Topics in Gender and Sexuality Studies (390-0-20)

Topic

Trans Families Project

Instructors

Elizabeth Smith

Meeting Info

2001 Sheridan Anthro Lab 1410: Tues, Thurs 9:30AM - 10:50AM

Overview of class

Trans Families Project

This seminar is a Course Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) in which students join the ongoing Trans Families Project as Study Team Members. The Trans Families Project explores experiences of transgender youth and their families in Illinois and the surrounding states during the current political anti-trans attacks in the United States, focusing on three overlapping broad themes of social life, law, and health care. How do anti-trans laws and policies impact trans and gender nonconforming youths' daily lives, development, sense of self and agency, and hopes for the future? How are their families and caretakers navigating the complex healthcare, legal, and social landscapes under the current racialized US gender system and widening economic inequality? What support resources can trans youth and their families access? How can we imagine liberatory futures for trans youth and all people through both research and creative practices like speculative fiction, poetry, or visual and performing arts? As members of the Trans Families Project research team, we will collaborate as we: 1. Assess interdisciplinary social science research on trans youth on gender affirming care, mental health, bodily agency and autonomy, family, education, religion, race, ethnicity, sports, public space, carcerality, criminalization, and federal, state, and local legislation and policies; 2. Analyze the anonymized interview transcripts conducted by the Trans Families Project in 2025-26; 3. Collect additional data addressing project themes; 4. Keep individual weekly research journals; 5. Present our research results at the scheduled final exam session in the form of a mini-conference. Because seminar members are joining this ongoing IRB-reviewed research project, every student will be required to complete the free online Human Subjects Research training by August 1, 2026 to be added to the study's IRB protocols.

Registration Requirements

Pre-registration is reserved for Anthropology and Gender & Sexuality Studies;
Prerequisites: prior social science coursework and permission of instructor (permission number required); Attendance at first class required

Learning Objectives

1. Understand the lived experiences of transgender youth, their families, and their support systems in Illinois and surrounding Midwestern states;
2. Learn and apply qualitative social science research methods and analysis;
3. Uphold and embody the American Anthropological Association (AAA) Code of Ethics and the NU IRB's Human Research Protection Program Plan as a Trans Families Project study team member.

Teaching Method

Discussion, Seminar, Readings, Research Project

Evaluation Method

Class Participation, Group Work, Peer Assessment, Presentations, Research Project, Writing Assignments

Class Materials (Required)

All provided in Canvas

Class Materials (Suggested)

Recommended reading: explore social media and websites for Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE), Erin in the Morning, Movement Advancement Project (MAP), National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, National Black Trans Advocacy Coalition, PFLAG, Trans Latin@ Coalition (LTC), Trans Legislation Tracker, Trans Youth Emergency Project, and any state or local organizations supporting trans youth in your home state or city. OPTIONAL background reading available free in the NU Library or your local public library: Tey Meadow (2018) Trans Kids: Being Gendered in the Twenty-first Century and Nico Lang (2024) American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era