Ariella Rotramel
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About Me
I am the Vandana Shiva Assistant Professor of Gender, Sexuality and Intersectionality Studies at Connecticut College. My research and teaching interests include social movements, gender and women’s history, women and work, ethnic studies, queer and sexuality studies, community-based learning, and digital humanities and metaliteracy education.
My first book, Pushing Back: Women of Color-Led Grassroots Activism in New York City, is now available from University of Georgia Press. It draws upon my research with two organizations to consider how and why identity-based organizing matters today.
I recently was interviewed by Hongdeng Gao about my book for the Gotham: A Blog for Scholars of New York City History and the New Books Network.
Education
2000-2003
B.A., University of Illinois at Chicago
I designed my independent program of study, exploring the intersection of racial, gender, and sexual identities, with the support of the Gender and Women's Studies program faculty. I received the undergraduate Mary Bialas Award in 2002. During my time at UIC, I co-founded Feminists United, and interned with Radio Arte's Homofrequencia program.
2004-2011
Ph.D., Department of Women's and Gender Studies, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
My training included the area concentration Agency, Subjectivity, and Social Change. I was fortunate to be a fellow at the Institute for Research on Women (IRW) and the Rutgers Center for Historical Analysis. My dissertation centered women of color's leadership in two New York organizations, CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities and Mothers on the Move.
Published Work
Select works are available via the Digital Commons @ Connecticut College.
Rotramel, Ariella, Rose Oliveira, and Rebecca Parmer. 2019. “Engaging Women’s History through Collaborative Archival Wikipedia Projects.” Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy. Issue 14.
Rotramel, Ariella. “‘We make the spring rolls, they make their own rules’: Filipina Domestic Workers’ Fight for Labor Rights in New York City and Los Angeles.” AAPI Nexus: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Policy, Practice, and Community Journal 10, no. 2 (Fall 2012): 77-97.
"This is like family": Activist-Survivor Histories and Motherwork
Rotramel, Ariella. “'This is like family': Activist-Survivor Histories and Motherwork,” in U.S. Women's History: Untangling the Threads of Sisterhood, edited by Leslie Brown, Anne Valk and Jacqueline Castledine (Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2017): 49-62.
U.S. Presidents and LGBT Policy: Leadership, Civil Rights, and Morality Claims, 1977–2015
Rotramel, Ariella. “U.S. Presidents and LGBT Policy: Leadership, Civil Rights, and Morality Claims, 1977–2015,” in The Gendered Executive: A Comparative Analysis of Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Chief Executives, edited by Janet M. Martin and MaryAnne Borrelli (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2016): 123-146.
Birth Control Pills
Rotramel, Ariella. “Third Wave Feminism.” In The Social History of the American Family: An Encyclopedia, edited by Marilyn J. Coleman and Lawrence H. Ganong, vol. 20, 1376-78. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2014.
Third Wave Feminism
Rotramel, Ariella, and Dianna M. Rodriguez. “Birth Control Pills.” In The Social History of the American Family: An Encyclopedia, edited by Marilyn J. Coleman and Lawrence H. Ganong, vol. 2, 110-13. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2014.
Addressing Gaps in the Defense of Women Human Rights Defenders: A Strategic Conversation Report.
Rotramel, Ariella, and Ria Das Gupta. “Addressing Gaps in the Defense of Women Human Rights Defenders: A Strategic Conversation” Report. Center for Women’s Global Leadership, Summer 2011.
Book Review of Mobilizing New York: AIDS, Antipoverty, and Feminist Activism by Tamar W. Carroll
Rotramel, Ariella. 2017. Mobilizing New York: AIDS, Antipoverty, and Feminist Activism by Tamar W. Carroll. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2015. New York History 98, no. 3-4 (Summer/Fall): 500-503.
Learning to claim Wikipedia: Feminist pedagogy and praxis
Rotramel, Ariella and Cassidy Villeneuve. “Learning to claim Wikipedia: Feminist pedagogy and praxis,” Wikipedia Education Foundation blog, May 16, 2018,
Faculty Development
Teaching with Wikipedia, the Fall 2017 Edition
Rotramel, Ariella. “Teaching with Wikipedia, the Fall 2017 Edition.” Engage blog, November 21, 2017, Re-published by the Wiki Education Foundation, December 20, 2017,
Getting It Together! Teaching with Digital Portfolios: Part 2
Rotramel, Ariella. “Getting It Together! Teaching with Digital Portfolios: Part 2.” Engage blog, November 8, 2017,
Asynchronous Collaborations: Using Google Docs to Facilitate Working in Community
Bennett, Joyce and Ariella Rotramel. “Asynchronous Collaborations: Using Google Docs to Facilitate Working in Community,” Engage blog, April 20, 2017,
Filling in the Gaps Together: International Women’s Day Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon
Bratton, Lyndsay, Rose Oliveira, Becky Parmer, and Ariella Rotramel. “Filling in the Gaps Together: International Women’s Day Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon,” Engage blog, April 3, 2017,
Rotramel, Ariella. "Don’t Yuck Anyone’s Yum*: Using Google Drive and Moodle for Courses," Engage blog, February 28, 2017, .
Feminist Praxis and Wikipedia in the Classroom
Rotramel, Ariella. “Feminist Praxis and Wikipedia in the Classroom” Wikipedia Education Foundation blog, March 23, 2016, https://wikiedu.org/blog/2016/03/23/feminist-praxis-and-wikipedia-in-the-classroom.
Adding Voices to Scholarship: Wikipedia Editing
Rotramel, Ariella. “Adding Voices to Scholarship: Wikipedia Editing,” Engage blog, March 2, 2016, https://teachtechconncoll.wordpress.com/2016/03/02/addding-voices-to-scholarship-wikipedia-editing/.
Mapping Women’s Movements
Rotramel, Ariella. “Mapping Women’s Movements,” Engage blog, September 24, 2014, https://teachtechconncoll.wordpress.com/2014/09/04/mapping-womens-movements/.
Content Notes & Trauma in the Classroom
Rotramel, Ariella. “Content Notes & Trauma in the Classroom,” Teaching & Learning at Connecticut College, Spring 2015, 17-38.
Teaching
First Year Seminar Race, Sex, Gender
Fall 2012
First Year Seminar Women on the Loose: Exploring Paths to Political Consciousness and Action
Fall 2013, Fall 2017
Sex, Gender, Culture: Introduction to Gender and Women’s Studies
Fall 2014, Fall 2016
Sex/Work: Intimacy, Agency, and Exploitation
Fall 2018, Fall 2019
Public Policy and Social Ethics
Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017
Introduction to Queer Studies
Fall 2012, Fall 2013, Fall 2014
Feminist Approaches to Disability Studies
Spring 2014
Transnational Women’s Movements
Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2019
Training for Transformation
Spring 2013
Social Justice Praxis
Spring 2018, Fall 2018
Advanced Readings in Feminist Theory
Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Fall 2016, Fall 2017
Feminist Social Research Methods
Spring 2013, Spring 2016
Queer Theory and Activism
Fall 2018
Desiring Justice: Sex, Difference and Social Movements
Spring 2015
Senior Capstone in GWS
Spring 2017, Spring 2018
Contact
@AriellaRotramel
At Connecticut College, I have taught for the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Intersectionality Studies (formerly the Gender and Women's Studies Department), the Holleran Center's Program in Community Action (PICA), and the First Year Seminar program. In 2019, I was awarded the Colleg's Helen Mulvey Award for Fostering Student Achievement. I have also received the 2017 Faculty Mentor Award from the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program. I have taught the following courses: