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MEN'S
STUDIES PROGRAM
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Northern Illinois University
WOMEN'S STUDIES
BULLETIN
October/November 2007
Table of Contents:
NWSA Announces a New Fellowship
Events
Faculty Associates' Fall
Social
October is
LGBT History Month and National Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Crafty Women Holiday Sale Preview
NIU 2007 Conference for Young
Women
Women's History Month 2008 Preview
We Want Your Recipes!
Spring Courses
People
Alumni News
Meet Three New Faculty Associates
NWSA ANNOUNCES A NEW FELLOWSHIP
NWSA (The National Women's Studies Association) is pleased to announce a distinguished fellowship award intended to recognize the achievements of members who have been in the field for some time and offers them further opportunities for professional growth by engaging in a sabbatical or other leave of absence project at the NWSA office in Maryland. The NWSA Distinguished Fellowship is designed to promote research that contributes to the scholarship or public knowledge about feminism, women of color, Women’s Studies, NWSA, or Women’s Centers. Projects will be designed with one or more of the following goals in mind: research and writing; capacity-building and leadership development; curriculum and pedagogical studies for general use. The Fellowship is not intended to support doctoral dissertations, the design of curriculum for individual institutions, or creative or performing art works. For details, visit the NWSA website. Our director, Amy Levin, proposed the award and was responsible for preparing the guidelines and parameters.
FACULTY ASSOCIATES' FALL SOCIAL
The Women's Studies Program thanks the College of Law for once again hosting
our Faculty Associates’ Fall Social. Even with the gallery being
partially closed off due to flooding, it was a comfortable space to gather
and share conversation. Thank you to everyone who attended and to those
who brought snacks. The social was a great way to kick off the new school
year.
OCTOBER IS LGBT HISTORY MONTH AND NATIONAL
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH
October is LGBT History Month, and the LGBT Resource Center, along with
many other sponsors, has a full calendar of events planned. The month
will kick off with "Banned Books Week" and will wrap up with
a dessert reception on October 31. For more information, visit the LGBT
Resource Center website.
October is also National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Tuesday, October 2, Women's Rights Alliance sponsored NIU's annual Take Back the Night march. Wednesday, October 10, the "Recognizing Relationship Violence" presentation will take place in the Women's Resource Center, noon-1:00 p.m. (Sponsors: Women's Resource Center, Health Enhancement, & Safe Passage). Thursday, October 11, "Girl Talk: How to Talk to a Friend About Dating Violence" will be presented in Grant Towers, Lower Lounge, 5:00-6:00 p.m. (Sponsors: Women's Resource Center & Health Enhancement). For more information, visit the Women's Resource Center website.
CRAFTY WOMEN HOLIDAY SALE PREVIEW
Our third annual holiday gift sale, CRAFTY WOMEN, will be held November
28-29, from 8:30-4:00 p.m. An opening reception will take place Tuesday,
November 27, from 3:30-5:00 p.m. This is a great opportunity to stock
up for holiday gift-giving! All proceeds from the sale will go towards
the Mothers Memorial Scholarship Fund. If you are a crafter, please consider
donating small items for us sell. Donations may be dropped off in the
Women's Studies office, Reavis 103.
NIU 2007 CONFERENCE FOR YOUNG WOMEN
There are still seats open in the 2007 NIU Conference for Young Women,
which will be held Monday, October 22, 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. Call (815) 753-1038, or visit the conference
website, for more information. The registration fee is $38 before
October 15, with a $5 additional late charge after that date. Limited
scholarships are available. If you wish to contribute to the funds available
for scholarships, please send a check to the Women's Studies Program made
out to NIU.
WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH 2008 PREVIEW
The theme for this year's celebration of Women's History Month (WHM) is
"Enterprising Women." The Women's Studies Program is accepting
proposals for WHM activities until November 6. We are also seeking applicants
for a student artist to design the WHM poster. 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. Contact
Rebekah Kohli at 753-1044 or email
her to share any ideas that you might have. Visit our Women's
History Month website for further information on 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 accepting recipes for the second edition of our "This is What a Feminist Cooks Like" cookbook CD-ROM. Proceeds from sales of the cookbook help support 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 November 2.
SPRING COURSES
The following WOMS courses will be offered in the spring:
- WOMS 235/235H, Women Across Cultures and Centuries, MWF, 11:00 – 11:50 a.m.
- WOMS 240.1, Issues in Women's Studies: Gender and the Graphic Novel, T, 3:20-5:59 p.m.
- WOMS 390.P1/WOMS 502P1, Internship in Women's Studies, ARR (NB: Students must submit proposals at least two weeks before the start of term)
- WOMS 430.1/GEOG 390.3/PHIL 365.1, Special Topics in Women's Studies: Women and Nature, M, 6:00-8:40 p.m.
- WOMS 430.P1/WOMS 510P1, Special Topics in Women's Studies: Women and
Music, TTH, 2:00-
3:15 p.m. - WOMS 439.P1//539.P1, Independent Study in Women's Studies, ARR
- WOMS 510.1, Special Topics in Women's Studies: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Studies, W, 6:00-8:40 p.m.
- WOMS 530.P1, Research in Women's Studies, T, 5:30-8:10 p.m.
ALUMNI NEWS
Monica Avina is pursuing a Master's degree in the Women
and Gender Studies program at DePaul University. She is enjoying the program
and is excited about pursuing a degree in a field for which she has “such
a strong passion and commitment." She misses the faculty and staff
in NIU's Women's Studies Program, especially Dr. Swanson, whose "teaching
really impacted me in a positive way."
Jolene Skinner, our program coordinator from 2003-05,
has worked in Global Talent Management (GTM) at Dell, Inc. in Round Rock,
TX for a little over one year. Her team focuses on a variety of issues,
including leadership and manager development; career development and training;
performance management; and employee opinion and culture. Recently, she
started a new role on the team that will focus on changing Dell's culture,
as part of a larger transformation of Dell and its business. She says
she is "very excited about being able to focus on creating a better
culture for Dell's employees, while aligning the culture with diversity
and the values of Dell."
Outside of her role in GTM, Jolene has also been actively involved in
Dell's women's networking group, WISE, leading a team on work-life flexibility
initiatives. In October, she will represent Dell at the annual WorkLife
Congress in New York, where the Top 100 Companies for Working Mothers
are announced. Overall, she hopes that her efforts will help transform
Dell into a great high-tech company for women. If anyone is interested
in contacting Jolene, feel free to email her at jolene_skinner@dell.com.
Itxaso Tellado came to NIU in 2003 in order to pursue
a doctoral degree in Adult and Higher Education. In summer 2007, she completed
her degree. She returned to Spain in August, and is currently working
as a researcher for the Center for Research in Theories and Practices
that Overcome Inequalities at the University of Barcelona, Spain. Specifically,
she will be working on a five year project, "INCLUDE-ED. Strategies
for inclusion and social cohesion from education in Europe."
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MEET THREE NEW FACULTY ASSOCIATES
Amy Rose is a Professor in the Department of Counseling,
Adult and Higher Education. She received numerous degrees, including a
B.A. in History from the University of Rochester (1972), a M.A. in Medieval
History (1974) and a M.A. in Adult Education (1975) from Columbia University.
In 1979, she received her Ed.D. in Adult Education from Columbia University.
Her research interests include women returning to higher education, non-traditional
education, and basic adult education with a special interest in women's
issues. This fall, she is teaching "Review of Research in Adult and
Higher Education" (CAHA 620), as well as overseeing internships in
CAHE. Rose is currently the President-Elect of the American Association
for Adult and Continuing Education. She is also co-Editor of Assessing
Adult Learning in Diverse Settings: Current Issues and Approaches.
Margaret Asalele Mbilizi is an assistant professor in the Department of Counseling, Adult and Higher Education, and Co-Director of the Office of International Initiatives. She received her M.S. Ed. in Instructional System Technology and her Ph.D. in Education Policy Studies from Indiana University. She also holds an M.Ed in Educational Management and Planning and a B.Ed in Secondary Education from Chancellor College, University of Malawi. Currently, her research is focused on "flexible learning systems for educating illiterate women and girls" in developing countries who do not have access to "traditional basic education." She had two articles published in the Spring 2007 issue of the Illinois Committee on Black Concerns in Higher Education Journal, "The human consequences of globalization in the third World: Implications for higher education policy and practice" and "The impact of single-sex education on African girl's expectations and aspirations for higher education and non-traditional occupations: The case of Malawi." In April 2007, she was the keynote speaker at the College of Lake County's Annual Gender Conference: E-racing Prejudice, Engendering Equality. Mbilizi will be teaching “Critical Feminist Pedagogies in Adult and Higher Education” in the spring.
Helen Nagata is an assistant professor of art history. She received B.A. degrees in English literature, Practice of Art, and History of Art, as well as her M.A. in History of Art with an emphasis on Japanese Art from the University of California at Berkeley. She received her Ph.D. in History of Art with an emphasis on Japanese art from Stanford University. Her research interests include images of women, female visual artists and authors, and "the world of pleasure quarters as depicted (or not) in Edo-period woodblock prints and paintings." In April 2007, she presented "Peering Behind the Scenes: Yoshiwara and Shimabara" at the "Love in Art: Eroticism in Japanese Print and Popular Culture" conference, held at the University of Chicago. Her essay, "Ukiyo-e in the Eyes of the Creative Print Artist," was published in Made in Japan: The Postwar Creative Print Movement (Univ. of Washington, 2005). This fall, she is teaching "Introduction to Visual Arts" (ARTH 282), "Introduction to Asian Art" (ARTH 294), and "Introduction to Museum Studies" (ARTH 465). Nagata is also an associate in NIU's Museum Studies Program.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Gülsat Aygen's book, Kurmanjî Kurdish,
was recently released by Lincom GmbH Publishers. Her book is part of the
Languages of the World series.
Cortney Barko's article, "Rediscovering Female Voice and Authority: The Revival of Female Artists in Wendy Wasserstein's The Heidi Chronicles," will be published in Frontiers: A Journal of Women's Studies, vol. 29.1.
Elizabeth Bowman and Christina Gilleran are co-chairing this year's Midwestern Conference on Literature, Language and Media (MCLLM), which will be held February 29-March 1. The Women's Studies Program is co-sponsoring the conference speakers, David Bevington and Russ Castronovo.
Kerry Ferris will present "Ethnography: In the Field of Design," in the Department of Industrial Design at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, October 12.
Valerie Garver's essay, "Old Age Women in the Carolingian World," was published in Old Age in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, edited by Albrecht Classen (Berlin and New York: de Gruyter, 2007).
Maimouna Konate and Rey Ty presented at the Midwest Research to Practice Conference at Ball State University, September 25-27. Konate and Ty co-presented a paper, "Post-Colonial Feminist Theory: Past Contributions, Gaps, and Future Possibilities." In addition, Konate presented ""Association pour le Progres et la Defense des Droits Des Femmes: Creation, Participation, and Contribution to Social Change;" and, Ty presented "Twin Solitudes: Reunification of Cyprus through Transformative Education."
Judy Ledgerwood's essay, "The Plight and Fate of Women in the Cambodian Genocide," will be published in the upcoming The Plight and Fate of Women in Genocidal Situations, vol. 7, edited by Samuel Totten (New York: Transaction, in press).
Bonnie Miller, Alisa Smith-Riel, and Kathleen Turner presented on the "Forget Heart, Home is Where the Violence Is: An Analysis of Home in Novels by Morrison, Walker, and Allison" panel at the Southern Women Writers Conference at Berry University in Rome, GA (September 27-29). Miller presented "Home Never Was a Haven: Ideals of Home Lead to Violence in Toni Morrison's Paradise;" Smith-Riel presented "Home As a Space for Violence and Redemption in The Third Life of Grange Copeland by Alice Walker;" and, Turner presented "'Growing up was like falling into a hole. . .': The Creation of Home as Women's Space in Dorothy Allison's Bastard Out of California."
Kathleen Renk will present "Debating Darwin: The Alchemy of A.S. Byatt and Pauline Melville" at the Science and Humanities conference, which is being held October 18-20 at the University of North Carolina, Asheville.
Austin Sawicki will be the Conference Administrator for the 42nd Annual North American Heidegger Conference in May 2008 at Northern Illinois University.
Lise Schlosser presented at the New Ideas in History and English Conference focusing on “Shakespeare and His Queen.” The conference for middle school, high school, and community college teachers was held at NIU on September 27. Her presentation was titled, "The Exception to the Rule: Renaissance Gender Expectations and Queen Elizabeth I."
Kathleen Turner will present "Rockin' and Rowling: The Wizard Rock Phenomenon" at the Midwest Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Conference, October 12-14. She will serve as the Program Chairperson for the conference.
Turner is also working with Christoph Lidner to coordinate the International Symposium on Visual Culture and the Urban Environment, which will focus on globalization and violence. The symposium will take place January 10-12, 2008, at the University of London Institute in Paris, France. For additional information, visit the symposium website.
Virginia Wilcox-Gök presented a paper on the unmet
needs of older women for antidepressant medications at the meeting of
the International Health Economics Association on July 9 in Copenhagen.
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OPPORTUNITIES
& ANNOUNCEMENTS
Martha Scotford, Professor of Graphic Design at North Carolina State,
will present "Cipe Pineles: Designing for Smart Girls and
Working Women," Wednesday, October 10, at 5:00 p.m., in
the Visual Arts Building, Room 100. Cipe Pineles was the first independent
woman art director of American magazine. This lecture is sponsored by
members of the NIU Art History Division, and is funded by the Elizabeth
Allen Visiting Lectures in Art History fund and Northern Illinois University
School of Art Visiting Artists and Scholars Program. For more information
about events at the NIU School of Art and Division of Art History, visit
their website.
Dr. Carol Minor, Presidential Teaching Professor in the Department of Counseling, Adult and Higher Education, will present "Connecting with Students in the Classroom: Enhancing Cognitive Development," Tuesday, October 23, at 4:00 p.m., in Graham Hall, Room 420. A reception will precede her talk at 3:30. This talk is sponsored by the Office of the Provost and Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center.
Women's Economic Empowerment: Where the Buck Starts, Stalls, and Stops for Women in Today's Globalism, a conference, will be held Friday, October 26, 2007, 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., at Truman College, in Chicago. The registration deadline is October 12. For more information, visit Truman College's website.
The Chicago Area Women's and Gender Studies Job Fair will take place, Friday, October 26, noon-4:00 pm., at Roosevelt University, Chicago. Visit the job fair website for more information.
The Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering is accepting submissions for the Spring/Summer 2008 issue, which will explore the topic of "Caregiving and Carework." Submissions must be received by November 1, 2007. For more information, visit the journal's website.
"Women, Home and Nation: Private and Public Spaces," a Binghamton University conference, will occur March 14-15, 2008. Paper proposals and suggestions for panels are being accepted until November 16, 2007. For additional information, visit the conference website.
We invite submissions for future WS bulletins. If you know of any information that we should include in future bulletins, please email Rebekah Kohli at with subject heading “Bulletin.” You may also call 753-1044.