poet | teacher | artist
community-engaged
cultural studies scholar

Teaching

Assistant Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies

Courses Developed and Taught:

Poetry and Resistance Beyond the Gender Binary

Race, Ethnicity, and Feminist Thought

Transgender Studies

Transgender Narratives

Gender Traditions and Transformations in the Americas

Queer Indigenous Studies

Gender in American Indian Literature

Thesis Topics Advised:

Nepantla as Home: Understanding the Struggles and Resiliencies of Trans Women’s Migration from Latin America to the United States through Gloria Anzaldúa’s Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza
Sports Beyond the Binary: Transgender Athletes’ Participation Barriers and Best Practices
Art to Empower: Black Birthing Experiences Through History, Personal Essays and Portrait Photography

Quotes from Anonymous Course Evaluations

My understanding of trans issues expanded far beyond my previously limited and Eurocentric views
The class environment was one where I felt very respected and included. Not only from the professor, but from the other students as well.
Professor Ellasante did a wonderful job engaging students and built in intentional and meaningful self-reflection into every class session. I feel like I grew as a student and an individual, more in tune to my strengths and areas for growth.
The professor created an environment where students were rewarded for trying their best and contributing to the class, rather than judging students off of traditional metrics such as formality of writing.
Professor Ellasante made the course material feel important and very relevant to current events.
I am a senior, and reflecting back on my courses at Bates I feel as though this class had the largest effect on my overall viewpoint and ways of seeing the world. No other class at Bates has forced me to reevaluate my previous conceptions of how I view gender and the ways in which society categorizes human beings. I constantly think about what we learned in this class in my daily life, and will continue once the module has ended. No other class has had this type of effect on my ways of thinking about the world and my own behavior and thoughts.
I loved class discussions and was able to learn and grow from both Professor Ellasante and my peers.
I absolutely love Professor Ellasante! They accept the view points of all students and meets us where we are on our understanding of the themes and topics! I am so glad that I took this course, they truly did a great job.
Professor Ellasante is an amazing professor and reminded me of what academia is all about. It's so refreshing to be in a class, not just to try to get an A or knock out some credits, but to actually learn and be interested and excited by the material. Sometimes I can get so stressed out by school and grades and assignments that I lose touch with how wonderful learning can actually be. Professor Ellasante and this course reminded me why I love to learn, and was able to hold students to a high standard without creating a stressful environment only focused on our grades.
I came into this class interested in this topic but WOW now I feel like I have so much more to learn and I'll definitely keep reading about and talking about these topics after the module ends!
Professor Ellasante is very approachable and able to explain things in a variety of ways to allow students to understand concepts.
yes! I think sometimes the subject matter can be intimidating and people can be scared of saying the wrong things, especially when we discussed topics such as people of color or indigenous populations. Professor Ellasante helped to facilitate an environment where we didn't feel judged for not knowing something or thinking something different, which is incredibly helpful when discussing difficult topics.
You did such a great job of meeting us where we were at with complicated topics, but still pushing us to ask questions and expand our understanding
Despite being a slightly bigger class than others that I've taken where they were discussion based and felt friendly/familiar, the classroom environment was very similar to past smaller classes I've been in where I felt respected and included
I really appreciated the classroom environment in this class. It really felt like a community. I think the prompts at the beginning of class really helped. It also helped that you gave people the space to just talk -- whether that was about their day, what they did over the weekend, or during class discussions - giving people the space to talk through their ideas without interrupting them. This really helped me learn and feel comfortable in our class. Knowing the classroom was a safe learning environment also helped the discussion groups feel comfortable with each other I think
Professor Ellasante did a fantastic job breaking down ideas in a way that was digestible and coherent.
Everything was incredibly put together from the syllabus to every class meeting; even the discussion questions were incredibly well thought out.
Professor Ellasante was very accessible and approachable. In an office hours meeting I attended with them, they even suggested some awesome resources for me to check out for further research.
I found all of the readings to be very interesting and I loved that I got the ability to read so many personal narratives written by voices I don't usually have the opportunity to hear in an academic setting
Yes! Absolutely! They were an amazing professor who were always interested in how we engaged with the course material and their passion motivated me to come prepared to class every time because of how much I enjoyed interacting with the class
Professor Ellasante paid particular attention to using names and pronouns for their students that made us feel most affirmed.
Yes. I had taken a GSS course last year, and am an Environmental Studies major, so I was familiar with many of the topics discussed in this course. But I had not yet had the opportunity to dive deeply into the works of so many diverse thinkers. I went in with an open mind and have a much broader perspective because of it.
Yes! The discussions were outstanding and fun
Professor Ellasante kept me engaged because of their ability to articulate their thoughts so beautifully every class. Also they challenged us to always question the binary and push ourselves beyond our comfort zone in class
Definitely. The standards were high to participate in class each day and to draw strong connections between different readings and across disciplines. Professor Ellasante challenged us through the perfect mix of external and internal analysis.
Yes! The discussions and small group harvests really helped me understand everything more and better because I got to hear different opinions and interpretations.
Yes. Professor Ellasante did an excellent job maintaining interest within the class and in emphasizing how important it is to listen to people’s perspectives that differ from our own.
Every class was very well structured and each unit flowed into the next seamlessly
Yes. I really enjoyed hearing what my peers had to say and listening to the keynotes that Professor Ellasante had prepared for us. We also watched a few videos and read a few poems, and I appreciate the mixed media used to introduce new ideas.
Yes! The professor was always extremely patient and attentive. They were also available at the end of class for any further questions and always available via email. I very much appreciated that!
Absolutely. I didn’t have any classes pre-Bates where the emphasis was on non white thinkers. I loved getting to read articles and listen to videos from so many people who lived very different lives with different identities, yet shared common relationships and experiences with people in and systems of power. For each concept we discussed, Professor Ellasante had a whole list of people and resources to check out to help further understand the idea.
Yes! Everything was extremely organized and well thought of. The syllabus and lyceum were always organized and for any important reminders we received an email!
Prof did an awesome job of ensuring that the material was relevant to daily life. I came away with invaluable and helpful knowledge!
Yes and it was interesting to see how difference in positionality across students effected our approach to the course
Yes! I always felt safe to ask any questions and comment in class discussions
The passion and knowledge the professor provided, enlarged my perspective and motivated me to want to learn more
The professor was kind but firm, and wanted every student to succeed and engage with the material
We had amazing class discussions!
Yes and I'm so glad I took this course because what I learned will stick with me beyond this course, this year, even my time at this school
The instructor always took the time to slow down and explain so that everyone in the class was on the same page
Yes! I enjoyed every single class because of how organized they were. I was well aware of every assignment
The professor would answer any and all questions and encouraged these with what can be considered a "difficult topic"
Yes! The professor always had organized presentations that helped spark discussions and understand concepts more. I have nice notes from them. They also made sure we were understanding along the way and during discussions they would ask us questions about a comment, ask us to elaborate or expand, and clarified any doubts
Even though the class was on Zoom, we were able to foster a collaborative and supportive environment through having small groups that we worked with throughout the entire semester.
Yes! They were always encouraging us to think outside the box, put ourselves in other peoples' shoes and understanding multiple perspectives on different aspects of life
The instructor had clear office hours and would always talk with students after class if they wanted to
Yes! We were always heard and seen. I felt welcomed and safe

poet | teacher | artistcommunity-engagedcultural studies scholar

Teaching

Assistant Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies

Courses Developed and Taught:

Thesis Topics Advised:

Quotes from Anonymous Course Evaluations

My understanding of trans issues expanded far beyond my previously limited and Eurocentric views

The class environment was one where I felt very respected and included. Not only from the professor, but from the other students as well.

Professor Ellasante did a wonderful job engaging students and built in intentional and meaningful self-reflection into every class session. I feel like I grew as a student and an individual, more in tune to my strengths and areas for growth.

The professor created an environment where students were rewarded for trying their best and contributing to the class, rather than judging students off of traditional metrics such as formality of writing.

Professor Ellasante made the course material feel important and very relevant to current events.

I loved class discussions and was able to learn and grow from both Professor Ellasante and my peers.

I absolutely love Professor Ellasante! They accept the view points of all students and meets us where we are on our understanding of the themes and topics! I am so glad that I took this course, they truly did a great job.

I came into this class interested in this topic but WOW now I feel like I have so much more to learn and I'll definitely keep reading about and talking about these topics after the module ends!

Professor Ellasante is very approachable and able to explain things in a variety of ways to allow students to understand concepts.

You did such a great job of meeting us where we were at with complicated topics, but still pushing us to ask questions and expand our understanding

Despite being a slightly bigger class than others that I've taken where they were discussion based and felt friendly/familiar, the classroom environment was very similar to past smaller classes I've been in where I felt respected and included

Professor Ellasante did a fantastic job breaking down ideas in a way that was digestible and coherent.

Everything was incredibly put together from the syllabus to every class meeting; even the discussion questions were incredibly well thought out.

Professor Ellasante was very accessible and approachable. In an office hours meeting I attended with them, they even suggested some awesome resources for me to check out for further research.

I found all of the readings to be very interesting and I loved that I got the ability to read so many personal narratives written by voices I don't usually have the opportunity to hear in an academic setting

Yes! Absolutely! They were an amazing professor who were always interested in how we engaged with the course material and their passion motivated me to come prepared to class every time because of how much I enjoyed interacting with the class

Professor Ellasante paid particular attention to using names and pronouns for their students that made us feel most affirmed.

Yes! The discussions were outstanding and fun

Professor Ellasante kept me engaged because of their ability to articulate their thoughts so beautifully every class. Also they challenged us to always question the binary and push ourselves beyond our comfort zone in class

Definitely. The standards were high to participate in class each day and to draw strong connections between different readings and across disciplines. Professor Ellasante challenged us through the perfect mix of external and internal analysis.

Yes! The discussions and small group harvests really helped me understand everything more and better because I got to hear different opinions and interpretations.

Yes. Professor Ellasante did an excellent job maintaining interest within the class and in emphasizing how important it is to listen to people’s perspectives that differ from our own.

Every class was very well structured and each unit flowed into the next seamlessly

Yes. I really enjoyed hearing what my peers had to say and listening to the keynotes that Professor Ellasante had prepared for us. We also watched a few videos and read a few poems, and I appreciate the mixed media used to introduce new ideas.

Yes! The professor was always extremely patient and attentive. They were also available at the end of class for any further questions and always available via email. I very much appreciated that!

Yes! Everything was extremely organized and well thought of. The syllabus and lyceum were always organized and for any important reminders we received an email!

Prof did an awesome job of ensuring that the material was relevant to daily life. I came away with invaluable and helpful knowledge!

Yes and it was interesting to see how difference in positionality across students effected our approach to the course

Yes! I always felt safe to ask any questions and comment in class discussions

The passion and knowledge the professor provided, enlarged my perspective and motivated me to want to learn more

The professor was kind but firm, and wanted every student to succeed and engage with the material

We had amazing class discussions!

Yes and I'm so glad I took this course because what I learned will stick with me beyond this course, this year, even my time at this school

The instructor always took the time to slow down and explain so that everyone in the class was on the same page

Yes! I enjoyed every single class because of how organized they were. I was well aware of every assignment

The professor would answer any and all questions and encouraged these with what can be considered a "difficult topic"

Even though the class was on Zoom, we were able to foster a collaborative and supportive environment through having small groups that we worked with throughout the entire semester.

Yes! They were always encouraging us to think outside the box, put ourselves in other peoples' shoes and understanding multiple perspectives on different aspects of life

The instructor had clear office hours and would always talk with students after class if they wanted to

Yes! We were always heard and seen. I felt welcomed and safe

poet | teacher | artist
community-engaged
cultural studies scholar