Oral History Interview, Cabell Gathman (2545)

Abstract

In her August 2025 interview with Edwin ElizabethThomas, Cabell Gathman discusses her teaching journey in the University of Wisconsin’s Gender & Women’s Studies (GWS) Department. She started as a TA in 2008, earning her PhD in 2014 and starting as a lecturer the following year. Gathman’s joint appointment is in sociology; she teaches two GWS courses and one sociology course per semester. She discusses how political and social contexts in the United States often affect the classes she teaches, causing her to quickly shift her lesson plans to discuss recent events and how they interact with the class content. Gathman also shares a personal anecdote on running into a former student several years after she had graduated who thanked her for teaching how to advocate for yourself in healthcare. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the GWS @ 50 Oral History Project of the UW-Madison Archives & Records Management oral history collection.