About the GSSI

The Gender and Sexuality Studies Institute is the new central intellectual home for people working in the field of gender, sexualities, and LGBTQI+ studies, providing a hub for rich and diverse forms of scholarship, creative practice, and public programming.

Co-founded by Chiara Bottici, Associate Professor of Philosophy, and Lisa Rubin, Associate Professor of Psychology, the Institute brings together faculty and students from across the university involved with the Gender and Sexuality Studies graduate certificate and the Gender Studies undergraduate minor, as well as those teaching or taking courses in the history of feminist thought and action; masculinity studies; gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender studies; and queer theory.

The New School has been a pioneer in the field of Gender Studies, and the Institute honors that history while supporting new initiatives. Plans for the 2021-22 year include hosting talks and other open events; hosting the spring annual Gender Matters symposium; and connecting students with relevant scholarships, job opportunities, and research mentorship.

Fall Events

October 3rd, 2022 – December 12th, 2022. Each Monday, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm EST. Feminist Research Methodologies. Seminar leaders: Dr. Asli Kotaman and Dr. Pelin Yalçınoğlu Kaplan. This free 10-week co-led online seminar is designed for students who want to start research with a feminist theoretical framework. While this course focuses on technique, it also hones in on the theoretical background of feminist research including, epistemology critiques and feminist standpoints. Participants who attend at least 8 complete seminar sessions will receive a certificate of satisfactory completion from the Dean of The New School for Social Research. Register here.

Discussion Questions
October 3rd and October 10th. What is science? How do you define feminism? What is feminist research? What makes a film feminist?
October 17th. What are the challenges of doing feminist research? Can we talk about a specific methodology for feminist research?
October 31st (Guest Speaker: Dr. Nehir Gündoğdu). What is our understanding of objectivity? Are science and scientists objective? Should they be objective? Does the culture you grew up in have different expectations for boys and girls? At what age do distinctions between the genders start?
November 7th (Guest Speaker: Dr. Güneş Koç). What is participatory research? How to decide researcher’s roles and position in the research field? How to balance the role of researcher? What is reflexivity in the research? How do we construct validity in feminist research? How do we know what is right when doing research? What is ethical and what is not?
November 14th (Guest Speaker: Dr. Zeynep Gülru Göker). How do we learn from others? What are the ways of collecting data and producing knowledge in the feminist research framework?
November 21st (Guest Speaker: Dr. Selime Büyükgöze). What have feminist movements achieved in your country?
November 28th (Guest Speaker: Dr. Zeynep Kutluata).
December  5th (Guest Speaker: Gulum Sener and Ozge Celikaslan). What is Digital Feminism and how do we associate feminism with activism? What is digital archiving?
December 12th (Guest Speaker: Dr. Deniz Gündoğan İbrişim). Closing statements; future expectations and research plans will be discussed.

Explore an archive highlighting some of our past events here.