“Teaching with Tenderness in Harsh Times.”

National Women’s Studies Association. San Juan, Puerto Rico, November 2025.

Diane Harriford, Vassar College

Becky Thompson, Simmons

Naimah Petigny, RISD

Teaching in the time of Trump has become a major challenge as academic freedom is a relic of the past and white patriarchal practice and ideas seem to be the only safe reality.  Anyone who teaches that women should have control of their bodies, that women of all races and men of color can do the same jobs as white men, that immigrants should be able to live peacefully in this country and that transgender people are not a danger to our society is likely to wonder how long they will be able to be in the classroom without being targeted as anti-American and a danger to students.  At the same time, many students seem stressed about the cost of education, employment after they graduate and confused about the purpose of education. The classroom can become a nervous and spiritually austere space for teachers and students as we confront this new reality. Our panel will present  innovative ways that some of us have countered this patriarchal onslaught and created learning communities that enliven the classroom. We will also discuss strategies for keeping feminist ideas and practices alive in the classroom in these harsh times.