Gender Studies Department

Two Nebraska Wesleyan University students are studying in Rwanda this summer thanks to a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship.

Kerry Worley, a junior social work major from Omaha, and Rachel Konvalin, a first-year global studies and modern language studies major from Boise, Idaho, have each been awarded the prestigious scholarship.

Nebraska Wesleyan University professor Gerise Herndon has conducted extensive research on Rwandan genocide survivors and through that research she’s learned the role of art in their healing.

Herndon will share her research and experiences during the Faculty Scholarship Presentation on Wednesday, January 24 at 6 p.m. The annual presentation highlights the scholarship of NWU faculty.

Last year Sarah Dyer enrolled in a course called “Cuban Youth Music Culture.”

For the music and gender studies major, the course would provide an exciting opportunity to learn more about contemporary Cuba. The course concluded with a 10-day trip to Cuba to completely immerse herself and connect her classroom lessons in person.

At the start of each semester, music and gender studies professor John Spilker invites his students to review and sign a contract titled, “Ground Rules for Class Discussion.”

In signing the contract, students agree to be open-minded during class discussions, learn to recognize and evaluate their own set opinions and then set them aside to promote open, academic dialogue.

Two years ago Gerise Herndon led a group of Nebraska Wesleyan students to Rwanda for the university’s first faculty-led trip to Africa.

Students described the experience as “life-changing” as they witnessed a post-conflict country in the process of reconstruction.

Herndon wanted more NWU students have the same experience. She’ll lead another group to Rwanda on May 30 where they will spend a month immersing themselves in the culture and participate in internships.

Middle school is a new, exciting time for students, but it also comes with challenges.

Two Nebraska Wesleyan University graduates recently launched a project to help make the transition to middle school smoother.

"We felt that a program like the YWCP would have been so beneficial to us when we were that age, facing many new, exciting, and challenging times during these years," said Rebecca Brune ('14).

Ten Nebraska Wesleyan University students closed their textbooks in May but their lessons were far from done.

Even though the school year was over, they needed to study the history and culture of Rwanda, where they were about to travel to for the university’s first faculty-led study abroad experience to Africa.

Gender Studies professors who have published books in the past year will read briefly and entertain informal conversation over food and drinks on Friday, November 15 from 4 to 5 p.m. at Mo Java.

Featured books are Rachel Pokora’s (Communication Studies) Crisis of Catholic Authority, Lisa Wilkinson’s (Philosophy) Socratic Charis: Philosophy without the Agon, and Brad Tice’s (English) Rare Earth.

Location: Los Angeles, CA

The R. Scott Hitt Foundation is offering funding for qualified candidates with the vision to be future leaders in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement. Applicants do not need to identify as LGBT in order to apply.

The pro-LGBT sponsoring organization that you choose to apply with will receive funding to compensate your internship position while you strengthen your resume and gain valuable skills towards becoming a leader of the future.