WOMEN'S STUDIES
BULLETIN

April/May 2004

Table of Contents:
ASSOCIATE OF THE MONTH
NEW COLUMN: STUDENT OF THE MONTH
WS CORDS FOR GRADUATING SENIORS
WOMEN IN SCIENCE CLASS: FALL 2004
WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH HIGHLIGHTS
SAFE PASSAGE EVENT: "BREAKING THE SILENCE: SPEAK OUT AGAINST SEXUAL ASSAULT"
NWSA NATIONAL CONFERENCE
NATIONAL WOMEN’S HISTORY PROJECT NETWORK INAUGURAL CONFERENCE
AWARD-WINNING TEACHER TRAINING CONFERENCE
11TH ANNUAL DEALING WITH DIFFERENCE INSTITUTE
LGBT CERTIFICATE
APRIL IS LGBT AWARENESS MONTH
APRIL IS ASIAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
SUMMER COURSE OFFERINGS

ASSOCIATE OF THE MONTH
Our associate in the spotlight this bulletin is Adele M. Morrison, Assistant Professor of Law. Morrison has been a Women’s Studies faculty associate since the spring of 2002 and feels that her associate status is an extension of who she is. Even before attending college, Morrison was interested in advocacy for domestic violence survivors. Morrison received her B.A. in Women’s Studies from San Francisco State University.

Morrison has been active in working against domestic violence for twenty years. Her work began while a student at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and continued in San Francisco. Along with working on domestic violence issues Morrison was a women’s health and AIDS/HIV activist and then coordinated an LGBT sensitivity training for United Way funded agencies. At this point in her life, she realized that law school would allow her to serve the public interest, teach, and still focus on domestic violence, and women’s, LGBT and civil rights issues. Moreover, she wanted to be able to theorize about the experiences she gained over the years. Her degree from Stanford Law School allowed her to fulfill these goals.

After graduating from Stanford, she was awarded a national fellowship to design and direct the Legal Intervention for Family Empowerment Project (LIFE) which focused on family law issues for “families of choice and necessity.” The project had a special focus on same-gender domestic violence issues. After the two year echoing green fellowship, Morrison earned her LL.M at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Again, she was awarded a fellowship. As an assistant professor at NIU, Morrison focuses on the intersections of legal issues with the concerns of subordinated groups and families. She continues her work on domestic violence and is working on an article that explores the interactions between African-American women, domestic violence, and the law.
She has also contributed to Women’s Studies by serving on a several committees and by presenting in undergraduate Women’s Studies classes about domestic violence. What Morrison truly enjoys about the Women’s Studies Program, however, is the social network. She explains that whenever she arrives at a new location, she first “finds the domestic violence and Women’s Studies folks.” Even though she does not always have time to enjoy the relationships she has established with other associates, she appreciates the connections. Plus, she really enjoys the socials!

For more information on Morrison, visit her webpage at the new College of Law website: http://law.niu.edu.

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NEW COLUMN: STUDENT OF THE MONTH
Starting this spring, the Women’s Studies Program will have a regular column highlighting WS students. Minors and graduate students are encouraged to contact our office at 815.753.1044 if they are interested in being interviewed for the spotlight.

For this bulletin, graduating senior Michelle Stocker is the student of the month. Stocker is a WS minor and a Family and Individual Development major in the School of Family, Consumer and Nutrition Sciences. Stocker plans to continue on to graduate school, possibly in Women’s Studies. After graduate school, Stocker’s goal is to own a consulting business that provides services (via the hospital and community centers) to families and parents in the community, including education classes and other resources for at-risk parents and families.

During her time in WS, Stocker has been involved in Women’s Alliance, received a USOAR grant to study genital mutilation, interned at Community Coordinated Child Care, and recently served on a student activism panel for Women’s History Month.

Although Stocker explains that she would like to see the WS program grow into a major (and would have been a major herself), she also appreciates the intimate atmosphere that a small program offers. In WS, Stocker believes she was allowed to “shine and grow.” Stocker perceives her experiences in WS as an edge that many other students lose out on. Her advice to other minors is to take advantage of the courses and the faculty support that WS offers. Good luck, Shelley!

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WS CORDS FOR GRADUATING SENIORS
Attention, Women’s Studies minors, show off your achievement by wearing special purple cords with your graduation gowns! These cords are available from Women’s Studies in Reavis 103. Stop by and get one for your big day!

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WOMEN IN SCIENCE CLASS: FALL 2004
Who are the women that have made significant contributions to the sciences? How did their work redefine what counts as knowledge in their fields? What barriers did these women overcome? This course will use historical and contemporary readings to explore the environments that shape successful women scientists.

The course will be student-oriented with team presentations and papers. It is offered for credit in Women’s Studies and Geography, and it is open to students in the sciences as well as to undergraduates who have a more general interest in the topic. Honors seats are available. Please contact the WS office for more information at 815.753.1038.

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WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH HIGHLIGHTS
Women’s History Month ended on March 31 with the Vagina Seminar. Once again, Women’s Alliance sponsored two successful events. Approximately 200 attended the Vagina Monologues and raised almost $1000 for Safe Passage, and almost 90 students attended the Vagina Seminar. According to one student who attended the seminar, “I would definitely recommend this to other women. I think that it was a great review for me and helped to open my eyes to the female body…[it] was a great experience.”

Other highlights included our two colloquium speakers, Karen Eliot and Nancy Naples. Not only did both guests make wonderful presentations, but students were also able to gain new perspectives on the academic experience. Eliot’s discussion of the unique opportunities in English and Dance careers offered great career advice for our graduate students. Naples gave a popular and successful workshop that also introduced innovative methods for introducing activism in the classroom.

Other highlights included a great turn out by college and high school softball players at Susan Stephens’ presentation on the Rockford Peaches. Women of all ages had the chance to “move” with self-defense techniques, dance, exercise balls, and yoga. Finally, Pink Bloque taught an audience how to reemploy pink and feminine stereotypes as a medium to create protest and dissent. The workshop closed with the entire group dancing in protest outside Diversions, while distributing flyers on the media’s impact on women’s body image. Overall, the month showcased many wonderful opportunities for women’s movements!

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SAFE PASSAGE EVENT: "BREAKING THE SILENCE: SPEAK OUT AGAINST SEXUAL ASSAULT"
Safe Passage, Counseling and Student Development, and Voices for Change are hosting an event on Monday, April 19th, from 7 p.m.- 9 p.m. in the Carl Sandburg Auditorium, for sexual assault awareness month. The event will include survivor speakers, a member from the attorney general's office, and a candlelight vigil. This is the first such event at NIU in many years, and they hope to have as many as 500 attend.

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NATIONAL WOMEN’S HISTORY PROJECT NETWORK INAUGURAL CONFERENCE
The NWHP Inaugural Conference will be held September 10 and 11, 2004, in Northampton, Massachusetts. The conference will feature keynotes, workshops, and events that celebrate NWHP successes and will provide a vision for the future. Interested? Visit: http://www.nwhp.org/network/conference.html.

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AWARD-WINNING TEACHER TRAINING CONFERENCE
This July 12th -15th, 2004, at Rutgers University, the Curriculum in the Constitution Conference will focus on strategies, activities, materials, and resources related to incorporating women's history into the curriculum as well as into workplace programs. For more information about the conference, visit:
http://www.nwhp.org/tlp/curriculum/2004/conference.html.

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11TH ANNUAL DEALING WITH DIFFERENCE INSTITUTE
Western Illinois University will host the 11th conference on Dealing with Difference from May 10-12 in the Union Grand Ballroom. The conference offers educators from elementary to high education opportunities to deepen their knowledge of cultural diversity, especially in the classroom. For more information, visit: http://www.wiu.edu/ICDA/conferences.shtml.

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LGBT CERTIFICATE
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Studies is an interdisciplinary program which fosters research and teaching related to sexual orientation and gender identity. Students may earn a Certificate in LGBT Studies at the undergraduate or graduate levels by taking 12 credit hours, and some WS classes may count toward the LGBT certificate. The certificates are recommended for all students interested in examining issues of gender and sexual orientation in order to function as informed citizens and successful professionals in the twenty-first century. For more information, please visit: http://www3.niu.edu/lgbt/lgbtstudies.htm or contact Diana Swanson at dswanson@niu.edu or 815.753.6611.

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APRIL IS LGBT AWARENESS MONTH
This year’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Awareness Month will celebrate many events. Highlights include a seminar (3:30 p.m.) and lecture (7:30 p.m.) on April 15th by acclaimed historian John D’Emilio. D’Emilio’s presentations focus on Bayard Rustin, a civil rights activist largely erased by history, in part because he was an African American homosexual. The events are sponsored by the Department of History and the Graduate Colloquium Committee. Other events include a National Day of Silence on the 21st and a film series.

All programs are open to the public and are free of charge unless otherwise designated. For a complete list of events, visit the Awareness Month calendar online at http://www3.niu.edu/lgbt/april.htm.

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APRIL IS ASIAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
NIU celebrates Asian American heritages, focusing on the cultures, heritage and accomplishments of Asians and Asian Americans. This year highlights include a film series, career series workshops, and a Friday brown-bag lunch series. On the 12th, the Egyptian Theatre will host a fashion show at 3:00 p.m., and the popular “Taste of Asia” night is on April 30, from 6-9 p.m. in the Newman Center.

All programs are open to the public and are free of charge unless otherwise designated. For a complete list of events, including descriptions for the film, career workshop, and brown-bag series, visit the Awareness Month calendar online at http://www3.niu.edu/ptaa/april.htm.

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SUMMER COURSE OFFERINGS

• COMS 410F, Communication and Gender, 2:00 – 4:45 MTWR, 1st half of semester
• HIST 346F, Women in Asian History, 11:00 – 1:45 MTWR, 1st half of semester
• SOCI 354, Families and Social Change (3.0), 9:30 – 12:15 TTH
  SOCI 357, The Sociology of Gender (3.0), 2:00 – 4:45 MW
• SOCI 385, Gender and Crime (3.0), 9:30 – 12:15 MW
• WOMS 430.P1L, Special Topics in Women’s Studies: Gender Images in Popular Culture (3.0), 2:00 – 4:45 MTWR, 2nd half of semester
• WOMS 510.P1L, Special Topics in Women’s Studies: Gender Images in Popular Culture (3.0), 2:00 – 4:45 MTWR, 2nd half of the semester
• ILAS 502, Internship in Women’s Studies (3.0), TBA
• WOMS 539, Independent Study in Women’s Studies, TBA

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