Feminist Institute of Social Transformation (FIST)

Thinking about graduate studies rooted in feminist inquiry, critical thinking, and social justice? Carleton’s M.A. in Women’s and Gender Studies is an interdisciplinary program that invites students to critically explore gender, power, inequality, and resistance across social, cultural, political, and historical contexts. The program is grounded in feminist, anti-racist, decolonial, and intersectional approaches, and supports students in developing strong research, writing, and analytical skills. Students engage with both theory and practice, learning alongside a close-knit graduate community and faculty committed to scholarship that is thoughtful, engaged, and socially responsive. Graduates pursue paths in academia, policy, advocacy, community organizing, education, and beyond. 🗓️ Application deadline: February 1 Swipe for program details and who to contact if you have questions, we’re happy to connect and support you through the application process.

✨ Meet the Admin Team at the Feminist Institute of Social Transformation! ✨ From student support to communication/outreach, event planning to academic advising — our small but mighty team is here to make things run smoothly at FIST 💪🏽💻💬 Swipe through to learn more about Megan, Fady, Lana, and Khadija — the folks behind the scenes who help bring the FIST community together at Carleton 🌱📚💥 🌐 Learn more: www.carleton.ca/fist #FISTCarleton #FeministFutures #SocialTransformation #FeminismAtCarleton

Students doing feminist research, come join our writing retreat! Aux étudiant.es qui font des recherches en études féministes, participez à notre retraite d’écriture!

Dr. Horak's new monograph, TRANS CINEMA (University of California Press), and her edited collection inspired by Linda Williams, MELODRAMA AS PROVOCATEUR (Duke University Press) both come out today! Buy TRANS CINEMA for 30% off with the code UCPSAVE30 at https://www.ucpress.edu/books/trans-cinema/paper Buy MELODRAMA AS PROVOCATEUR for 30% off with the code E26MELOD at https://www.dukeupress.edu/melodrama-as-provocateur

The Feminist Institute of Social Transformation (FIST) is pleased to share a new publication by Megan Rivers-Moore, co-authored with Kate Hardy. In Organising Beyond the Employment Relationship: Scaling Up and Institutional Power in Own-Account Unions, Rivers-Moore and Hardy explore how sex workers in Latin America are building collective power outside traditional employment structures. Drawing on research in Guatemala and Colombia, the article challenges longstanding assumptions about who can unionize and how labour organizing takes shape. The authors demonstrate that, despite significant structural barriers, sex workers have successfully formed formal unions and leveraged “institutional power” to advocate for labour rights, recognition, and improved working conditions. This work offers important insights into labour organizing among informal and marginalized workers, and contributes to broader conversations on feminist political economy and global labour movements.

🎨 Let’s draw together! A workshop on turning feminist research into comics/zines Come mingle and draw with us as we explore creative ways to story research and connect with feminist and gender studies students across Ottawa. Faculty, CIs, and postdocs are also welcome! Through guided drawing exercises and the creation of a mini zine/comic, we’ll explore how creative practices can help us share research differently, build community, and respond to the challenges of our time—inside and beyond academia. No drawing skills needed, just curiosity ✨ 🗓 April 15 | 1–4 PM 📍 LA715 (Loeb Building), Carleton University ☕ Coffee, tea, lunch + materials provided 🔗 Register via the link in @ccefjcws bio ⸻ 🎨 Dessinons ensemble! Un atelier pour transformer la recherche féministe en BD/zine Venez échanger et dessiner avec nous tout en explorant des façons créatives de raconter la recherche autrement, et rencontrer d’autres étudiant.es en études féministes et de genre à Ottawa. Les professeur.es, chercheur.ses associé.es et postdoctorant.es sont également les bienvenu.es ! À travers des exercices de dessin guidés et la création d’un mini zine/BD, nous réfléchirons à comment le travail créatif peut nous aider à partager nos recherches, renforcer nos liens, et faire face aux défis de notre époque. Aucune abilité en dessin requise, seulement de l’intérêt ✨ 🗓 15 avril | 13 h à 16 h 📍 LA715 (édifice Loeb), Université Carleton 🗓 16 avril | 10 h à 13 h 📍 FSS 7003, Université d’Ottawa ☕ Café/thé, lunch et matériel fournis 🔗 Inscription via le lien dans la bio de @ccefjcws

Pre-long weekend ‘Coffee and Doughnuts’ with grad students in FIST! Sending everyone energy and good vibes as they wrap up the term 💪👊

In Doing it for femme daddy, Fast Feminism, persistent desire, and the unbounded pleasures of critical educational praxis, Dan Irving offers an autotheoretical exploration of desire, pedagogy, and trans becoming within graduate education. Drawing on his experiences as a trans studies scholar, the piece reflects on the intersections of academic life, gender transition, and relational desire, engaging a “pedagogy of desire” through his relationship with Shannon Bell. Blending personal narrative with critical feminist scholarship, this work invites us to think differently about how desire can shape learning, open space for trans and queer becomings, and transform how knowledge is created and shared. We’re proud to share this powerful and thought-provoking contribution🎉

Celebrating Fady Shanouda 🎉 The Feminist Institute of Social Transformation (FIST) is proud to share that Fady Shanouda was awarded a FASS Research Achievement Award at the 2026 Vin d’honneur on March 26. This recognition highlights his research project exploring how GLP-1 weight-loss medications are reshaping relationships, embodiment, and social understandings of health. Fady’s work stands out for its critical, community-informed approach and its timely engagement with emerging health technologies. We’re proud to celebrate this well-deserved recognition and the continued impact of his work 🎉

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS A three-day conference on October 2, 3, and 4, 2026, at Queen’s University (Kingston, ON) called Critical Feminist Histories in Canada. Our goal is to bring together feminist scholars to reimagine, revitalize, and reinvent the project of ‘feminist history.’ The conference is hosted by the Canadian Committee on Women’s and Gender History (CCWGH), and we are committed to making this gathering an opportunity to welcome and support scholars whose work has too often been marginalized and silenced within Canadian women’s and gender history and beyond. Keynotes include: Susan Stryker, historian, theorist, filmmaker, and activist and Ethel Tungohan, the Canada Research Chair in Canadian Migration Policy Plenary sessions: (1) Trans Histories; (2) Histories of Reproductive Justice; and (3) Feminist Histories for the Future Please submit via email to [email protected]. The submission deadline is April 10, 2026. Applicants will be notified by early May 2026. Please send inquiries to the Critical Feminist Histories organizers (Lisa Pasolli, Patrizia Gentile, Kristine Alexander, and Samantha Nicholls) at [email protected]

✨ Event Recap ✨ Last night, we gathered in community for the Ottawa launch of Taslīm: We Are the Prophets by Carolyn Ramzy — an evening rooted in storytelling, reflection, and connection. Through readings and conversation, Dr. Ramzy invited us into a powerful exploration of girlhood, diaspora, faith, and the weight and beauty of carrying ancestral knowledge across generations. The space felt intimate and grounding — a reminder of how storytelling can hold complexity, spark dialogue, and bring us together in meaningful ways. Thank you to everyone who joined us, and to Carolyn for sharing this work so generously 💛

The Feminist Institute of Social Transformation (FIST) is proud to celebrate Manjeet Birk on being named a recipient of the 2025–26 Future Learning Innovation Fellowship from Carleton University Teaching and Learning Services. This prestigious fellowship supports educators in advancing innovative teaching and learning practices, with a focus this year on immersive technologies and digital storytelling to enhance student engagement and success. Dr. Birk is building off her experience of creating Home to provide students in her Critical Race Studies classes with the tools to write and create their own narratives using digital storytelling. This project breaks away from traditional virtual reality experiences, which often present damage-centred narratives, and instead prioritizes empathy and inclusivity, while challenging students to critically examine systemic inequities.