WOMEN'S STUDIES
BULLETIN

October/November 2004

Table of Contents:
ASSOCIATE OF THE MONTH
STUDENT OF THE MONTH
VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR GRADUATE CONCENTRATORS REGARDING WOMS 530 IN SPRING 2005
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR POSITION, WOMEN AND GENDER STUDIES
TWO TENURE-TRACK FACULTY POSITIONS
TENTATIVE LIST OF SPRING COURSES
WOMS 430/510 GENDER AND LEADERSHIP COURSE DESCRIPTION

ASSOCIATE OF THE MONTH
Barbara Burrell, Associate Director of the Public Opinion Lab and Associate Professor of Political Science, is the WS faculty associate in the spotlight for this bulletin. Burrell received her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and her M.A. and B. S. from Iowa State University, all in political science. Burrell remembers always being interested in political science and in history and government generally.

As an associate professor, Burrell teaches one class per semester, but her primary appointment is in the Public Opinion Lab (POL), where she works both as an administrator as well as a project manager as needed. Burrell’s diverse projects in the POL allow her to survey citizens, ranging from asking seniors about their opinions on the new prescription drug cards to interviewing community members about their attitudes on local school districts and library facilities.

Burrell’s research focuses on women’s participation in political elections, particularly in Congress. During the 1980s, she was the first researcher to establish that women could raise as much money as men in political campaigns. Burrell believes that fewer women run for office based on misperceptions of their ability to raise funding and of the likelihood that people will vote for them. Currently, Burrell maintains her research interests in women in politics by examining the influence of Illinois women’s groups on women candidates. She is also writing a chapter on political parties, women’s groups, and women candidates for a textbook that she hopes will be updated with every election.

As an associate, Burrell will host an event this fall on November 4, on how women fared in the 2004 election. Last year she also served on the WS Executive Committee, but this year her primary service is on the President’s Commission on the Status of Women, where she acts as President. She also works on the research subcommittee, which has focused on compiling data on the status of NIU women. She hopes eventually to have a Presidential report on the status of women released every two years.

For more information on Burrell, visit her webpage at http://polisci.niu.edu/faculty/cv/burrell.html or stop by her office in Zulauf 416 or at the POL (room 164 in the Social Science Research Institute, 148 N. 3rd St.).

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STUDENT OF THE MONTH
Marissa McGrath, President of Women’s Alliance, is our student spotlight for this bulletin. McGrath is a junior Anthropology major and Women’s Studies minor. Next semester she will be studying abroad in Ireland at University College Cork, where she will study folklore and gender studies. She also hopes to research her family genealogy. McGrath derives her interest in gender and anthropology from her childhood experiences and parent’s heritage. McGrath’s formative years were spent around many women, and when her stepfather entered her life at age six, she said that she quickly realized the differentiation between men’s and women’s roles. Also, McGrath lived in Spain for a semester in high school and has visited her extended family in Iceland. McGrath is fascinated by how culture forms a context for the way that people think, especially about gender. McGrath would love one day to do field work in both Scandinavia and South America in order to contrast the importance and creation of gender roles in two very different cultures.

An active member of Women’s Alliance last year, McGrath was one of the seven students who attended the March for Women’s Lives in Washington, D.C. She claimed that it may have been one of the greatest experiences of her life thus far, especially when she heard Gloria Steinem speak about the importance of the new generation of feminists. McGrath felt that Steinem was talking directly to her. This fall as President of Women’s Alliance, McGrath has focused on building coalitions with other activist groups on campus. One great example is a Free Speech Action. Specifically, Women’s Alliance is collaborating with the Labor Rights Alliance to try to extend NIU’s public speech zone.

McGrath believes that her involvement with Women’s Alliance is the best choice she made last year. She was able to meet other feminists, in what she describes as an “open, friendly, and intelligent atmosphere.” Indeed, McGrath encourages other students to get involved in organizations, whether they are on campus or in the community.

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VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR GRADUATE CONCENTRATORS REGARDING WOMS 530 IN SPRING 2005
WOMS 530 is not ordinarily offered in odd-numbered years, and we will not be offering a regular section this coming spring (2005). The next full section will be taught in Spring 2006. However, if you need the class in order to graduate before that date, we may be able to make special arrangements for you. Please contact the Women’s Studies office about this matter before OCTOBER 15.

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ASSISTANT PROFESSOR POSITION, WOMEN AND GENDER STUDIES
Carleton College is seeking applications for a tenure-track position in Women’s and Gender Studies. Teaching responsibilities will be shared with another department. The candidate must have a doctorate by September 2005 and a strong commitment to teaching undergraduates in a liberal arts environment. Preference will be given to applications received by November 1. Please send a letter of application (including statement of teaching philosophy and scholarly plans), CV, three letters of recommendation, transcript, and one or two sample syllabi to Professor Annette Igra, Chair, Women’s and Gender Studies Search Committee, Carleton College, Northfield, MN 55057.

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TWO TENURE-TRACK FACULTY POSITIONS
The department of Gender Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, invites applications for two tenure-track positions to begin August 2005. Candidates must have a Ph.D. by August 2005 and have prior teaching experience. Please submit a letter of interest, detailing research agendas as well as teaching experience and philosophy, along with a CV and names, addresses, emails, and phone numbers of three references by November 1, 2004 to the following address: Chairperson, Search Committee, Indiana University, Department of Gender Studies, Memorial Hall East, Room 130, 1021 East Third Street, Bloomington, Indiana 47405.

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TENTATIVE LIST OF SPRING COURSES
The following list of courses has been proposed for the spring semester but is not final.

WOMS 235/235H, Women Across Cultures and Centuries, TTH, 1:00 – 12:15
WOMS 332/WOMS 332H, Growing Up Female, MWF, 10:00 – 11:00
WOMS 390.P1//502.P1, Internship in Women's Studies
WOMS 430/WOMS 430H.P1/ENGL 400, Special Topics in Women’s Studies: Women and Nature, TTH, 3:30 – 4:45
WOMS 430.P1/WOMS 510.P1, Special Topics in Women’s Studies: Gender and Leadership, T, 6:00 – 8:40
WOMS 430.P2/WOMS 430H.P2/POLS 495.1, Special Topics in Women’s Studies: Current Debates: Women and Gender, MW, 2:00 – 3:15
WOMS 439.P1/539.P1, Independent Study in Women’s Studies
WOMS 510.P2, Special Topics in Women’s Studies: Anthropology of Gender, MW, 3:30 – 4:45

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WOMS 430/510 GENDER AND LEADERSHIP COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is being taught by Dr. Colette Morrow, immediate past president of the National Women’s Studies Association. The course uses a feminist standpoint to explore leadership theories and the principles and practices associated with them. Emphasis will be on feminist models of leadership and women's leadership for social change locally and globally. Students will consider a range of issues including whether there are masculine and feminine leadership styles and the assumptions motivating such categorization, the tension between the feminist preference for collaborative decision-making and the women's movement's advocacy of women's leadership, and how concepts of leadership are culturally specific and contingent on multiple variables such as race, class, place, culture, and gender. Diverse strategies available to feminists working for social change in a variety of settings such as the workplace and the public sphere will be examined.

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