Alicia Swiz is a feminist. She’s also a writer, a performer, and an educator who uses her various platforms to initiate conversations about women’s issues, intersectionality, and the representation of gender in media. Now, thanks to her recently released online course, potential students don’t have to be enrolled in college to learn from her.
Shortly after moving to Chicago, Swiz began working as an adjunct professor at Harold Washington College, where she teaches courses on media and pop culture, explored through a feminist lens. “I like looking at mainstream media, that most of us have access to, just because of the way it works in our culture,” she says. “I like exploring that as a way of teaching people to think about gender critically.” Many of her friends and followers have told her they’d like to take her classes but are unable to, as they are not Harold Washington students.
Even from the other side of a screen, Swiz is a dynamic and accessible teacher. Her video lectures that highlight themes from the course’s assigned readings aren’t necessarily flashy, but her approachable yet strong demeanor and passion for the topic make it clear that creating a genuine connection between herself, the course material and her virtual students is a priority for her. “I can’t wait to your experiences and what kind of insights you’re having,” she says in the introduction video. “I hope to get to know all of you through this.” She also makes a point to consistently emphasize the importance of intersectionality and asks her white viewers to keep the privileges of their skin color in mind as they explore the topics of the course.
Swiz plans to develop more classes in the future that will continue the conversation on gender. One particular course is intended for students who might be unsure about their identity as feminists, called Finding Your Feminism. “It’s going to be a collection of different feminist theorists and feminist authors from all different disciplines who maybe identify as feminist, humanist, or other realms, to invite people who sort of don’t know a lot about feminism or don’t think feminism is aligned with them and their values to explore a variety of writers,” she says.
