Politics+Society

A photo shows the Wellesley in Washingtin interns around a conference room table
Fall 2024
Amy Huang ’99 clearly remembers her experience in the Wellesley in Washington (WIW) internship program the summer after her junior year. A Chinese studies major, she interned with Leslie Griffin ’89, who at the time worked in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Asia department.More
An illustration depcits the number 50 surrounded by figures of women conducting research, providing child care, and working in Washinhgton, D.C.
Fall 2024
For 50 years, researchers at what is now the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) have conducted groundbreaking interdisciplinary studies on social issues such as the effects of placing children in child care, gender equity in education, and the role of social media in adolescents’ lives. From the beginning, its mission has been to deploy rigorous academic research to address real-world problems.More
A photo shows an open combination lock.
Fall 2024
At our 1973 commencement, 426 seniors listened as Shirley Chisholm wove her hard-fought “firsts” into a message for us about activism, laced with bold truths. That day, her powerful words propelled me into our generation’s revolutionary times. How would I live up to her charge?More
An image of the red. white, and blue all-type cover of Democracy in Retrograde: How to Make Changes Big and Small in Our Country and In Our Lives
Summer 2024
Democracy in Retrograde by Emily Amick ’07 and Sami Sage is an unusually practical book based on a simple premise: Civics isn’t a theoretical idea. It pervades every aspect of our lives and can offer hope as well as frustration.More
Jocelyn Benson ’99, secretary of state of Michigan, spoke about protecting voters’ rights.
Summer 2024
Leaders and activists from around the world gathered at Wellesley on April 6 to grapple with important global questions at the “Renewing Democracy: Women Leading the Way” summit.More
A photo portrait of Banu Subramaniam, Luella LaMer Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies
Summer 2024
Do plants “belong” in a particular place? Why are some considered “native” and others “invasive”? Why do they have Latin names? Are they really “male” and “female”? These are some of the wide-ranging questions at the heart of the new book Botany of Empire: Plant Worlds and the Scientific Legacies of Colonialism by Banu Subramaniam, the Luella LaMer Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies.More
A photo portrait of Natalie Mendenhall '17
Summer 2024
Natalie Mendenhall ’17, an audio producer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, participated in the Wellesley in Washington program and credits that experience with preparing her to become the news producer she is today. “I feel really blessed to be working in journalism at this changing time … people will always need the news.”More
A photo portrait of Ariana Hellerman '03
Summer 2024
In November 2023, New York City officials erected a tent city at Floyd Bennett Field, an out-of-use airport facility in Brooklyn. Some 2,000 asylum seekers, all families with children, were settled there to face the winter ahead. “This is my backyard,” says Ariana Hellerman ’03. She decided to help.More
Pages & Playlists
Spring 2024
Recent publications by Wellesley authorsMore
An illustration on the cover of RACE RULES depicts a Black person whispering behind her hand.
Spring 2024
Fatimah Gilliam, an Ivy-educated attorney who is CEO of her own diversity consulting group, aims her new book, Race Rules: What Your Black Friend Won’t Tell You, at people she thinks can change the way race is viewed and treated in this country.More