On November 19, 2019, members of the WCW community gathered at the Wellesley College Club to celebrate the publication of a new book by Peggy McIntosh, Ph.D., a senior research scientist at WCW and co-founder of the National SEED Project.

The book, On Privilege, Fraudulence, and Teaching as Learning: Selected Essays 1981-2019, was released in July 2019 by Routledge. It offers an overview of McIntosh’s 40-year career and includes her most well-known papers like “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” as well as a newly released paper on feeling like a fraud.

“This is truly a body of work to celebrate, and I am thrilled that Peggy has compiled her cutting-edge work over the years into this new book,” said Layli Maparyan, Ph.D., Katherine Stone Kaufmann '67 Executive Director of WCW, in her opening remarks. “Thank you, Peggy, for your momentous intellectual contributions, not just to WCW, but to the wider world and thank you for being such a trailblazer.”

Those in attendance at the celebration included longtime friends and supporters of McIntosh, Wellesley College faculty and students, members of the SEED community, and WCW research scientists and project directors. At the event, McIntosh reflected on her writing, her career, and how she continues to work towards dismantling systems of privilege and oppression.

“I use my power to weaken the systems that gave it to me. Step by step, day by day, one foot in front of the other,” she said.

Following a lively discussion, an eager crowd lined up to chat with McIntosh one-on-one as she signed copies of the book.

“Her book reflects decades of research and dedication that I had yet to be exposed to, so I was really excited to hear from her and to now dive into it all,” said Wellesley College student Mari Kramer ’23.

For more photos from the celebration, visit the WCW Facebook page.

December 6, 2019