About the WSRC

The Women’s Studies Research Center 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.

Statement of Solidarity from the WSRC

June 11, 2020



A Message from the WSRC Board, Staff, Director and the Director-Designate



As the country and the world condemn the brutal murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others, we feel pain and outrage… and we are reminded of our responsibilities. The intertwined pandemics of anti-black violence and COVID-19 call us to listen to the voices of black people, to honor the experiences of communities of color, and to summon the moral courage to act on what we hear and learn. 

We are heartened by the vast uprising of people in communities across the U.S., and indeed the world, to protest, organize, and demand an end to police violence. While we share the determination and hope that change is within reach, we know that abiding justice can only be won through continuing, persistent action. 

The educators, researchers, artists, staff, and board of the WSRC embrace the Brandeis entire community’s commitment to social justice.  As the current and future leaders of the WSRC, we accept the challenge of learning and doing more to address the deep racial inequities laid bare in this moment.  We renew our commitment – as expressed in our current focus on voting rights and citizenship – to shed light on people’s ongoing struggles for enfranchisement and power.  

Finally, we invite inquiry and ideas from Brandeis and from the wider community on how to further our efforts on racial justice. We welcome your wisdom and insight.  As we have always done, we will continue to share resources for learning and mobilization, such as this webinar on Friday, June 12 at noon, “America’s Racial Reckoning: Black Lives and Black Futures in Historical, Political and Legal Context,” a panel with Brandeis faculty Chad Williams, Anita Hill, Daniel Kryder, and Leah Wright Rigueur.



With gratitude and determination,



Karen V. Hansen                                                      Harleen Singh

Director, WSRC                                                     Director-Designate,WSRC




WSRC National Board of Advisors 

Cynthia L. Berenson

Susan Goldberg

Miriam Hyman

Nori Kameda

Annette Liberman Miller

Ruth Nemzoff

Rachel Sagan

Barbara Z. Sander

Rosalie Shane, Co-Chair

Heidi Shear

Caitlin Smith

Rachel Winkeller

Austin Wertheimer
 


WSRC Staff

Aina Lagor

Catherine Longwell

Susan Metrican

Kristen Mullen

Abby Rosenberg
Suzanne Hanser and Alicia Bower seated on stage as panel presenters

WSRC Scholar Suzanne Hanser, Chair Emerita & Professor at Berklee College of Music & Alicia Bower, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Berklee College of Music taking questions from the audience after their panel presentation "Sexual Harassment: Case Study of a College in Distress."

Photo Credit: WSRC Staff

The WSRC is headed by Professor of Sociology and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies Karen V. Hansen, and is the home of:

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. 

The WSRC was founded by Professor of Sociology Shulamit Reinharz in November 2001.