The James & Abigail Campbell Library at the University of Hawai‘i–West O‘ahu recently made public its new Women’s and Gender Studies research guide, offering valuable resources on related topics such as domestic violence and LGBTQ+, and complementing the university’s Gender Studies certificate.
The project began in fall 2021 and involved converting the library’s existing Women’s Studies research guide into a Women’s and Gender Studies guide. It was a collaborative effort among Dr. Xóchitl Mota-Back, assistant professor of Sociology and co-director of the Gender Studies certificate; Carina Chernisky, public services librarian; and two of Mota-Back’s SSCI 499 Feminist Theory students, Paige Bogner and Josephine Yu, both of whom have since graduated from UH West O‘ahu.
“This guide supports UH West O‘ahu’s new Gender Studies certificate and serves as a launching pad for students who are interested in learning more about the wide range of topics related to gender and/or women’s studies,” said Chernisky, who is also the librarian for the Social Sciences division at UH West O‘ahu.
Women’s and Gender Studies is an interdisciplinary academic field that explores the social construct of gender, and the related hierarchies and inequalities that vary across cultures, Chernisky said.
“Xóchitl and I are so pleased that the library and her students were able to partner in this way and showcase the important community resources that exist here locally in Hawai‘i to address some of those inequalities,” she said.
The guide’s “Community Resources” section features categories including abortion, domestic violence, sexual violence, LGBTQ+, and student parents. Within each category is a variety of subcategories with further resources; for example, resources for student parents include subcategories such as diaper banks, parenting classes, and child care relief. Coming updates for the guide will also include resources for elder care and LGBTQ+ youth.
Mota-Back said among the goals of the project is centralizing a location for students to search for resources for themselves or others they know, and centralizing a location for staff and faculty to direct students who may benefit from the resources. She noted that it was important to project creators and collaborators that all such resources be accessible to anyone, anywhere, with internet access.
“This is very much at the center of feminist praxis — this idea of community, collaboration, and equity, and getting things to the people who need them the most,” Mota-Back said.
‘Many resources for a multitude of situations’
The inspiration behind the Gender Studies research guide project stemmed from Mota-Back’s own experiences in 2017 as a new faculty member at UH West O‘ahu with her two babies, and getting to know the challenges that many of her students with children encountered.
“Once I got settled and was able to gather resources for childcare, I would send these out to students who I was in conversation with about their own situation,” she said.
When COVID-19 hit, Mota-Back created a basic document with resources and shared it widely with her own students, as well as with Student Life Director Rouel Velasco to disseminate to other students.
“In fall 2021, two UH West O‘ahu students pursuing the Gender Studies certificate (Paige Bogner and Josephine Yu) needed to take the theory requirement, which wasn’t being offered, so we collaboratively decided that I would offer it as an independent study so they could complete the certificate and create a living document that showcases these resources,” Mota-Back said.
They integrated this project into the class and worked on it with Chernisky throughout the semester. The work involved searching and reviewing research guides at multiple universities as a model, then researching and verifying the local sources in Hawai‘i, in addition to national and larger organizations.
“We all provided many resources for a multitude of situations and research topics that students may encounter throughout their college career and that are important to the field itself,” said Bogner, who has since received her Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences with a concentration in Psychology and a Gender Studies certificate.
In addition, Mota-Back had students from her fall 2022 Sociology of the Body class contribute to the project for extra credit by gathering new resources. The research guide officially went live in fall 2022 with plans for more resources to continually be added.
“I was thankful to get the opportunity to work on this project to help other future students,” Bogner said, “and having this experience has opened my eyes to all of the resources available to students and families all over the world, including here in Hawai‘i.”
‘The most meaningful project I have ever done’
Mota-Back, a former member of the UH West O‘ahu Open Educational Resources (UHWO OER) Committee, has been interested in open pedagogy for some time now.
“That also really inspired part of this assignment when I presented it to them (students Bogner and Yu) and I said, ‘So there’s a very practical reason we’re doing this because it’s helpful to have these resources for students … but also this is open access, so a lot of people are going to get to see this,’ ” Mota-Back said.
Chernisky added, “We considered the usefulness of her students designing something that would live on beyond the duration of the semester.”
Mota-Back also noted that the collaborative project was very grounded in the view that working together is better than working in a silo.
“They loved it,” Mota-Back said, referring to Bogner and Yu’s time spent on the research guide. “It was really fun to do it and they worked so well together on it.”
The guide was definitely an important and worthwhile project for Yu, who has since graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences with a concentration in Psychology and certificates in Substance Abuse and Addictions Studies (SAAS) and Gender Studies.
“The significance of this research project is to provide free resources for others to learn more about gender studies and to allow all genders — including women, men, the LGBTQ community — a safe zone to get the right education to support them, and to make it a norm in our society to respect one another,” Yu said.
Having such resources at UH West O‘ahu helps to make it a safe place where all people are welcome to come together to learn and grow, Yu said.
“This project was by far the most meaningful project I have ever done,” she said. “Not only was this project for a grade, it will help my community to open closed minds about women and gender studies to another level of new perspectives and acceptance.”
For more information about the Women’s and Gender Studies research guide, email carinac@hawaii.edu or motaback@hawaii.edu.