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Ladies' Night: Who You Calling 'Slut'?

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Who you calling “slut”?  

A Discussion About Gender Policing, Violence, and Resistance  

   

Ladies’ Night 

THIS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 6:30 p.m. 

LANDIS HOUSE (S. College and W. Pomfret St.) 

All Are Welcome 

Dinner will be served 

   

Sponsored by The Women’s Center and The Office of Diversity Initiatives 

Check out our Facebook page for more info! 

Apply for AAUW Leadership Programs

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 Deadlines for the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Leadership Program applications are approaching!

 

Dickinson is an AAUW College/University partner member, so you receive preference for all of these incredible programs! 

 

 

Elect Her—Campus Women Win, a collaboration between AAUW and Running Start, encourages and trains young women to run for student government on their campuses. Apply to be one of our new campuses to host a session in spring 2012. Applications are available now and must be submitted by September 30, 2011. Selections will be announced October 7, 2011.

 

 

Each year, AAUW selects 10 outstanding college student leaders from around the nation to be AAUW campus ambassadors and to advise AAUW on student issues. SAC members participate in monthly conference call discussions on leadership and campus issues, contribute to the AAUW blog, promote AAUW programs, and build ties to their local AAUW branch. SAC members visit AAUW in Washington, D.C., in the fall for a two-day retreat and orientation, and they fulfill leadership roles at the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders. Applications to serve on the SAC are available now and must be submitted by September 30, 2011. The new SAC will be announced October 7, 2011.

 


This year's CAP grant program focuses on the issues raised by AAUW's upcoming November 2011 research report, "Crossing the Line: Sexual Harassment in Schools." The report includes nationally representative data about the sexual harassment that occurs in grades 7-12. To put our research into practice, teams of student leaders and campus faculty nationwide may apply for up to $5,000 in CAP grants to design and implement programs using recommendations from the report, found in the Request for Proposals. Proposal goals may include raising awareness about sexual harassment and/or improving schools' prevention methods and responsiveness to sexual harassment. Applications are available now and must be submitted by October 21, 2011. Applicants will be contacted by December 2, 2011. (AAUW College/University partner members receive preference.) 
 

Find information about these and other campus opportunities in the leadership programs section of the AAUW website.
Please send any questions about these programs to leadership@aauw.org.

 

 

Calling Women Filmmakers!

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from Women's Center supporter, Jaclyn Friedman:

If you're a female filmmaker, you probably know that, despite composing half of the population, only 23% of commercial films in the United States are produced by women, only 7% are directed by women, and only 8% are written by women.

That's why the non-profit Women, Action & the Media is producing the 2nd Annual WAM!Boston Film Festival, to showcase and celebrate the latest films by up and coming female filmmakers.

We're seeking both short and feature-length films in all genres for a one-day film festival, focusing on films by and about women. The festival will be held on Saturday, March 24 at the historic Brattle Theater in Cambridge, MA. All subjects are welcome - drama, comedy, documentary, experimental - the sky's the limit.

So please - send your films, and send this call on to other female filmmakers you know!

  SUBMIT NOW!   

 

WAM! on,
Jaclyn Friedman
Director, Women, Action & the Media
www.womenactionmedia.org

Click here for complete submission guidelines.

Faculty Lunch Series - Featured Speaker Megan Yost

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Join WGST and the Women's Center for a series of free lunches highlighting the work and ideas of the WGST faculty.

RSVP to women@dickinson for a lunch - or just stop by and bring your own!

Friday, September 30th - psychology professor Megan Yost will discuss her work in progress: "Girls Gone Wild?  Men’s Reactions to Women’s Performative Bisexuality"

In Yost's previous research with Dickinson students, a large proportion of heterosexual women reported making out with one another at college parties for an audience of men. Prior research (described in the article, "Girls gone wild?  Understanding heterosexual women’s same-sex encounters at college parties") documented that many women engage in this "performative bisexuality" because of a belief that men enjoy watching such displays.  The present research was designed to assess men's actual perceptions of and reactions to heterosexual women's same-sex performances.  Yost and colleagues surveyed 72 heterosexual men attending Dickinson College, and conducted semi-structured interviews with a subset of 20 of these men.  In this faculty research lunch, Yost will describe preliminary qualitative analyses of the interview data and preliminary statistical analyses comparing men who enjoy watching these displays with men who report not enjoying them. 

 

Upcoming dates:  November 4th - Ebru Kongar and December 2nd - Nitsa Kann.  •  More details will be available soon!

Past presenters include Sociology professor Amy Steinbugler, who discussed an excerpt from her forthcoming book BEYOND LOVING: Intimate Racework in Lesbian, Gay and Straight Interracial Relationships.

 

CALL FOR PAPERS: 'Gender, Sexuality, and Poverty'

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Call for Papers: "Gender, Sexuality, and Poverty" 

  

2012 Women's Studies Conference 

sponsored by the Central Pennsylvania Consortium 

Saturday, March 31, 2012 

8:30 am – 4:00 pm 

Gettysburg College, Gettysburg PA 


The Central Pennsylvania Consortium (CPC), comprised of Dickinson, Franklin and Marshall, and Gettysburg Colleges, sponsors an annual conference on women's studies. The theme of the 2012 conference, held at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, PA, is "Gender, Sexuality, and Poverty." 
 

Keynote speaker is Dean Spade, Assistant Professor at Seattle University School of Law, author of Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics, and the Limits of Law and founder of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project for gender non-conforming people focusing on people of color and poor people.


The issue of poverty is particularly relevant in these times of global economic crisis, and scholars in women’s and gender studies are interrogating how gender hierarchies, gender identity and expression, as well as sexual orientation, intersect with political economic processes to shape people’s opportunities and access to resources. They also explore how poverty shapes women’s and men’s gendered lives in many forms. We solicit papers on topics relevant to this theme and we especially welcome papers that focus on people and topics outside of the United States. Broad themes we hope to discuss at this conference include, but are not limited to:
 

  • globalization, neoliberalism and poverty;  
  • current and past economic crises; 
  • institutional and structural reproduction of class;  
  • media representations of poverty; 
  • gendered economics; 
  • feminist and queer critiques of poverty; 
  • policy implications;  
  • theoretical, practical, and enacted responses and solutions to combat poverty.  

Papers may focus on such topics as women's and girls’ experiences with poverty as workers, partners, mothers, daughters; poverty and LGBTI Youth; feminization of poverty; poverty and sexual identities and practices; globalization, sex work, and sex tourism; occupational segregation and wage gaps; agency in the context of poverty; connections between gender, sexuality, race and class identity performances and institutionalized identities; gender, immigration and poverty; the state and welfare policies; poverty and cultural/social capital; the new “culture of poverty” theory and its critics; poverty, individualism and community; gender, poverty, food, and health; gender, poverty and the environment; experiences and approaches to ending poverty; individual, family and community responses; innovative responses by governments, international organizations and non-governmental organizations; the limits of the law and a rights-based approach; collective action and other forms of activism nationally and globally, among other sites of inquiry and experience.  

  

We welcome proposals ~ individual presentations and panels ~ from across the disciplines and interdisciplines, including the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. We particularly encourage undergraduate and graduate students to submit proposals. 


Please submit a one-page (250 words) proposal.
 

                Include: presenter’s name(s) and title(s), title of paper, name of institution or office, email address, and phone number 

  

Deadline: no later than December 1, 2011 

Submit to: Kathy Missildine, Executive Assistant to the Central PA Consortium 

                       kathy.missildine@fandm.edu  

  

More details about the conference, including online registration, will follow in February. There is no cost for the conference, and lunch is provided.  Presenters are responsible for their travel and lodging expenses. 

 

There's Something I Like About This Year: Directors' Blog 2011

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What an incredible semester so far--and it's only Week 3! A big welcome to Sara Klemann, who has stepped ably into her role as ODI/Women's Center Program & Administrative Assistant.

The title of this blog perfectly describes how excited I am about what's in store for the Women's Center and Dickinson in 2011-2012 (it's from Frightened Rabbit's "Square 9", which pops up frequently in my iTunes).  The main goal for the Center this year is to broaden--broaden the programs we offer, extend our outreach, and communicate our accessibility across the campus.  So I've also been creating more inclusive gender conversations, like the drop-in "Conversations About Gender" Discussion Group I'm co-facilitating with Don Domenici from Counseling Services of the Wellness Center.

From our lovely friends at Franklin & Marshall's Women's Center, I got the notion to do Women's Center lunch discussions.  This Friday, we'll be talking about what it means to be women from multiple perspectives; last week, we joined forces with the Dept. of Women's and Gender Studies to host a faculty research presentation from Assistant Professor Amy Steinbugler.  If you have a topic you want to bring forward, email women@dickinson.edu and the interns will hook you up!

The Internship Program:  I am so excited about this that I am using Grammatically Incorrect Punctuation.  The Women's Center is offering transcript notation for interns to serve on a street team that facilitates Women's Center programs and develops more outreach, events, and leadership opportunities.  So I've been organizing leadership trainings for the interns, reviewing applications, and thinking up projects that will help them develop critical leadership and gender education skills.  It's going to be Amazing.  Amy Lane (2013) and Swechha K.C. (2013), returning interns, have been instrumental in shaping this project and I'm grateful they are hanging in to help the new interns and coordinate fun events (like our Superhero Party in October).

I am also a mission/vision/planning geek, so it's been powerful to develop, write, and implement the Women's Center Strategic Plan.    I did focus groups and interviews, and solicited email feedback, to measure the consensus of folks across the college about next steps for gender-based work on campus.  It's been a thrill to initiate the practical steps of this big vision by contacting colleagues in Student Development to discuss their campus ecology work. [Campus ecology:  a lens for seeing how the campus culture, facilities, and practices connect with students’ academic, social, and personal lives, enabling a holistic approach to providing education, leadership development, and healthy community.]  This means a lot of meetings about men's initiatives, RA training/education sessions, and other opportunities to branch out and reach folks the Women's Center could support in building a healthy campus culture!

Last but not least, I am teaching a so-far-fantastic Methods in Women's and Gender Studies course.  With my background in writing education it's great to return to teaching writing intensively and focusing on students' research and writing goals.  A small class size allows us to develop in-depth understanding and analysis that will generate some very cool research projects (I hope).

In short:  there's something I love about this year.  Hope to see you soon for a lunch discussion!  As always, email women@dickinson.edu to get in touch.

Conversations About Gender

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Do you ever wonder…

What is he thinking? 
Why is this such a big deal to her?

Can men and women really be friends?

How can we talk about sex?

 

Join us for weekly drop-in

Conversations about Gender

 

The purpose of this semi-structured discussion group is to facilitate dialogue about challenges, expectations, and messages regarding gender roles. Within the context of respectful and open dialogue, we hope to increase self-awareness, challenge stereotypes, and share different perspectives regarding gender-related issues. All are welcome to share their experiences and ideas, particularly those who are wondering how they can express their perspective and learn from others.

 

Topics:

Week 1 (9/21/11): Gender Roles and Stereotypes

Week 2 (9/28/11): Societal Expectations and Gender

Week 3 (10/5/11): Gender and Identity

Week 4 (10/12/11): Communication and Gender

Week 5 (10/26/11): Expectations Regarding Dating

Week 6 (11/2/11): Expectations Regarding Sex

Week 7 (11/9/11): Open Topic

Week 8 (11/16/11): Wrap-up/Review

*These are general discussion topics that will be addressed each week. However, the discussion will vary depending on the interests of those in attendance.

 

When and Where?

Wednesdays, 12:15-1:30PM, Althouse 07

For more information, please contact Don Domenici at 717-245-1485

or domenicd@dickinson.edu or Susannah Bartlow at 717-245-1966 or bartlows@dickinson.edu

Women's and Gender Studies Faculty Lunch Series

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Join WGST and the Women's Center for a series of free lunches highlighting the work and ideas of the WGST faculty.

Past presenters include Sociology professor Amy Steinbugler, who discussed an excerpt from her forthcoming book BEYOND LOVING: Intimate Racework in Lesbian, Gay and Straight Interracial Relationships.

Upcoming dates:  September 30th, November 4th, and December 2nd.  •  More details will be available soon!