queer studies – Social Justice Engineering

“Women’s Professional STEM Societies Rethink Gender Diversity”- column in Undark Magazine

Probably the most invigorating discussion on the topic of gender expansive inclusion & advancing nonbinary students in STEM I have had lately, with columnist Teresa Carr at Undark Magazine.

So, are women’s organizations the right place to work towards greater gender diversity? I asked Haverkamp. She repeated the question and let it echo for a moment. “Either, yes, women advocate for greater gender diversity, or no, women shut the door, and they say we have our marginal stake in the system, you go figure it out yourself,” she said. “The most feminist answer, would be ’yes’ — to welcome in and advocate for the full, free, liberated range of gender expressions and embodiments in STEM.”

Read the whole thing! It also discusses the amazing work SWE Hawaiian Islands has done to bring Indigenous Justice / Native Hawaiian Māhū inclusion into their scholarships, despite lack of national support from Society of Women Engineers.

Here’s the article link: https://undark.org/2021/10/27/womens-professional-stem-societies-rethink-gender-diversity/

SWE Podcast on Nonbinary Student Experiences with Dr. Haverkamp

“In this SWE Diverse episode, Alexa Jakob, lead of SWE’s LGBTQ+ and Allies Affinity Group, speaks with Dr. Andrea Haverkamp. Listen as they discuss Dr. Haverkamp’s research on the experiences of nonbinary students in engineering.” – check it out here!

https://alltogether.swe.org/2021/06/pride-month-podcast-nonbinary-students/

Coming Together is Divine

Yesterday ended the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, one of the major observances of the Jewish year. Jewish “days” actually begin at night. The festival of Shavuot (“Weeks” or “Pentecost”) is also known in our tradition as z’man matan toratenu—“The Time of the Giving of Our Torah.” I had some thoughts I wrote late at night. I posted it here, unedited, some small typos included.

Calling for a Paradigm Shift in the Study of Gender in Engineering Education

My first, first-author publication is out! Click “read more” for the abstract, and follow this link to read the whole article in Studies in Engineering Education.

I defended my PhD in Environmental Engineering and Queer Studies!

Happiest and proudest day of my life as a queer, first-gen, low income scholar! Right before presenting.

My dissertation, Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Undergraduate Engineering Students: Perspectives, Resiliency, and Suggestions for Improving Engineering Education, was defended on January 22nd. I am excited to have in this post the video link to watch, a download for use in any courses you teach, and the slide deck for reference! I want this work to be accessible to the public.

“A lot of the challenges I run into are a level of political disengagement in engineering”

I am so grateful for the write up about my research and activism done by Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Oregon State University.

Andrea Haverkamp is a PhD candidate in Environmental Engineering, with a minor in Queer Studies at Oregon State University. Her work is in engineering education, which explores the student and faculty experiences in engineering, right from curriculum to learning practices and pedagogy and also looks at diversity, inclusion and equity in the classroom.

Haverkamp is also President of the Coalition of Graduate employees (CGE), representing over 1800 graduate employees at OSU, “I think labor union activism is a critical action-oriented feminist praxis,” she says.

Read the article here, or click through for the text below.

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Advancing Nonbinary & Transgender Engineering Students at SWE Hawaiian Islands

I am so happy to share the full video and my slides from the May 25th 2019 SWE Hawaiian Islands event titled “More Work To Do in STEM for Diversity and Inclusion – A Conversation on Underrepresented Genders.” The event was so wonderful and opened up space to discuss Māhū gender in Native Hawaiian culture, (de)colonization and gender activism, trans & nonbinary experiences and identities, and where organizations such as the Society of Women Engineers can go to advance inclusion and support.

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Return of the Elwha

The following is a draft of a paper I am working on. At the moment it is stalled, on the back burner. I am interested in any thoughts, comments, critiques, or paths forward that this line of queer studies engagement in engineering ethics can achieve! Even if this never gets reworked or published, I wish to share this paper I wrote as part of my PHD exams. This is an example of the sort of scholarship I hope to engage in over my career on the side of traditional engineering education research. Engineering ethics is important and is a topic I hope to teach, write about, and research further.

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The trouble of reinforcing gender difference for women in engineering

Raising up role models without addressing misogynist gender-in-engineering culture leaves the root causes of gender discrimination unchecked and off of the hook. Phipps believes that recruitment and role models alone will not challenge gender stereotypes and may actually increase the perceptions of gender based difference.

What is wrong with the mantra and identity of “women engineers” as opposed to “engineers”? Is there trouble in saying boldly and loudly – our gender matters? Yes, and no. It’s complicated. We should talk about it and look at the research!

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Complexity of Nonbinary Inclusion in Engineering Culture

I presented the following paper on how rhetoric of diversity and inclusion does not go far enough for nonbinary students and peers – it requires us all to have a radical shift in our conceptualization of gender, no matter where we are as engineers.

This was presented at ASEE 125th Annual Exposition in Salt Lake City. Check it out, let me know what you think! Paper ID #22710

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