Gender and Women's Studies - Hollins University

Gender and women’s studies (GWS) is an interdisciplinary program. It explores how systems of oppression/resistance and privilege operate. Faculty members dedicate themselves to creating an environment that fosters critical thinking. They also support student activism and peer mentoring.

Gender and Women’s Studies Catalog, 2025-26 (PDF)

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Gender and Women’s Studies (GWS) Major

The Gender and Women’s studies major provides students with an understanding of the importance of gender as a category of analysis. It also looks at gender’s intersections with race/ethnicity, class, age, sexual identity, nationality, and (dis)ability.

Internships are required and guaranteed for gender and women’s studies majors.

GWS Minor

The Gender and Women’s Studies minor is a scaled-down version of the major that requires five courses and an internship.

Meet our Gender and Women's Studies Faculty

Rachel Nuñez

Associate Professor and Chair; Batten Chair in Leadership; Director of Core Curriculum and First-Year Foundations

First-Year Foundations, Gender and Women's Studies, History, Public Health

Pleasants | 540-362-6271 rnunez@��Ĵ�ý.edu

Charlotte Rossler

Visiting Assistant Professor, Modern European History

Gender and Women's Studies, History

Pleasants | 540-362-6358 rosslerca@��Ĵ�ý.edu

Amy Gerber-Stroh

Professor and Chair

Film, Gender and Women's Studies

Wetherill Visual Arts Center | 540-362-6474 agerber-stroh@��Ĵ�ý.edu

Katelin McCullough

Assistant Professor

Art History, Classical Studies, Gender and Women's Studies

Turner | mcculloughkd@��Ĵ�ý.edu

Lindsey Breitwieser

Chairperson and Assistant Professor

Gender and Women's Studies

Pleasants | 540-362-7487 breitwieserln@��Ĵ�ý.edu

Patricia Sunia

Assistant Professor

English and Creative Writing, Gender and Women's Studies

Swannanoa | 540-362-6276 suniap@��Ĵ�ý.edu

Genevieve Hendricks

Chair of the Faculty and Associate Professor

Art History, Environmental Studies / Environmental Science, Gender and Women's Studies, Public Health

Wetherill Visual Arts Center | 540-362-6617 hendricksrs@��Ĵ�ý.edu

Julie Pfeiffer

John P. Wheeler Professor

English and Creative Writing, Gender and Women's Studies

Swannanoa | 540-362-6318 jpfeiffer@��Ĵ�ý.edu

LeeRay Costa

Executive Director of Leadership Studies and the Batten Leadership Institute

Batten Leadership, Faculty, Gender and Women's Studies

Pleasants | 540-362-6254 lcosta@��Ĵ�ý.edu

Pauline Kaldas

Professor

Creative Writing (M.F.A.), English and Creative Writing, Gender and Women's Studies, Public Health

Swannanoa | 540-362-7489 pkaldas@��Ĵ�ý.edu

Darla Schumm

Professor; Associate Provost

Academic Affairs, Environmental Studies / Environmental Science, Gender and Women's Studies, International Studies, Public Health, Religious Studies, Social Justice

Pleasants | 540-362-6025 dschumm@��Ĵ�ý.edu

Wendy-Marie Martin

Assistant Professor and Chair

Gender and Women's Studies, Playwriting (M.F.A.), Theatre, Theatre and New Play Development (M.F.A.)

Theatre | 540-362-6259 martinwm1@��Ĵ�ý.edu

Alexa Hulse '24 interned with "Lilith," a New York-based Jewish feminist magazine, throughout a major portion of her undergraduate career. She did everything from writing news articles and blog posts to updating the magazine’s digital archives. After graduating from Hollins, she was offered a part-time position with the publication.

Alexa Hulse '24

"The skills, concepts, and frameworks taught in gender and women’s studies are now more than ever essential to the success of moving toward the creation of a nation and a world that is more equitably human-centered and just."

Clarissa Harris '12

Co-executive Director for the Center for Participatory Change

"A big reason why Hollins became the only place I wanted to go for college was because it has such a great GWS department. The personalized attention is really special."

Emily Lauletta '22

attending California’s Claremont Graduate University, where she will complete a Master of Arts in applied gender studies

In my time as a GWS major, I unlearned complacency. The most cherished lessons in college were values I had to practice in real life… and I am still practicing compassion, patience, pace, grace, and honesty/accountability. When we lose sight of those values we fall into hate, lack critical thinking, and begin to rely on the status quo.

Whit Williams-Black '18

Founder, Doula of Viola's Herb Garden and Want to be Well Doula Services

Honors Theses

Your thesis is not just a time to show what you know — it’s also a time to be creative. Here are some examples:

Food Activism: Localizing Struggles Against Globalization
Childbirth and the Internal Colonization of Women’s Bodies
Deconstructing “African AIDS”: a Feminist Redress
The Politics of the Reception of Women’s Sexualities in Women’s Writing
The Grove Ladder: an Experiment in Feminist/Creative Research
Re-imagining Rape Awareness: Feminist Perspectives on the Rape Abuse Incest National Network (RAINN) Legislative Agenda
The Bound Yet Persistently Moving Critical Distance Between My Body and ‘Woman’
NGOs and Sexuality in Nepal

GWS Grads: Where Are They Now?

Graduate and professional school in medicine, law, international development, nursing, women’s health, social work, educational and cultural studies, and women’s studies
Nonprofit organizations such as Planned Parenthood, Teach for America, United Way, Catholic Relief Services, Housing Opportunities Made Equal, Armenian Volunteer Corps, Virginia Supportive Housing
A variety of for-profit and educational organizations, including Apple Computer, The Roanoke Times, Etsy, University of Chicago, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, BOMB Magazine.