The 26th Annual Colloquium on Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies: March 25–26

26th Annual Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Colloquium 

March 25 and 26, 2026.

With the support of the Alice McLellan Birney Women Studies Fund, the cross-disciplinary study area in Women, Gender, & Sexuality presents a colloquium each spring in connection with Women’s History Month.

About the Series

The first annual Women Studies colloquium was held March 22-24, 2000. With the support of the Alice McLellan Birney Women Studies Fund, the cross-disciplinary study area in Women, Gender, & Sexuality presents a colloquium each spring in connection with Women’s History Month. Since 2000, the WGSX Colloquium has become an established tradition at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. This successful annual program has regularly drawn large audiences to events that have offered powerful interdisciplinary combinations of scholarly discourse and artistic expression (including film screenings, theatrical performances, and exhibitions) to discuss a topic critical to women’s lives.

THIS YEAR’S THEME – Speaking Back: Language as Rebellion.

The colloquium (March 25-26, 2026) will focus on discovering the power of language as a catalyst for change in “Speaking Back: Language as Rebellion.” This year, the WGSX colloquium examines how linguistic practices shape gendered identities, cultural norms, and social hierarchies—and how women and gender-diverse individuals strategically “speak back” to challenge systems that silence or marginalize them.

The colloquium takes an interdisciplinary approach to explore the dual role of language as both a tool of oppression and a means of resistance. Through critical discussions and the sharing of scholarly, activist, and artistic perspectives, it emphasizes the transformative power of language. The event celebrates the creative ways communities reimagine language in their quest for equity and liberation.

EVENTS 

Speaker: TBA
Wednesday, March 25 | 4:45 – 6 p.m.
Cole Cinema, Campus Center

Speaker: TBA
Wednesday, March 25 | 7:30 – 9 p.m.
Cole Cinema, Campus Center

Speaker: TBA
Thursday, March 26 | 4:45 – 6 p.m.
Cole Cinema, Campus Center

SMCM’s students and the guest speakers
Thursday, March 26 | 7:30 – 9 p.m.
Cole Cinema, Campus Center

For more information, contact the 2026 WGSX Colloquium Committee: Argelia González Hurtado and Samantha Wrisley (co-chairs), Stephanie Reyes and Brian Smithson.