Conference Schedule

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Draft Program

All panels will be in the Banquet Room of Johnson Commons East

Noon - 1 PM • Coffee Hour with UM Pride Network

1 PM • Film

Moderator: Pria Williams (Faculty, Theatre and Film/Gender Studies)

  • Story Lee (Undergraduate, Film Production) -

  • June Rogers (Undergraduate, Film Production) -

  • Cody Stickels (Graduate, Documentary Expression) - Under the Ink

2 PM • Social Justice Through Zine Work

Moderator: Jennifer Venable (Faculty, Gender Studies)

  • Sydney Carlisle (Undergraduate, Biological Sciences): "The Future is Authentic Beauty"

  • Ryan Evans (Undergraduate, Psychology): "War On Women and the Environment"

  • Oliva Ford (Undergraduate, Allied Health): "The Future is Love Free of Violence"

  • Marleigh Stewart (Undergraduate, Allied Health): "Not A Compliment: A Feminist Look at Catcalling and Gender-Based Harassment at Ole Miss"

3 PM • Student Reflections on Gender Studies Takeaways

Moderator:  Angie LaGrotteria (Faculty, Gender Studies)

  • Gracie Celaschi (Undergraduate; IMC)

  • Izzy Kuras (Undergraduate; Criminal Justice)

  • Will Pearson (Undergraduate; X)

  • Peyton Vasser (Undergraduate; Multi-Disciplinary Studies)

4 PM • Queerness

Moderator: Daniel McCarthy Howard (Faculty, Gender Studies)

  • Cedar Bowers (Undergraduate, Creative Writing) - The Queer South

  • Abagail Cordwell (Graduate, English) - “Those Pants Won’t Make a Man Out Of You”: Beebo Brinker and the Erotics of Blue-Collar Masculinity

  • Ellie Crane (Undergraduate, Public Policy Leadership) - Tin Cups and Rose Petals: Consumption of Nature as a Complication of Female Initiation and Homosexual Desire in “The Winds” and “Moon Lake”

Thursday, March 26, 2026

All panels will be in the Banquet Room of Johnson Commons East

9:30 AM • Women’s Experiences

Moderator: Jaime Harker (Faculty, English/Gender Studies)

  • Sarah Dapaah (Graduate, Sociology) - Staying in STEM? A Qualitative Exploration of Women’s College Classroom Experiences in STEM Education

  • Delaney McNear (Undergraduate, Philosophy) - Friendship Over Passion: Limitations of Mary Wollstonecraft's Model of Marriage

  • Katie Young (Graduate, English) - Motherhood Narratives 


11 AM • Gender Studies Research Roundtable

Moderator: Pip Gordon (Faculty, Gender Studies)

  • Evelyn Barnett (Undergraduate, Creative Writing) - Ed Wood and the Asexual Gaze

  • Aubrey McClellan (Graduate, Clinical Mental Health Counseling) - The Huddle: Intersex Women in Sports and Society.

  • Israel Cummins (Undergraduate, English) - TBD

  • Sarah Jean Otto (Undergraduate, Philosophy and Public Policy Leadership) - Margaret Cavendish’s Philosophy of Unity in The Blazing World

  • Brooke Skolsky (Undergraduate, Psychology) - TBD

1 PM • Media

Moderator: Marquita Smith (Faculty, Communications)

  • Madeleine Chandler (Undergraduate, International Studies) - A Private Affair: What menstrual product advertising reveals about the perception of women in modern French society

  • Joley McDaniel  (Graduate, Journalism) - Ethical Challenges in Media Representation and Digital Discourse: The "Aesthetic" of Activism

  • Md Abu Bakar Siddique (Graduate, Journalism) - Deepfakes in U.S. Political Communication: Ethical Challenges for Journalism

2:30 PM • Honors Panel

Moderator: Julie Enszer (Faculty, Gender Studies)

  • Elaina Groneck (Undergraduate, Psychology) - Evaluating Motivational Videos

  • Sydney Guntharp (Undergraduate, Political Science and English) - Art in an Apocalypse: AIDS, Abolition, and Activism in New York City and Washington D.C.'s Queer Scenes 

  • Edward Hunter (Undergraduate, Political Science) - Identity in Confirmation Politics: Senatorial Framing and The Public’s Response

  • Lauren McKay (Undergraduate, Dietetics and Nutrition) - Body Safety Education in Mississippi Public Schools

4 PM – Keynote: Making More Lives Livable: Rethinking Anti-Violence Activism and Centering Transgender Joy

Presented by Dr. Laurel Westbrook ( Professor of Sociology, UC - Santa Barbara)