2108 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20052

Thursday, January 23, 2025

1849 - Elizabeth Blackwell becomes 1st woman in the US to earn a medical degree graduating from New York's Geneva Medical College

1973 - US President Richard Nixon announces an accord has been reached to end the Vietnam War

1978 - Sweden becomes the first nation in the world to ban aerosol sprays, due to their harmful effect on the Earth's ozone layer.

2020 - China locks down the city of Wuhan and its 9 million people, in a belated but ultimately successful effort to control the city's COVID-19 epidemic

Meet the GW alum orchestrating DC’s cutthroat snowball scrimmages. GW Hatchet.

2025 Oscar Nominations: ‘Emilia Pérez’ Leads the Way With 13. The New York Times.

Surrealism’s Legacy of Antifascist Activism. Hyperallergic.

Betty Monkman [MA '80], longtime curator of White House treasures, dies at 82. The Washington Post.

Photo credit: Taytum Wymer

Taytum Wymer is a San Francisco-born photographer pursuing a double major in Photojournalism and American Studies. Wymer’s ambitious work goes beyond documentation, delving into the complex interplay of social movements, capitalism, and revolutionary struggle. Wymer's photography is a powerful mix of his academic interests and political convictions. His most recent project showcases the Muwekma Ohlone tribe's "Trail of Truth" journey, culminating in their encampment on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. This work not only highlights Indigenous rights but also demonstrates Wymer's keen eye for capturing pivotal moments in contemporary social movements.

As a self-described Marxist and socialist organizer, Wymer's studies focus on the history of capitalism in the United States and the domestic liberation movements that have shaped the nation's landscape. His exploration of production processes, exploitation, and social reproduction provides a unique perspective on class consciousness and revolutionary organization. Wymer is developing a thesis project that will be a compelling intersection of his dual majors. His research examines processes of enclosure and counter-enclosure, investigating the dynamics of public and private spaces in post-industrial Washington, D.C., and their relationship to capital forces.

Beyond his academic endeavors, Wymer is an active member of GW Socialist Action Initiative (GW SAI), a multi-tendency, anti-imperialist socialist organization. Through SAI, he engages in various activities, from collaborating with local unions to mobilizing for Palestinian liberation and participating in Ward 2 Mutual Aid efforts. When not immersed in his studies or activism, Wymer can be found cooking for friends or taking long walks, preferably in his home town San Francisco. His signature look often includes a hat, and he admits to constantly missing his dog, Sadie, while away at college. Taytum represents a new generation of socially conscious artists using their craft to document and inspire change.

D.C. Mondays: 100 Years of the National Capital Planning Commission
The George Washington University Museum and
The Textile Museum.

Join Julia Koster, AICP, as she reflects on the history of the federal government’s central planning agency in the National Capital Region. Learn how NCPC has shaped
Washington’s landscape for over 100 years.

When: Monday, January 27, 2025; 12:00 PM EST
Where: Zoom

Hosted by the Albert H. Small Center for National Capital Area Studies, a research center at The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum.

Register here!

PUBLIC DEFENDER Documentary Screening
& Panel Discussion

Attend a screening of Andrea Kalin and SMPA alum Ethan Oser's documentary PUBLIC DEFENDER. This two hour program, co-sponsored by the School of Media and Public Affairs, the Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication, the Project on Ethics in Political Communication, and the Media and Peacebuilding Project will feature a film screening followed by a panel discussion. Light snacks and refreshments will be provided

When: Wednesday, January 29, 2025; 5:00 PM EST
Where: SMPA 5th Floor Studio, 805 21st St NW

Register here!

Of Thee We Sing: Art and New Patriotism
Corcoran School | NGA | For Freedoms

Attend an evening of live performance and conversation on creative expressions of patriotic language hosted at the GW Corcoran School for the Arts and Design. This Town Hall event will feature performance excerpts from Samantha Williams’ multidisciplinary opera, American Patriots, a theatrical song-cycle that captures the contemporary American zeitgeist taken from contemporary interviews of 50 Americans from across the nation. Artists and cultural organizers Holly Bass, Helena Huang, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Miguel Luciano, and Samantha Williams will follow with a discussion on how the language and interpretations of patriotism can be rebranded, subverted, and redefined through artistic expressions.

When: Friday, January 31, 2025; 6:00 PM EST
Where: Corcoran School for the Arts & Design, 500 17th Street NW

Register here!

Open House: Washington’s Historic Homes
The George Washington University Museum and
The Textile Museum.

Join GW/Textile Museum for a tour of the exhibition A Tale of Two Houses, which explores two historic homes in Washington, D.C., central to the museum’s history. After the tour, enjoy special access to the Albert H. Small Center for National Capital Area Studies, where you can see artifacts that relate to the White House, George Washington's home at Mount Vernon and other historic homes in the D.C. area. 

When: Saturday, February 8, 2025; 11:00 AM EST
Where: GW/Textile Museum, 701 21st St. NW

Register here!

International Feminist Solidarity
GW's Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program

As world challenges continue to arise, international feminist solidarity has become vital for advocating for women's rights globally. Join WGSS for a discussion, led by WGSS MA student Yaprak Eris, addressing the topic of international feminist solidarity.

When: Wednesday, February 5, 2025; 4:00 PM EST
Where: Phillips Hall, Room 417, 801 22nd St NW

Register here!

Juana María Rodríguez
“Seeing, Sensing, Feeling: Representing Puta Life”
GW English Department

Drawing on the publication of her recent book, Puta Life: Seeing Latinas, Working Sex (Duke UP, 2023), this talk explores how different genres of representation–from graphic narratives and oral histories to documentary films and social-media selfies–shape the life stories we consume. As a rumination on the limits and possibilities of representation, it probes the queer things that words do to images and that images do to words in order to confront the ethical quandaries posed by our role as authors and academics in representing the sexual lives of others.

When: Wednesday, March 26, 2025; 3:00 PM EST
Where: Myers Room, GW/Textile Museum, 701 21st NW

Current PhD candidate Mora McLean successfully defended her dissertation prospectus and has officially advanced to candidacy.

Current PhD candidate Samantha Silver published her recent article "'Funnier Than Moms Mabley': The Stand-Up Comedy of Hattie Noel" in Feminist Media Histories.

Prof. Melani McAlister recently presented at the American Historical Association about her article in the American Historical Review's "History Unclassified."

Call for Applications: The Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) in Gelman Library is looking to fill a student position for the Spring Semester. Click here to learn more // Deadline: Jan. 24, 2025

Call for Papers: The GW English Graduate Student Association Board is currently seeking submissions for their upcoming virtual symposium entitled "The Brain and the Body: the Love Affair of the Cognitive and the Corporeal in Literature." Click here to learn more // Deadline: Jan. 27, 2025

Call for Papers: The Twentieth Annual Yale University American Art Graduate Symposium is seeking papers for their upcoming conference. Click here to learn more // Deadline: Jan. 31, 2025

Call for Applications: Barnard College is currently accepting applications for the Barnard Library Research Award, which supports research using collections at the Barnard Library, Barnard Zine Library, and Barnard Archives, resulting in any final format. Click here to learn more // Deadline: Feb. 2, 2025

Call for Applications: The Swann Foundation seeks to award one fellowship annually (with a stipend of up to $5,000) to assist the fellow in their ongoing scholarly research and writing projects in the field of caricature and cartoon. Click here to learn more // Deadline: Feb. 16, 2025

Call for Proposals: The Department of Film, Television, and Theatre at the University of Notre Dame is accepting proposals for a symposium on Critical Screen Literacy and Youth Media Production. Click here to learn more // Deadline: Mar. 1, 2025

Call for Proposals: ASAP/16 is currently accepting proposals for their 2025 conference, which will be held in Houston, TX. Click here to learn more // Deadline: Mar. 28, 2025

Call for Submissions: GW's University Writing Program is currently accepting submissions for The Julian Clement Chase Prize for Research Writing on the District of Columbia. Click here to learn more// Deadline: May 15, 2025

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What We're Listening To:
Riders on the Storm - The Doors
It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over - Lenny Kravitz

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