The UW-Eau Claire Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (REGSS) department is planning on expanding. Current students and alumni will share their personal experiences on Tuesday April 28 from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. in Centennial Hall 1920, in hopes of growing Bluegold’s interest in the department.

“The Department of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (REGSS) is an interdisciplinary department,” the UW-Eau Claire website reads. “REGSS coordinates intersectional teaching, research, and scholarship in the fields of Critical Hmong Studies, Ethnic Studies, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and LGBTQ Studies. We examine lived experiences as they are impacted by systems of power and oppression.”

Sarita Mizin, director of the Rose-Marie Avin Intersectional Women’s Center (Avin Center) and associate professor of English, said curiosity and interest will allow students to excel in these classrooms.

“I think the best work in REGSS points to how it’s very complicated and there are many angles to looking at a problem,” Mizin said. “There is room to explore; none of these areas might be as simple as they seem. Your questions about them and about yourself also have a home here.”

Mizin said the REGSS department is an ever-growing discipline creating unique classes and opportunities for students. With a variety of coursework offered, there are many chances to explore advocacy, internships, research and study abroad ambitions. 

The REGSS department offers majors, minors and certificates. Mizin said within those programs, WGSS 100 is designed to expose the various questions and conversations that are asked within most classes in the REGSS department. Additionally, WGSS 100 tends to be a required class for most majors, minors and certificates, creating a useful way to utilize coursework planning.

REGSS also allows for crosslisting courses. These classes create interdisciplinary spaces to learn about specific areas of study such as sociology of gender (SOC/WGSS), psychology of women (PSYC/WGSS) and American women history (HIST/WGSS). These courses are not offered every semester, but permit students to continue growth within specific areas of interest.

Along with classes taken on campus, the faculty-led immersion to North India gives students a chance to explore feminist theory in a different country. Student panelists who have taken the trip will share their experiences during the event on April 28.

Third year WGSS major and current Avin Center intern, Ames Urbik, says the REGSS department has been helpful for both personal and academic growth.

“You learn a lot of very useful skills, [like] how to be more aware of the cultural context surrounding you and how to just respect other people and their differences in different perspectives,” Urbik said.

Along with the academic space of REGSS, students can get involved with organizations such as IOTA IOTA IOTA (Triota) and Women Uniting and Fighting (WUF). It was these groups that advocated for the UW-Eau Claire Avin Center in the fall of 2022. 

Join the REGSS department on Tuesday April 28 at 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. in Centennial Hall 1920 for more information. For those interested in staying connected with REGSS, all updates are shared on their Facebook and Instagram.

Goethals can be reached at [email protected].