Five College Women's Studies Research Center
Initiating and supporting projects that are dedicated to engaged, critical feminist scholarship from diverse perspectives.
Meet our 2025-26 Research Associates
We are excited to welcome a cohort of six scholars to the Five College Women's Studies Research Center for the 2025-26 academic year. Learn more about our incoming Research Associates and their projects below.
Summer Writing Events
The FCWSRC is hosting two Pop-Up Write Togethers this summer as part of our Feminist Writing Community programming. The events will be on July 22 and August 12—learn more and RSVP below.
Farewell to Outgoing Program Coordinator
Our Program Coordinator, Lily Sendroff, will be leaving the FCWSRC this summer. Read the announcement about Lily's departure—and learn more about recent Five College feminist happenings—in our recent Community News Round-Up e-newsletter.
The Five College Women’s Studies Research Center fosters cutting-edge feminist research and writing. A nexus of critical dialogue between feminist scholars across the Five College Consortium and visiting scholars from around the world, we are an inter-institutional research center based on the campus of Hampshire College.
About
The Five College Women’s Studies Research Center (FCWSRC) is the central node of feminist scholarship across Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Collectively, these institutions comprise the Five College Consortium, home to one of the largest concentrations of Women’s, Gender, Sexuality Studies scholars anywhere in the world. The FCWSRC welcomes researchers and writers of all genders and disciplines who investigate gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, disability, labor, and other facets of identity that help us make sense of local, national, and global constructions of power.
Founded in 1991 under the auspices of the Five College Consortium, the FCWSRC first took up residence in two iconic townhouses on the campus of Mount Holyoke College. There, faculty and graduate students from across the consortium, local artists and activists, and visiting scholars from around the world developed leading feminist thought over the course of three decades. In 2021, the FCWSRC relocated to its current home on the leafy campus of Hampshire College, the geographic epicenter of the Five College Consortium, where we continue to organize programming and events that invite cross-campus feminist collaboration and exchange.
The FCWSRC cultivates feminist inquiry through three signature programs. Our Feminist Writing Community hosts write-togethers, works-in-progress sessions, and book salons through which feminist scholars develop pathbreaking feminist thought. Our Research Associate Program offers semester and year-long residencies to faculty on sabbatical, PhD candidates completing dissertations, and writers from around the world. Our undergraduate Research Collaboratory involves students from across the Five Colleges in the intellectual life of the Center through opportunities for archival research, public writing, and critical feminist study. Additionally, we convene workshops, working-groups, and events in response to the needs and interests of our community.
People
Li Cornfeld
Li Cornfeld, PhD (she/they) is a scholar of feminist media studies. As Director of the FCWSRC, she devises programming that bridges feminist inquiry across the disciplines, departments, and campuses of the Five College Consortium. She also leads our annual cohorts of Research Associates, integrates short-term visiting scholars into the Five College community, and facilitates the development of feminist writing from inception through publication. In addition to her work at the Center, teaches in the Department of Film Media Theater at Mount Holyoke College.
Lily Sendroff
Lily (she/her) joined the FCWSRC as Program Coordinator in January of 2023. As Program Coordinator, she oversees the day-to-day functions of the Center, including managing the Research Associate Program, supervising undergraduate interns, and supporting programming- and events-planning. Her scholarly interests center on feminist political thought, democratic theory, and critical political economy.
Laura Ciolkowski
Senior Lecturer
Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies
UMass Amherst
Sony Coráñez Bolton
Associate Professor & Chair
Spanish and English & Latinx and Latin American Studies
Amherst College
Susana Loza
Associate Professor of Critical
Race, Gender, and Media Studies
Hampshire College
Lynda Pickbourn
Associate Professor & Chair
Gender Studies
Mount Holyoke College
Loretta Ross
Associate Professor
Study of Women, Gender & Sexuality
Smith College
Ray Rennard
Director of Academic Programs
Five Colleges, Incorporated
Each year, the FCWSRC hosts a cohort of visiting scholars as part of our Research Associate Program. Learn more about our current cohort here.
Five College undergraduate students participate in two ongoing research projects through the FCWSRC's Research Collaboratory, which entails summer internship and independent study opportunities. Learn more about our current undergraduate researchers here.
Programming & Events
Additional Opportunities
Laura Lovett Award for Feminist Pedagogy
Feminist historian Laura Lovett served as Director of the Five College Women’s Studies Research Center from 2008-2011. Named in her honor following her passing in 2025, the Laura Lovett Award is granted annually in recognition of outstanding feminist pedagogy in the Five Colleges.
We welcome applications from:
- Five College faculty and staff who work with undergraduate or graduate students,
- Five College graduate students who work with undergrads, and
- Five College faculty, staff, and graduate students who engage in pedagogical work with colleagues and community members.
Nomination materials should emphasize pedagogical work undertaken in the past two years, though they may make reference to a longer body of work.
In the case of self-nominations, applicants will submit:
- A 1-2 page narrative statement outlining their feminist pedagogical accomplishments. Statements may outline innovative approaches to the teaching of material related to feminist history, theory, or expression. They may also outline the development and implementation of feminist teaching methods, including pedagogical approaches to accessibility, antiracism, decoloniality, diversity, equity, inclusion, and other areas of feminist pedagogical praxis.
- 2-3 supporting materials that document the applicant’s work in feminist pedagogy (a syllabus, an assignment, etc.)
- A letter from a student or colleague in support of the application
In the case of nominations by others, a letter supporting the nomination should be included at the time of submission. The nominated individual will the be contacted by the committee directly, and should they accept the nomination, they will then submit the above-described narrative statement and supporting materials.
The call for nominations is announced annually during the fall semester. Materials will be due in late January or early February, and after evaluation by the FCWSRC Director and Steering Committee, the decision will be announced in mid-March.
Lily Sendroff
Inaugural Recipient
Program Coordinator, Five College Women's Studies Research Center
Short-Term Visiting Scholars
We welcome visits from feminist scholars who plan to travel to the Five Colleges for brief periods of time, typically to collaborate with faculty on a Five College campus, participate in conferences or events hosted in the Five Colleges, or conduct research in local archives and special collections. Short-Term Visiting Scholars at the FCWSRC have access to our flex office space and are welcomed into the intellectual life of the Center, including opportunities to join our Feminist Writing Community and our Research Associate-specific programming.
Short-term visits can last between a few days to a few weeks. Occasionally visitors stay for one to two months, but these tend to be special cases—regardless, short-term visits must be shorter than an academic semester. We can typically welcome visitors between September 15 and December 1 in the fall and between February 1 and April 15 in the spring. We do not have the possibility to co-host scholars over the summer months or Five College breaks (these dates can be found on this page). Additional closures at the FCWSRC (for example, due to conference travel) will be communicated to individuals during later planning stages for their short-term visit.
Short-term visits are intended to support scholars in carving out the time and space to work on projects and collaborate with others in the field. We're unable to provide library borrowing privileges and, unfortunately, can not provide any financial support. Visitors do have access libraries and materials that are open to the public. In the event that you are applying to other sources of funding, depending on the structure of your stay, we may be able to support funding applications. During later planning stages, we are happy to share information on local accommodation options and resources for getting around the Five College area.
To express interest in a short-term visit at the Five College Women's Studies Research Center, please complete this form.
Five College Area Resources
Rich in feminist history and scholarship, Western Massachusetts is home to five academic institutions—each with extensive archival and special collections—as well as teaching museums, cultural venues, performance spaces, and more.
Contact
Email: fcwsrc@fivecolleges.edu
Phone: (413) 559-6247
Mailing Address
893 West Street
Box 5CW
Amherst, MA 01002