This division is vitally interested in themes related to feminist studies in communication. We encourage and support research, action, and understandings of the profession that address intersections of power, such as race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, technology, nationality, and transnationalism, and challenge existing theoretical paradigms that have excluded the voices of marginalized groups, especially women.
Feminist perspectives on masculinities and comparative research on gender across all communication contexts are also of interest in this division. We are not only interested in the intersectional study of women's lives, but also in varied and intersectional approaches to gender as well. Our Division is open to diverse women and men who share an interest in the empowerment of all women and other marginalized groups. We seek collaboration with other NCA divisions and caucuses, particularly those dedicated to the study of issues of power and social justice, and to the creation and maintenance of equality within the profession. These collaborations are aimed both to encourage research that spans axes of power and identity and build alliances that span these axes as well. Each year at the Annual Convention, the division gives an award to the top paper and top student paper submitted to the division. We also give the Bonnie Ritter Book Award, an annual award honoring research in the field of communication that interrogates questions related to feminism, women studies, and gender. Authors working within all methodological perspectives are encouraged to apply. Bonnie Ritter did most of the groundwork and was primary organizer for the group of women scholars who formed the National Communication Association Women's Caucus in 1971. Caucus success led, more than a decade later, to establishing NCA's Feminist and Women Studies Division so that feminist scholarship would have a formal and recognized home within the association. This award is a testament to the courage, tenacity, and intellectual imagination of Professor Ritter and her colleagues.
2024 Interest Group Leadership
- Chair: Satarupa Dasgupta
- Vice Chair and Program Planner: Lamiyah Bahrainwala
- Vice Chair-Elect (Second Vice Chair): Amy May
- Second Vice Chair-Elect (Third Vice Chair): Debipreeta Rahut
- Immediate Past Chair: Sarah Upton
- IDEA Representative: Satarupa Dasgupta
2024 NCA Positions
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Legislative Assembly
- Satarupa Dasgupta
- Lamiyah Bahrainwala
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NCA Nominating Committee
- Satarupa Dasgupta
FGSD Membership (2013-2024)
*Official count taken each January
Business Meeting Minutes
Interest Group Election