Crystal Rodgers is a WGSS alumna who earned her BA in 2011 and went on to pursue a career in library science- working primarily in Special Collections. In this interview, we talk more with Crystal about her experience in the department and her current endeavors and interests.
Please introduce yourself- name, educational background, year/degree from GSU, area of study/interest in WGSS.
Hi y’all, I’m Crystal Rodgers (she/her)! I’m a born and raised Atlantan. I earned my BA in WGSS at GSU in August 2011 and my Masters in Library and Information Science (MLIS) from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2016. While in the WGSS program at GSU, I completed an honor’s thesis that explored how the predominant social scripts surrounding sexual assault work to uphold rape culture and examined how this script both shows up in and is resisted by modern rape prevention programs in the United States.
What was your most memorable experience in the WGSS dept at GSU?
Gosh, so many! I’ll never forget reading and discussing The End of Capitalism (As We Knew It) by J.K. Gibson-Graham in one of Dr. Julie Kubala’s courses. This was probably one of the most challenging things I read in the program, but it really stuck with me! It was a jumping-off point for my honor’s thesis and opened up my eyes to the concept of social scripts and how the discourse surrounding structures like capitalism can uphold but also work to dismantle these structures. I also really enjoyed helping plan and participating in the variety show at My Sister’s Room in East Atlanta where WGSS students performed spoken word, dance, and other types of performance. My segment was called “Grandmotherisms” where I read quotes gathered from WGSS students about how their grandmothers talked to them about sex growing up.
What have you been working on since leaving GSU?
During my last year at GSU, I began working as a student assistant at the GSU Library Special Collections & Archives. This is where I fell in love with archival work and decided to pursue a career as an archivist, preserving, arranging, and describing historical collections for research access and use. I worked several archives jobs in Portland, OR while in graduate school, followed by a position as a processing archivist for the Labor Archives of Washington at the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections. I worked at the UW for 5.5 years processing labor history collections, co-curating exhibits, engaging in reference, and attending events out in the local labor community. I was also active in labor organizing at UW, serving on the UW Libraries Union Organizing Committee and Contract Action Team. The newly formed union is now bargaining its first contract! Longing to be closer to my family, I moved to Boston in June of this past year for a position as an archivist at Boston Public Library’s Special Collections, helping build their brand-new archives program. I am starting to get involved with my labor union at BPL as well!
How has a BA in WGSS helped you in your current work or projects?
Archivists play an active role in shaping society’s understanding of the past by making critical decisions that determine what historical records are collected, preserved, and made accessible. My BA in WGSS equipped me with valuable critical thinking skills and an ability to view gender, race, class, and other social structures through an intersectional, feminist lens that I use when making decisions about how archival collections are arranged and described. It is especially important to me that the contributions of women, BIPOC, working class, LGBTQ folks, and other historically underrepresented communities as documented by these collections are visible, accessible, and preserved for current and future generations.
Any advice for prospective students considering a degree in WGSS?
Go for it! More than just informing my professional work, this degree expanded my worldview and transformed how I understand and relate to myself and others. It’s so interdisciplinary too, incorporating sociology, ethnic studies, literature, psychology, labor studies, philosophy, geography, public health, and on and on! I minored in Sociology just so I could take more cross-listed WGSS courses! As you begin delving into research and writing, I’d also encourage you to get in touch with the subject librarians at GSU specializing in gender studies-related topics as well as Morna Gerrard, the Archivist for Women and Gender Collections at GSU’s Special Collections & Archives. They can help you navigate the many research databases and variety of resources available to you. I really wish I had gotten in touch with them more while an undergrad at GSU!
What are your interests and hobbies outside of school? What are you reading/watching/listening to lately?
During the pandemic, I started getting really into decorative embroidery and hand-repairing clothes with rips and holes to reduce my consumption and extend the life of my apparel. I just got a sewing machine and can’t wait to start making my own clothes too! I also enjoy spending quality time with my feisty 5-year-old chihuahua-terrier, Spooky. Currently, I’m reading Ottessa Moshfegh’s A Year of Rest and Relaxation and Tess of the d’Ubervilles (lots of interesting/problematic gender-related themes in this late 19th-century novel by Thomas Hardy); watching embarrassingly cheesy, heteronormative Christmas movies; and listening to Low (RIP Mimi Parker), Weyes Blood, and Lingua Ignota.