Phillips Residence Hall | 29 residents (all double rooms with private baths; coed mixed floor)
Sponsored by the Gender and Women’s Studies Department | $200 learning community fee
One of the most exciting parts about coming to college is finding your true self. In addition to this, it’s also a pretty incredible opportunity to meet and make friends with people from all different backgrounds. Open House, the gender-learning community at UW-Madison is a vibrant lakeshore community of students, staff and faculty dedicated to examining gender and sexuality. Open House is a place to build community and explore the diversity of the human experience. Students enjoy a tight-knit environment and unique programming, like open mic, movie and game nights, and mentorship from faculty and staff across campus.
Residents of the community have the opportunity to take a one-credit seminar that discusses both historical and contemporary issues facing the LGBTQ community. In this seminar, you will be able to discuss how we construct, negotiate and transgress norms and identities. Topics have included first-person narratives and LGBTQ activism. Students from all genders, sexualities, and racial/ethnic/cultural backgrounds/disciplines are invited to learn in Open House’s welcoming and inclusive space within the beautiful Phillips Hall.
Program Goals:
- To encourage each student to understand and explore their own identity formation
- To create brave spaces where residents can be their real authentic selves
- To examine power and privilege and the crucial role of allies in making change
Find Out More
Open House is by and far the most accepting and friendly communities. Everyone is welcoming and it will honestly feel like you’ve gained a second family.
DARREN SCHOENIKE, Open House Resident
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Events
Each semester, Open House hosts a variety of events that support and expand upon the ideals of the learning community. The events vary from movies to speakers to cookouts. No matter what the occasion, all events aim to build a stronger community and give anyone and everyone the chance to express themselves. Other notable events from Open House’s include attending local and national conferences, bringing prominent speakers to campus, and working with our campus partners to have a lot of fun!
Below are some of the events and activities from recent years that Open House residents have participated in.
- Speakers
- Field trips
- Movie nights
- Workshops
- Conference trips
- Karaoke nights
- Crafts
- Cookouts
- Study jams
- Game nights
Resources
- Department of Gender and Women’s Studies
- Center for Research on Gender and Women
- Department of History Program in Gender and Women’s History
- Certificate in LGBT Studies
- Campus Women’s Center
- Gender and Sexuality Campus Center (GSCC)
- Ten Percent Society
- LGBTQA Social Work Student Group
- Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (oSTEM)
- Youth Fellowship of Madison
- Gender and Women’s Studies Librarian
- Office of the Registrar Preferred Name Policy
Seminar Info
Gender and Women’s Studies (GWS) 101 is a one-credit course led by Open House Faculty Director and Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies Ellen Samuels. The course explores past and present topics in LGBTQ communities. Readings and discussions in the seminar will be extended and enhanced by impromptu conversations and experiences around the lunch table and within Open House and Phillips Hall. This fun class is exclusively available to Open House residents.
Open House Professional Staff
Judith Houck
Faculty Director of Open House
Associate Professor of Medical History and Bioethics, School of Medicine and Public Health
