Keywords for Gender and Sexuality Studies, A Community Consultation

Session Submission Type: Non-Paper Session: Roundtable Format

Abstract

Published in 2021, the NYU Press volume, Keywords for Gender and Sexuality Studies features 70 keywords in the field as produced by 77 feminist thinkers. The editorial collective crafted the volume to put questions related to empire, colonialism, race, and capital at its center. As we head towards a second edition of the book, in this roundtable we seek dialogue with teachers who have used the book and can share the strengths and limitations of various keywords.

Keywords for Gender and Sexuality Studies is formulated in the tradition of Raymond Williams’ classic book, Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society, which understands keywords as genealogical platforms that reflect upon the field in terms of their elaboration across diverse disciplines, geographies, and communities. We frame gender and sexuality studies as an opportunity to deepen analyses of the relationships among race, gender, sexuality, nation, ability, and political economy as foregrounded in the rich history of justice-oriented intersectional movements.

In conceptualizing Keywords for Gender and Sexuality Studies, we imagined a volume geared for undergraduate and introductory graduate Gender/Feminist/Sexuality/Women’s Studies courses that could form a gateway into the field. We also imagined it having purchase among those teaching about gender and sexuality within the context of American Studies and Ethnic Studies courses. Since we published the volume and began releasing episodes of its companion podcast, Feminist Keywords, we have received a lot of anecdotal feedback about its utility in those classrooms. But in a time when women’s and gender studies departments are being closed and the attacks on teaching about race, gender, and sexuality have reached a fever pitch, ensuring that volumes like this meet community needs is imperative. Thus, providing a venue for a collective conversation about the next edition’s content, structure, and formation is central to a feminist project that encompasses multiple viewpoints and perspectives. We took intersectionality as axiomatic and assigned authors and keywords that centered that method.

Our primary interest is in having the book and the podcast continue to be used and circulated. Thus we hope to use this panel to invite comment, feedback, criticism and any reflection on the volume’s strengths as we move toward a second edition in 2026-2027.

Sub Unit

• Annual Meeting of the American Studies Association

Panelists

• Karma R Chavez, The University of Texas at Austin

• Aren Aizura, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

• Mishuana Goeman, University at Buffalo

Biographical Information

Karma R. Chávez is Chair and Bobby and Sherri Patton Professor in the Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies and Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.

Aren Aizura is Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Minnesota.

Mishuana Goeman, daughter of enrolled Tonawanda Band of Seneca, Hawk Clan, is currently a professor of Indigenous studies at the University of Buffalo.