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Northern Illinois University

WOMEN'S STUDIES
BULLETIN

October/November 2006

Table of Contents:
Events
Faculty Associates' Fall Social
Crafty Women Holiday Sale
NWSA Receives Ford Foundation Grant
NIU 2006 Conference for Young Women
Women's History Month 2007 Update
We Want Your Recipes!
Spring Courses
People
Welcome Our New Student Worker
Student in the Spotlight
Faculty in the Spotlight
Accomplishments
Opportunities & Announcements

EVENTS

FACULTY ASSOCIATES' FALL SOCIAL
The Women's Studies Program thanks the College of Law for hosting our Faculty Associates’ Fall Social. Thank you also to everyone who brought snacks. Sharing conversation over hors d'oeuvres in a beautiful setting was a great way to start the fall semester.
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CRAFTY WOMEN HOLIDAY SALE
Our annual holiday gift sale, CRAFTY WOMEN, is tentatively scheduled for November 28-30. If you are a crafter, please consider donating small craft items for us sell. All proceeds from the sale will go towards the Mothers Memorial Scholarship Fund. If you wish to contribute to the sale, please drop donations off in the Women's Studies office, Reavis 103.
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NWSA RECEIVES FORD FOUNDATION GRANT
The National Women's Studies Association has received a one year $275,000 grant from the Ford Foundation. According to its press release, NWSA will use these funds to "initiate a strategic planning process intended to promote its long-term sustainability and examine the role of women of color within NWSA, expand staffing in the national office to enhance member services, and launch a data collection project dedicated to mapping the field of women's studies in the United States." As chair of NWSA's Strategic Planning Committee, Amy Levin is thrilled about the opportunities that this grant will make available to the NWSA.
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NIU 2006 CONFERENCE FOR YOUNG WOMEN
There are still seats open in the 2006 NIU Conference for Young Women, which will be held Tuesday, October 24, from 8:15 a.m. – 1:45 p.m. Please encourage high school women you know to register for this event. To register, call 1-800-345-9472. For additional information, call (815) 753-1038, or visit the conference website. The registration fee is $33 before October 17, with a $5 additional late charge after that date. Limited scholarships are available. If you wish to contribute to a scholarship, please send a check to the Women's Studies Program made out to NIU.
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WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH 2007 UPDATE
The Women's Studies Program is accepting proposals for Women's History Month activities until November 6, 2006. We are also seeking applicants for a student artist to design the poster for Women's History Month 2007. The poster designer position comes with a $300 commission and is sponsored by the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women. Finally, the Women's Studies Program and University Bookstore are once again co-sponsoring the Women's History Month Essay Contest.

We look forward to receiving your ideas for events and programs. Please contact Rebekah Kohli at 753-1044 or rkohli@niu.edu to share any ideas that you might have. You may also visit the Women's History Month webpage for further information about the poster designer position and the essay contest or to fill out an activity proposal form. Women's Studies graduate students are currently voting on the colloquium speakers they would like to bring in during Women's History Month. We will announce their choices in our next bulletin.
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WE WANT YOUR RECIPES
We are still looking for recipes for our "This is What a Feminist Cooks Like" cookbook CD-ROM. We plan to sell the cookbooks to raise money for the Mothers Memorial Scholarship Fund. If you have an original recipe that you would like to share, please email it to Rebekah Kohli, or bring it by the Women's Studies office in Reavis 103 by Friday, October 27.
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SPRING COURSES
The following list of courses for the spring semester.

WOMS 235/235H, Women Across Cultures and Centuries, MWF, 11:00 – 11:50
WOMS 390.P1//502.P1, Internship in Women's Studies, ARR
WOMS 324/GEOG 324/BIOS 324, Women in Science, W, 6:00-8:40
WOMS 430.1/POLS 495.3, Special Topics in Women's Studies: Current Debates: Women and Gender, M, 2:00-4:40
WOMS 430.2/ILAS 350, Special Topics in Women's Studies: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies, W, 6:00-8:40
WOMS 434/ENGL 434X, Women, Men, and Language, MW, 3:30-4:45
WOMS 439.P1//539.P1, Independent Study in Women's Studies, ARR
WOMS 530.P1, Research in Women's Studies, TBA
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STUDENT IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Our "Student in the Spotlight" is Jenny Meyer, a senior Journalism major and Women's Studies minor. You may know Meyer's name from the articles she wrote for the Northern Star in 2005. She was also the first place undergraduate winner in the 2004 Women's History Month Essay Contest. In the future, Meyer hopes to combine her interest in women's issues with a journalism career. She is particularly concerned about issues related to violence against women.

Meyer has been interested in feminist issues since she was very young. As a little girl, she says that she became angry when she was told she couldn't do certain things because she was a girl. Later, in junior high, Meyer started wearing men's clothing, because she "wanted to be liked for who” [she] was not what [she] looked like." In high school, she was very vocal and was particularly upset by the lack of information about women in her classes. As a result, when Meyer came to NIU, she was excited to learn about the Women's Studies Program.

As a Women's Studies student, Meyer especially enjoyed two classes, Women in U.S. History and Women in Contemporary America. She says that courses like these teach us that history isn't just about wars. "It is useful for women to know their history," claims Meyer, in order to "understand what others have gone through so that women can be where they are today." This, in fact, is one of the reasons why Meyer believes that women should take Women's Studies courses. She also encourages men to take these courses so that they can learn to "see things from another point of view than the patriarchal [perspective]."

Meyer is a passionate woman who is not afraid to voice her opinion, and she urges others to do the same. "By voicing your own opinion, you may find that others have that opinion, too, but were afraid to speak up." She also believes that those who have the courage to express their views might help others to speak up.

We are excited that Meyer will be presenting some opening remarks at the Conference for Young Women this year.
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FACULTY IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Tanuja Singh, Associate Professor and Chair of the Marketing Department, came to NIU in 1996. In the early 1980s, she received her Bachelors and Masters of Science degrees in physics from the University of Allahabad in India. In 1990, she received her M.B.A. from Millsaps College in Jackson, MS. Finally, in 1994, she received her Doctor of Business Administration from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, IL.

Singh was born in the beautiful town of Almora in northern India. As a senior government official, her father was transferred every four years; as a result, Singh moved often when she was growing up. After receiving her first graduate degree, Singh began a brief but successful career as a scientist. However, she soon discovered that, for her, life as a scientist was too isolating. Rather than going on for a doctorate in physics, she took an exam to work in a bank. After doing very well on the exam, Singh became involved in international banking. In 1988, she came to the U.S. to begin working on her M.B.A.

Singh has become well respected in the field of international marketing. Singh's primary research interests are in global and cross-cultural marketing. For instance, one of her research projects focuses on how western and non-western values are reflected in people portrayed in advertisements in developing countries. Singh is also interested in how women are portrayed in advertising. In addition to her recent appointment as Chair of NIU's Marketing Department, she has been appointed Vice President of International Membership for the Academy of Marketing Science (AMS). In 2005, she was the program co-chair for the AMS World Marketing Congress in Germany.

Growing up with strong female role models like her mother and grandmother, Singh has always been interested in women's issues. In her work, she is particularly interested in the gap between the ideals for women that are portrayed in the media and women's lived experiences. She believes that the media need to focus more on the capabilities of women. This, in fact, is one of the values of Women's Studies, according to Singh. Through Women's Studies, "you realize that there are smart, competent, dedicated and accomplished women…doing great things." Says Singh, this “helps you remain motivated as a woman." Additionally, argues Singh, "if there are enlightened, strong women in society, society as a whole does better." For these reasons, Singh believes there is a value in Women's Studies for both men and women.
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Lisa Kay received an Alumni Merit scholarship, and was inducted into Kappa Delta Pi education honor society. Kay will be presenting "Project Real: Performing an At-Risk Partnership" at the Illinois Art Education Association Conference in October.

Lise Schlosser's article, “‘Second only to Barbie’: Identity, Fiction, and Non-Fiction in the American Girl Collection” was published in MP: An International Feminist Online Journal 1.4 (May 2006). Read Schlosser's article

Mary Shelden has two new publications: "A Coming-of-Age for Little Women and Alcott Scholarship" (book review), in Children's Literature 34 (2006), and "Cross-Dressing," in American History through Literature, 1820-1870, edited by Janet Gabler-Hover and Robert D. Sattelmeyer (Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005). Shelden will also be presenting "'In the Concord Barrel': The Alcott Family-Holley School Correspondence" at the Society for the Study of American Women Writers conference in Philadelphia in November.
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Women's Studies in Communication is seeking papers for a special issue, "Power Feminism: Exploring Agency, Oppression and Victimage," to be guest edited by Cindy L. Griffin and Karma R. Chávez. Submission deadline is August 15, 2007. For more information, visit the Women's Studies in Communication site.

Resentment In/Of Women's Studies, a conference co-sponsored by the CUNY Women's Studies Certificate Program and Graduate Center, is accepting proposals. Proposals are due by December 31, 2006. Visit the conference website for further information.

We invite submissions for future WS bulletins. If you know of any information that we should include in future bulletins, please email Rebekah Kohli with subject heading “Bulletin.” You may also call 753-1044.

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