Women's Studies Research Center

About the WSRC

The Women’s Studies Research Center (WSRC) at Brandeis University is a hub of interdisciplinary exchange between scholars and artists, faculty and students, who conduct innovative research and create art with a focus on gender issues and women’s lives.

Unique in its breadth of projects, the WSRC is part of a newly established national network of university-affiliated gender research institutes. As a convening space at the edge of campus, the center supports interdisciplinary dialogue, research and art, and shares insights and discoveries with the university and the larger public.

History and Programs

In 1992, the Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program at Brandeis University opened its doors to academic scholars who were on leave from other universities, in retirement or working independently, conducting their own research and writing.

Subsequently, under the leadership of Dr. Shulamit Reinharz, funds were raised to rehabilitate a run-down building on the edge of campus and designate a portion of it for a women's studies research center with an innovative scholars program that opened in January 2001. Professor of Sociology Karen V. Hansen subsequently took over leadership of the WSRC from 2017-21.

The WSRC is currently headed by  Harleen Singh, associate professor of Literature and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies. The WSRC is the home of:

• The Scholars Program, a program comprised of scholars studying gender issues in an interdisciplinary environment.
• The Student-Scholar Partnership Program, which pairs Brandeis University undergraduate students with WSRC scholars for semester-long research assistantships.
• The Arts Program, which oversees the Kniznick Gallery, devoted to the artwork by or about women, and the permanent art collection as well as scholarly art projects at the WSRC.

Throughout the year, members of Brandeis WSRC Scholars Program present their work through events, such as receptions, book launches, film screenings, lectures, panels, performances and concerts that are open to the public.