The WGS Spring 2024 Student Conference is now accepting proposals! Any undergraduate or graduate student from any college or university across the state of Iowa is welcome to submit a proposal. The most important information that needs to be included in the proposal is:
- A short abstract describing the project (250 words)
- The Title of the project/presentation
- What format the project will take
- The Presenter(s) name and contact information.
Student’s are encouraged to work on their project with a faculty sponsor, but it is not required. If you are working with a faculty sponsor we would love to have them join you at the conference, but it is also not required.
Presentations can take the form of research project, creative project, pedagogy, activist work or other thematic work within the field of gender, sexuality, identity and feminism. Proposal submissions are also presenters registration form, no additional registration is required. Proposals are due Friday, April 5th.
Proposal Submission Form
This years conference is going to take place on Saturday, April 20th from 9 AM-4 PM at the Iowa State University Memorial Union. The conference is free and open to anyone to attend. Lunch will be provided. If you plan to attend the conference, but do not plan to present at the conference please submit an attendee registration form at the link below. If you have any questions or needs please email wgsconference@iastate.edu. Pre-registration has ended. Attendees can register the day of the event, but lunch is not guaranteed.
2024 Conference Speakers
Opening Speaker: Jordan Mix (t
hey/them) graduated from Drake University in 2016 with degrees in Law, Politics, and Society; Sociology; and Women and Gender Studies. While at Drake they were the president of Drake’s LGBTQ organization, Rainbow Union, helped establish the first all-gender bathroom on campus, and collaborated heavily in writing Drake’s Transgender Inclusion Statement. Jordan also completed their graduate studies in Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University of North Carolina Charlotte.
In 2019, Jordan was the head curator of a project called Breathe, Learn, Act — the first ever virtual care package for parents and loved ones of transgender and non-binary kids. Jordan joined the Iowa Safe Schools team in March of 2020, where they work with K-12 educators to develop LGBTQ-Inclusive curriculum, facilitate an online academy for Iowa’s K-12 educators, and lead training sessions for students, educators, and other community members.
When they’re not working, you can find Jordan hiking with their wife, cheering on the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team with their cat, and honing their home barista skills.
Keynote Speaker: Meggie Mapes (pronouns: she/her/hers; Ph.D. Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 2016) is the Introductory Course Director and Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Kansas. Her research explores feminist rhetoric and critical/cultural studies, with a particular focus on prison abolition and intimate partner violence. As an award winning author and speaker, her work can be found in Women’s Studies in Communication, Journal of Feminist Scholarship, and Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, to name a few. She is also an open access and open education advocate. Dr. Mapes loves to bake and lives in Kansas City with her partner and two dogs – a rottweiler and a sharpei.