydney Law School, and Curtin University.
Click here to learn more about the speaker.
Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies 50th Anniversary
Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies (WGSS) is an interdisciplinary field that centers intersectional feminist and queer histories and theories to challenge marginalization and advance social justice. Through WGSS courses, students gain valuable skills in critical thinking, writing, research analysis, communication, and problem-solving, which prepares them to make a meaningful impact in a wide variety of careers.
Brought to you by:
Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of the Environment, Honors College, English Department, History Department, Department of Philosophy, Political Science Department, The Foundation for WWU & Alumni
Questions and Accommodations
- Your point of contact for this event is The Foundation for WWU & Alumni. Call (360) 650-3353 or email Alumni@wwu.edu.
- Advance notice for disability accommodations and special needs is appreciated. Please mention your needs when registering.
- There will be auto-captions for the Zoom webinar.
Visitor Parking at WWU on Weekdays
- Mon-Fri, 7:00am-4:30pm: limited paid parking is available at the south C lots and north 6V and 7G lots.
- Purchase your permit at the lot pay stations or use the Parkmobile app.
- More parking details for campus visitors are available online.
Parking at WWU on Weekdays for Visitors with Disabilities
- Mon-Fri, 7:00am-4:30pm: both a WWU permit and state disability placard are needed.
- Purchase your permit at the pay stations in lot C or 6V or use the Parkmobile app (use Zone 1200). This allows parking in any disability space. If these are full, you can use a non-reserved space nearby.
- More parking details for campus visitors with disabilities are available online.
The views expressed by our speakers do not necessarily reflect those of Western Washington University.
