Gender Studies Lab

The Gender Studies Lab is a faculty and student network consisting of those who share an interest in gender and sexuality studies. More specifically, we are concerned with issues related to gender, sexuality, and feminism as well as the ways in which race, class, colonialism, capitalism, and socialism co-constitute or reproduce gendered hierarchies. We organize various regular events, including lectures, workshops, discussions, and conferences, to create a collegial and supportive academic community at DKU. Responsive to the constellation of feminist discourses in swiftly-changing Post-reform China—from official state discourses on women’s emancipation, to “New Left” Feminism, to liberal or neo-liberal feminisms, to an active Me-Too Movement—we are deeply interested in subjects related to gender and emancipation, both in China and internationally.

Co-Directors of GSL

Hyun Jeong Ha

Hyun Jeong Ha is a sociologist and ethnographerwho started to conduct field research in Cairo, Egypt from 2006. Her research areas include religion and politics, sectarianism, gender, intersectionality, and ethnography in the Middle East. Her currentresearch examines Christians’ daily experiences as religious minorities in post-revolutionary Egypt based on their social class, gender, and region. She has written widely about the Arab Uprisings protests and intensified social discrimination towards religious minorities inpost-Arab Uprisings era, as well as religious education, Islamic feminism, and changes in family law in the Middle East and North Africa. Her work has appeared in various journals, including the Journal of Peace Research, Ethnic and Racial Studies, Research in Social Movements, Conflicts, and Change, and Contexts, among others, as well as in several edited volumes. She is the recipient of The Nils Petter Gleditsch Journal of the Year 2023 and The 2023 Excellent Academic Book Award by the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Korea. She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Texas at Austin and was a Global Religion Research Initiative Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Notre Dame.

Megan Rogers

Megan Rogers isa sociologist of religion and culture who specializes in the study of religion in contemporary China, where she has conducted extensive qualitative fieldwork since 2014. She is especially interested in how people make meaning, cultivate morality, claim social status, and build social ties in the context of rapid social changes, including urbanization, the reemergence of social classes, changes in gender expectations, and increasing individualization.  Her work draws on, and contributes to, interdisciplinary discussions of these issues, particularly in the Chinese context. In addition to her work with the Gender Studies Lab, she is co-lead of the Center for the Study of Contemporary China’s Meanings, Identities, and Communities cluster.  She received her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Notre Dame and was a Global Religion Research Initiative Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Notre Dame before joining DKU.

Jesse Olsavsky

I am a historian who focuses largely on the history of slavery, abolitionism, and their legacies. I teach courses on American history, American political institutions and Pan-African thought. I was previous coordinator of the US Studies major. I am co-director of the Freedom Lab, an interdisciplinary faculty-student research center devoted to the study of un-freedom and liberation in the modern world. I am also co-director of the Gender Studies Initiative, which organizes academic lectures, conferences, discussions, as well as student research on the topics of Gender, Feminism, and Sexuality. My First book is titled The Most Absolute Abolition’: Runaways, Vigilance Committees, and the Rise of Revolutionary Abolitionism, 1835-1861 (LSU Press 2022), which was a finalist for the Harriet Tubman Book Prize.  I am currently a researchfellow at the University of Connecticut and Yale University, working on my second book, tentatively titled “In The Tradition: The Abolitionist Tradition and the Routes of Pan-Africanism.” The project is an intellectual history of abolition’s subversive afterlives in the Pan-African Movement. 

Co-Directors of LGBTQ+ Reading Group

Zhenjie Weng, Ph.D.,is an Assistant Professor of English Language at the Language and Culture Center, Duke Kunshan University (DKU), China. She specializes in second, foreign, and multilingual language education, with her research focusing on language teacher identity, emotions, agency, and expertise. In addition to her academic work, she serves as the lead moderator for the LGBTQ+ Reading Group at DKU and mentors students conducting research on LGBTQ+-related topics. Her work has been published in leading journals, including System, TESOL Quarterly, Language Teaching Research, TESOL Journal, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, and Teaching in Higher Education.

 Yanan Zhao, Ph.D.,  is a Senior Lecturer of English for Academic Purposes, at the Language and Culture Center,Duke Kunshan University (DKU), China. Her research interests focus on second language writing and the literacy development of multilingual students in diverse social contexts. Her dissertation work has explored how adolescent international students from China study in U.S. high schools, examining the cognitive and social aspects of their academic writing experiences. In addition to her academic work, she serves as the lead moderator for the LGBTQ+ Reading Group at DKU and mentors students conducting research on LGBTQ+-related topics.

 

Students Assistants

Yaxuan Wang

Yaxuan Wang, a sophomore at Duke Kunshan University, is actively involved in the LGBTQ+ Reading Group, where she manages various responsibilities. Passionate about fostering inclusive dialogues, Yaxuan supports the group’s discussions and logistics, contributing to the broader DKU community.

Nathan Franco

Nathan Franco is a first-year student at DKU (Class of ’28). He grew up in Los Angeles, California, where he developed an interest in various topics, such as philosophy, ethics, psychology, and global health. He states, “Being an active learner is a lifestyle. Taking that step forward in the face of uncertainty could become your greatest strength, leading to a wealth of knowledge fostered by DKU!” As part of GSL, Nathan creates promotional posters and student reports on GSL events.

 

Xinyu Liao

Xinyu Liao is currently a sophomore at DKU, with a strong focus on gender equality and women empowerment.As the Event Coordinator at the Gender Study Lab, Xinyu is responsible for organizing and managing various initiatives that explore critical gender issues, fostering dialogue and awareness among the student body.