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Women's and Gender Studies
Graduate Program
The Women's and Gender Studies Program has successfully implemented a NEW MA graduate degree program, as well as a 5-year BA/MA program! In its first two years, the program enrolled 30+ new graduate students from a variety of backgrounds and schools, and a number of current students that wished to extend their stay at DePaul, in order to achieve their BA and MA in Women's and Gender Studies! Congratulations to all of the grad students and good luck to this new and exciting program! |
Iota, Iota, Iota
Triota is accepting applications
from WGS majors, minors, and
graduate students until November
25th for membership to DePaul's WGS Honors Society. Applicants should have a GPA of 3.0 or higher and declare their WGS affiliation via campus connect. Applications are available in the WGS office, Byrne Hall, 4th Floor and may also be turned into the Triota mailbox at this location. For more information or questions, applicants can contact Triota President, Chrissy Wright at chrissy1129@gmail.com or check out our Facebook account: DePaul Triota. Additionally, applicants can view Triota information at: http://condor.depaul.edu/
~wms/projects/triota.html |
Look For These New 2008 Courses!
Registration has begun!
WMS 394 / WMS 480
LESBIAN LIVES, POLITICS, AND COMMUNITIES
Beth Kelly, Women's and Gender Studies
This course explores constructions of lesbian lives, politics, and communities in the U.S. over the past 2-3 decades, using the political cartoons of artist Alison Bechdel, whose "Dykes to Watch Out For" ("DTWOF") has been published since the mid-1980s, as a primary text. "DTWOF" will be supplemented by a variety of readings from lesbian-feminist theory, queer theory, and LGBT history and politics, as well as Bechdel's autobiographical reflections, students examine the constructions of identities and politics within lesbian culture, paying particular attention to how these have changed and evolved over time.
WMS 480
Local & Transnational Dimensions of Women's Labor
Ginger Hofman, Anthropology
This course critically examines women's work through the intersecting perspectives of gender, race, class and citizenship. This is an interdisciplinary course, employing social science and feminist approaches to the study of the economic and cultural processes underlying women's labor across time and space. Using feminist-inspired research methods and critical gender analysis, students will examine the effects of local, transnational and global power structures on the working lives of women.
LST 310 / WMS 480
Latina Feminisms
Lourdes Torres, Latin America/Latino Studies
This course explores the historical development and contemporary conceptions of Latina feminist women in the United States from 1960s to the present. Students will be introduced to foundational writings in Latina feminist theories. We will explore how the shared and divergent experiences of Latinas in the US have contributed to the development of the body of Latina theories. We consider Latina theorizing around the subject of the intersectionality of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality with a focus on how Latinas have critiqued and reshaped the fields of ethnic and gender studies in US. Materials for the course will also include personal narratives, literature, films, visual art and performances for, by and about Latinas. Some of the authors include Gloria Anzaldua, Martha Cotera, Alma Garcia, Maria Lugones, Cherrie Moraga, Chela Sandoval, Carla Trujillo among others.
CTH 243 REL 280
Roman Catholic Theological Thinking: Global Feminisms
This course is designed to introduce students to the thought and practices of three noted Catholic Feminist theologians whose thinking and writing addresses issues arising from our current global context. Authors include Rosemary Radford Ruether (Sexism and God Talk; Integrating Ecofeminism: Globalization and World Religions); Ivone Gebara (Longing for Running Water: Ecofeminism and Liberation) and Maria Pilar Aquino and Maria José Rosado Nunes (Feminist Intercultural Theology: Latina Explorations for a Just World).
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LGBTQ Minor
If you are thinking about minoring in LGBTQ Studies, you should know this:
LGQ 150: Intro to LGBTQ Studies
5 Electives:
(a minimum of one class in each concentration must be completed): Queer Theory and the Intersection of Identitity; Queer Representations; History, Politics, and War.
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Vegan Fudgey Brownie Recipe
Ingredients:
3/4 cup silken (soft) tofu
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Preparation:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a baking pan.
In a blender or food processor, process the
silken tofu, water, maple syrup, cocoa, oil and vanilla until smooth.
In a large bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients, except the nuts.
Pour the batter into the baking pan and baked for about 40 minutes. Enjoy!
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The Choice
by Julia Esquivel, 1993
from The Certainty of Spring: Poems by a Guatemalan in Exile
I will remain with my people
the dispossessed
the deceived
the persecuted
the bargained-for.
With the people who have never been considered human
but who keep standing up
and surviving
and beginning again...
I will remain with the ones
who have been three times dispossessed,
forced off their land.
The ones who've been chased like deer
through forests and jungles.
I will remain with the silent people...
who guard in the intimacy of their hearts
the last word.
I remain with the elderly,
with the widows
and the orphans.
In the crushed hearts
of the weak
God finds Strength
*
Eleccion
Me quedo con mi pueblo,
el despojado,
el engañado,
el perseguido
el negociado.
Ese, que nunca ha sido considerado como humano
pero que se yergue siempre
y sobrevive,
y vuelve a empezar...
Me quedo con aquellos
que tres veces fueron despojados
y sacados de su tierra
Los persequidos como venados
por los montes y las selvas.
Me quedo con el pueblo silencioso...
que guarda en lo más íntimo
la palabra postrera.
Me quedo con los viejos,
con las viudas
y los huérfanos.
En el corazón quebrantado
de los débiles
Dios encuentra Su Fortaleza.
Sí, me quedo con mi Pueblo!
Octubre de 1984 | |
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Letter from the Director
Greetings! What an amazing and historic time. I have never experienced an election with so many engaged and committed people. It's a great testament to the power of community organizing. We need to find ways to sustain this momentum. Dr. Barbara Ransby reminded us last spring that campaigns are not movements and that the election itself is only one aspect of the political process. This may be most evident in terms of election losses this year, particularly the right to have same-sex relationships and family structures legitimated and valued, and yet still imperative with regard to the ongoing "war against terrorism", economic crises, home foreclosures, sexual violence, health care, environmental devastation, and more. We have much work ahead of us and I hope Women's and Gender Studies will continue to be a place for bringing together theories, research, and action for progressive social change.
A commitment to social justice is integral to our work in Women's and Gender Studies. This commitment is best exemplified in the students, alumnae, faculty, and friends who are dedicated scholars, community organizers, educators, healers, artists, cultural workers, lawyers, social workers, counselors, ministers, and human rights activists on a wide range of issues across Chicago and the world. And some new course offerings, including Ginger Hofman's, "Women and Labor", Lourdes Torres' "Latina Feminisms", and Beth Kelly's, "Lesbian Lives, Politics, and Communities," are also indicative of this commitment.
Along these lines, please join us for upcoming events - Lunafest Film Festival, Friday, January 23; Women's History Month Lectures on March 5 by Laura Washington (DePaul's Ida B. Wells Professor and Distinguished Journalist) and Dr. Andrea Smith (author, Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide, cofounder Incite! Women of Color Against Violence), and on March 12, Dr. Christine Stansell (author on forthcoming book on History of US Feminism). More info forthcoming! |
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From Chemistry Labs to Gender Studies
Karin Winters gives advice for your academic journey.
My name is Karin Winters and I am an Academic Advisor in the Office for Academic Advising Support(OAAS) in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. Our office is fairly new on campus and we work most closely with students who are either undeclared or exploring their academic options. In our office, we understand that choosing an academic path can sometimes be quite daunting, so we're here to help!
I know first-hand what it's like to be undeclared/exploratory and unsure about your future. When I entered college at the University of San Diego, I had every intention of being a Marine Science major. I had dreamed about working with dolphins since I was 10. After my first Chemistry lab class, I quickly realized I didn't actually enjoy science. I just liked petting dolphins. So, I felt very lost, but I talked to my academic advisor and my religion professor who happened to be the director of the Gender Studies minor program at USD.
After some soul searching for a semester or two, I decided to major in Psychology and Minor in Gender Studies. I also became very active in the LGBTQ student organization and a group called Rainbow Educators which conducted educational workshops about LGBTQ issues. I ended up being very dedicated to my education, conducted some independent research for my thesis, and really connected with the students and faculty in my major and minor. After graduation, I worked as a research assistant for Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego. I then moved to Chicago to start the graduate program in Human Services & Counseling at DePaul. After working part time in DePaul's Career Center and part-time at a high school in the College Counseling Office, I began working for OAAS. And that's where I am today.
If you want to explore your own academic journey, feel free to contact my office and set up an appointment with myself or another OAAS advisor!
Karin Winters
Academic Advisor, Office for Academic Advising Support College of Liberal Arts and Sciences 2400 North Sheffield, Suite 100 Chicago, IL 60614-3250 For appointments: 773-325-4184 Direct line: 773-325-7650
FAX: 773-325-7432
kwinter5@depaul.edu
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Upcoming Events in Chicago
There are many exciting events in Chicago over winter break!
Stitch 'n' Bitch
Museum of Contemporary Art - 220 E. Chicago Ave. - Chicago (Gold Coast)
Grab your latest knitting project and yarn about needlepoint with other thread-minded folks.
Every 1st Tuesday of the month 5:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. (ends April 7)
The Other Cinderella
Black Ensemble Theater - 4520 N. Beacon St. - Chicago (Uptown)
Black Ensemble Theatre remounts an updated version of its 1976 debut production, Jackie Taylor's urban musical adaptation of the classic fairytale,...
Fridays : 8 p.m. (ends December 28)
Sundays and Saturdays : 3 p.m. (ends December 28)
Local LGBT performers compete for $100 cash
Singing, dancing, poetry, comedy, magic, puppetry, drag, juggling and more.
November 18 : 8:30 p.m. Lee's Unleaded Blues, 7401 S. Chicago Ave.
December 4 : 8 p.m. Crew, 4804 N. Broadway
Mental Graffiti Poetry Set
Butterfly Social Club - 722 W. Grand Ave. - Chicago (Warehouse District)
The poetry collective hosts an open mic featuring nationally and locally recognized spoken word artists and slam poets.
Every 3rd Monday of the month 7:30 p.m.
Annie Leibovitz
Harold Washington Library Center - 400 S. State St. - Chicago (Loop)
The celeb photographer discusses her new book "Annie Leibovitz at Work."
December 2 : 6 p.m.
The Ville
Mary's Attic - 5400 N. Clark St. - Chicago (Andersonville)
A comedic soap-style drama explores the struggles and triumphs of a group of fictional gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and hetero residents of...
Mondays : 8 p.m. (ends December 15) Season two; episode seven (musical finale) |
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Check out New Scholarship of WMS Affiliated faculty!
Traci Schlesinger, Sociology: "The Failure of Race-Neutral Policies: How Mandatory Terms and Sentencing Enhancements Increased Racial Disparities in Prison Admission Rates". Crime & Delinquency. Published (2008) online at http://cad.sagepub.com/pap.dtl
"Equality at the Price of Justice: How Mandatory Terms and Sentencing Enhancements Disproportionately Affect Women". NWSAJ, 20:2 (2008):27-47.
Ginger Hofman, Anthropology
Scholarly papers:
Life at the Crossroads of Social Change: Invigorating Romani Women's Empowerment in Post-Socialist Croatia. Human Organization: Journal for the Society of Applied Anthropology, (forthcoming) Vol. 67, No. 4, 2008.
Accessing Romani Women Study Participants: Collaborating with their Gatekeepers and other NGO Entrepreneurs. Practicing Anthropology, Vol. 30, No. 3 (2008) pp 46-49.
Fellowship awarded: Women and Gender Research Initiative Fellowship "Women's Working Lives in Humboldt Park." (Autumn 2008-Spring 2009)
Alec Brownlow, Department of Geography
'Keeping up appearances: profiting from patriarchy in the nation's 'safest' city'. Forthcoming in Urban Studies Journal.
This paper explores the history and the political and economic dividends of manipulating urban crime data. It demonstrates data manipulation as an historic and widely practiced method of safety construction in cities and discusses why rape is a crime especially prone to statistical corruption. Insofar as hiding rape makes a city appear to be safer than it actually is, I argue that the practice has taken on greater political and economic significance in this era of mobile capital and interurban competition. I explore these themes in a case study from Philadelphia and I discuss the many contradictions that it points to. Patriarchy, I conclude, is a tool of economic development that puts all urban women at risk.
Midge Wilson
Butler, S. & Wilson, M. (May, 2008) The influence of cultural norms on stereotypes of male bodies. Paper presented at the annual Midwestern Psychological Association conference, Chicago, IL
Butler, S. & Wilson, M. (February, 2008) Let's talk about sex: The impact of Abstinence-only and Comprehensive Sex Education on sexual communication. Poster presented at the 9th annual conference of the Society for Social and Personality Psychology conference, Albuquerque, NM.
Rebecca Cameron
"The Limits of Emancipation: Changing Approaches to Feminism in Early-twentieth-century British Women's Drama." Women's Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal. 37.2 (2008): 110-30.
Collaborative contributions to digital resource: Orlando: Women's Writing in the British Isles from the Beginnings to the Present.Cambridge online. Ed. Susan Brown, Patricia Clements, and Isobel Grundy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. http://www.cambridge.org/online/orlandoonline/.
Kelly Kessler, Communication
"Gabbin', Glamin', and Growin': The Evolution of The L-Word's Online Community" for The Center for Screen Cultures Lecture Series, Northwestern University, 2008
"Mommy's Got a Galpal: The Victimized Lesbian Mother and the Made-For-TV-Movie" in Televising Queer Women: A Reader, Ed. Rebecca Beirne, Palgrave (2007)
Dustin Grolz, College of Communication
Queer Play: Dancing as Ritualized Healing. Paper presented at the annual meeting of The Western States Communication Association in Boulder, CO, 2008.
Moving Through Critical Paralysis: Intersectionality in Personal Narrative. Paper presented at the annual meeting of The Western States Communication Association in Boulder, CO, 2008.
"The Night the Moon Bounced." Director. Written and performed by J. Linde. Empty Space Theater, Tempe, Arizona, Spring 2008. |
Embracing Vegan Brownies: Adventures of an American in England.
Megan Miskiewicz, DePaul Alum and Women's and Gender Studies Minor
Sister Brenda patiently awaited my arrival to Manchester airport on a cool summer day. A Daughter of Charity, she is a part of the Vincentian family that honors St. Vincent de Paul. Upon our meeting she insisted on carrying my bags despite having one arm in a cast. She also insisted on driving. As we flew by cars and road signs at a speed that would surpass a road runner I wondered what I'd gotten myself into.
This past year I participated in a simple-living voluntary-work programme while living in community with women from Lusaka and Damascus. I worked in a day centre whose service users include people who have drug or alcohol addictions, mental health problems, or are homeless. A variety of organisations and communities in Manchester and London embraced me -a very loud arm swinging American- and contributed to my many adventures and subsequent learning.
The Feminist Activist Forum works to promote feminist history in popular education contexts. Though I was only able to attend one of their meetings at the Feminist Library in London, reading about their doings on the list-serve provided enough ideas to last a lifetime. Whether it was organising a Radical Feminist History Day; establishing a Transgender Learning Exchange; working in solidarity with the Southhall Black Sisters, the Pro-Feminist Men's Group, and the London Tube Cleaner's Strike; engaging in 'radical plaquing'; or protesting non consensual violence against women at Reclaim the Night and Million Women Rise, these folks certainly put action behind their research and ideas![1]
While FAF is nation-wide, there are a plethora of locally based organisations which identify as feminist. Rosie the Riveters is one such organisation at the University of Manchester. I found myself in a peculiar situation while attending a meeting of the rather welcoming group. As one member reported back on the FEM '08 Conference to nodding heads and comments of approval, it became clear that I was treading in the waters of arguments which I had wished did not exist. Wouldn't it be natural to support the legalization and unionization of sex workers, at least within arguments which assume support for the existence of states at all? Doesn't it just make more sense to engage in anti-racist action as part of one's feminism, whether the 'one' is a person of color or not? Aren't the gender identities of all folks to be recognized and respected? It should not have been shocking, but throughout the year I learned of various dubious binaries and points of debate within 'feminism'. Needless to say, the students at Rosie the Riveters were overwhelmingly polite as all but one totally annihilated any 'nuanced' argument I brought about regarding sex worker's rights.
One of the most splendid moments of my adult life occurred on a Saturday night in Brighton, Southern England's queer capital. One may wonder what a mixed group of students and twenty and thirty somethings may do on their Saturday night generally, and at an indy-style conference titled 'Wotever' specifically. Well, guess no further. I witnessed a queer sexual history time-traveling costume spectacle, which reenacted the sexual adventures of William Shakespeare, Marquis de Sade, Bob Marley, and Margaret Thatcher. At that moment I knew that creative participatory educative actions pertaining to sexual history -not to mention other 'academic' topics- in a non-condescending manner are not only possible, but can be more fantastic than I, at least, had ever imagined.
Interactive educational experiences were not limited to students and younger folks, however. In the land of hummus and vegan brownies, I must indulge in sharing of times nearly as comforting as proper chocolate.[2] At the monthly Queer Café, all were invited -trans folk were bloody included for once- to eat, talk, read, and relax as desired.[3] All teasing of similarities amongst anti-conformists aside, Queer Café was wonderful for its at once vibrant and calm space as well as people.[4]
The people I met in England and the ideas and books they introduced me to changed my life forever. Sweeping dramatics aside, I observed folks living out theorizations in their lives with ethical precision. Throughout the year I was most delighted to engage in lively feminist and queer studies based discussions with graduate students and others from disciplines including English Literature, Germanic Studies, History, Sound (at an Acoustics Research Centre), and Theoretical Physics. I went to see a friend of a friend's lecture on 'Queer as Folk' and was pleasantly surprised to find that it took place in an American Studies Conference! A good friend from England introduced me to U.S. feminist publications, including 'Bitch' and 'Bust' magazines, and I learned about topics ranging from sex positivity to femme (in)visibility.
Of course, the service users I worked with had a wisdom of their own, as did the volunteers and staff at the day centre. Many would see and vocalize themselves how theoretically and practically oppressive systems - including capitalistic, racist, and sexist ones- are literally written on the lives, experiences, and bodies of real people. Of course, U.S. foreign policy decisions were visible as well. One day I was on the phone in regard to a service user's 'incapacity' benefit. The government worker asked for information from the physician's note, and I read the note aloud to him, as I was reading it for the first time myself: He suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder due to a bullet wound in the head. Needless to say, this Kurdish man from Iraq obtained incapacity, and is now studying English at one of the better community colleges in Manchester.
While my work was rather serious at times and included a number of hospital visits and deaths, the service users and I managed to have a laugh. Also, many folks at my volunteer placement directed me to the Pankhurst Centre. It is literally in the home of Emmeline Pankhurst and her family, who were among the founders of the Suffragette movement in the early 20th century.[5] Whether I was there for research purposes - they have an impressive little library with works one may have difficulty finding elsewhere - or to learn about the Suffragettes, they always welcomed me warmly and, of course, with tea and biscuits. It was refreshing to be in a place that had visitors from diverse ages and classes as well.
In all, I had a fantastic year filled with numerous learning experiences and peppered with amazing people and communities of all sorts. Whether laughing with self-identified polyamorous perverts, observing the numerous copies of Norman Finkelstein's books in the Manchester Central Library, or reading Elizabeth Robins' The Convert, my time in England was a privilege in more ways than one.
Megan is a 2007 graduate of DePaul's undergraduate history department who minored in Women's and Gender Studies. She lives in Chicago and is writing a sexual autobiography of sorts which attempts to encourage readers in laughter, engagement with sexual history, and critical examination of topics relating to sex in personal and social contexts.
[1] Indeed, the saturation of historical appreciation in England generally (including a reality television show featuring weight loss experiments from over the centuries) is a point of instruction for any American. Though I don't mean to make out the UK to be perfect: My attempts at conducting research regarding reproductive rights in an anti racist context were just as difficult in the UK, if not more so, than in the U.S. Furthermore, fascism is a growing monster in England which would startle even Goya.
[2] One could consider the 'Western' queering of foods such as hummus, and what this means for Middle Eastern people, for instance.
[3] Did we rent a space at the reduced rate for non-profits? Of course not! Queer Café, among many other programmes, is held in the LGBT Centre on Sydney Street which is funded by the Manchester City Council. Yes, tax dollars pay for the electricity so queers can share in a bit of community. Splendid and logical, indeed!
[4] I also had the pleasure to participate in various degrees in the Manchester Queer Reading Group; Northern Wave, Manchester's LGBT swimming and water polo club; Transfabulous; a Reproductive Freedoms Conferences; and the choir at the LGBT Metropolitan Community Church of Manchester.
[5] This is not to be confused with the general Suffrage movement in England, which of course started much earlier. |
 SAGA (Students for the Advancement of Gender Awareness)
SAGA (Students for the Advancement of Gender Awareness) is a new student group focusing on the rights of transgender, genderqueer, and intersex students, as well as their allies. Our goal as a group is to make DePaul a welcome environment for people of all gender identities and presentations. There are several ways we plan to do this. Our largest, and most long term project is a three-tiered plan to get gender neutral bathrooms, housing, and gender identity inclusive non-discrimination policies implemented in the university. We would also like to offer education around the university on issues relating to gender identity, both to students and staff alike.
Because we are a new group, we are still developing our strategies, and are always excited to hear from new people, whether you would like to work with us on a project, or join our group and help us with some of our goals. Our meetings, which are every other Wednesday, focus on the planning of the aforementioned activities, as well as various issues that trans spectrum people may face or need more information on. Our ultimate goal is to be a group that caters to people both on a personal and institutional level.
If you are interested in attending one of our meetings or would like to contact us, please email saga.depaul@gmail.com. For more information, visit http://depaul.edu/~saga |
 Tejiendo Sueños: From Isolation to Organized Support of Latina Domestic WorkersBy Mechtild Hart, School for New Learning, DePaul University
Domestic work is paradigmatic for the insertion of all labor into a gender-based global economy. For many labor migrants it has become the only paid occupation available to them, and there are uncanny similarities between the exploitative and abusive conditions and experiences of migrant women who work in quite different geographic and cultural spaces. People of Mexican and Central American origin comprise the majority of the immigrant population in Metro Chicago, and although no specific studies exist on the percentage of Latinas among migrant domestic workers, it is not difficult to assume that there are many who perform this type of work. Several years ago I therefore decided to focus on this population, in particular on workers employed in a private household as nannies, housekeepers, elderly companions, cleaners, or babysitters. Mujeres Latinas en Acción asked me to contribute a chapter on Latina Domestic Caring Workers to Latina Portraits, a book that gives detailed information about the Latina population in Metro Chicago as well as action proposals for community groups, politicians, and legislators. I started to learn Spanish, and I visited parks where many nannies/housekeepers come with the children in their charge. I also met a group of undocumented household workers from different Latin American countries in an informal gathering.
When I contacted various community-based organizations in order to find out whether, and what kind of support structures already existed, and I was generally greeted with "No, this is not what we focus on in our organization." Most people I talked to agreed, however, that all the women who come to them are certainly engaged in the unpaid version, and many most likely also in the paid version of this kind of work. They just did not know who they were, or how many. I finally met a niñera who works as a volunteer at the Chicago Interfaith Workers' Rights Center, and who came to the U.S. as a political refugee from Colombia. Under her strong feminist leadership a group of Latina women workers, El Colectivo Tejiendo Sueños, has since then slowly been forming. We have been holding regular meetings (some at the Center, most in her house) and have been working on strengthening a sense of autonomy for the women's group. We also have organized an educational event on labor rights, and are planning a second one for October 25, with special focus on sexual harassment or assaults at the workplace.
"We want to hear from community-based groups, women's groups, and labor/immigrant rights organizations."
El Colectivo Tejiendo Sueños has reached a critical moment in its development, but due to an extreme scarcity of financial and time-related resources it has not been able to move forward with its many plans.
The workers need a broad network of support that reflects the way their struggles intersect with those related to gender, race-ethnicity, and cultural difference. They want to hear from community-based groups, women's groups, and labor/immigrant rights organizations that would be interested in joining a listserv, therefore making possible an ongoing exchange of relevant information, announcements, plans, or calls for help. If you can provide us with any names, please call me.
We are, of course, also looking for funding sources. Above all, the women are seeking their own meeting space, one that would always be available to them, where it would be safe to talk, to design and collect educational/informational material, to plan. If anyone knows of an unused room, in a church perhaps, which we could rent for little money but would fix up, please call me. We also want to invite members from the National Domestic Workers Alliance to speak to the women, and to offer training as regards organizational strategies. If your program, or the classes you teach, would welcome their sharing of some of their tremendous experiences, and successes, please let me know. If you could contribute financially to their visits, that would be more than welcome. Also, if you would like to have the workers themselves talk to your classes, some of them would be delighted to do that, although some may need a Spanish translator. This would clearly foster social visibility and public respect for the workers, and for a kind of work so easily "hidden in the home." Mechthild Hart School for New Learning 312/362-5242 O 847/869-7191 H mhart@depaul.edu |
 A FORMER STUDENT
Midge Wilson, Ph.D.
The pond not only rippled, but the pebble floated up for me to toss again. That's how I felt last May (2008) when I opened an email from a former student. It began:
Hello Dr. Wilson,
I wanted to let you know that I have thought of you often
over the years. My name is Darlene Thomas (the name was
changed) and I was a student in your Women's Studies class
in the spring quarter of 1990.
I have taught hundreds of students since, but I knew exactly who Darlene was. She had stood out like no other -- and not just because she was the only African American in a class of twenty young women. On one day, Darlene had shared that she was at DePaul on a track scholarship, and on another day, after I had made dismissive comments about beauty pageants, she challenged me to reconsider that opinion by asserting how as a prior pageant winner herself, she had gained much in the way of confidence and poise - not to mention scholarship money - from participating in them. It was hard to argue with the beautiful and feisty evidence before us. Then, halfway through the quarter, Darlene came to class in a state of uncharacteristic distress. When we inquired if she was okay, she sobbed, "I've lost my track scholarship." Suspecting a sexist plot in the athletic department, we demanded to know how such a thing could happen. There was a long pause before Darlene quietly disclosed she was pregnant. In the safe space of that women's studies class, she went on to explain that when she had realized her condition, she had come to the difficult decision that the best thing for her to do at this point in her life was to get an abortion. She saw an ad on a poster in the el, copied the number, and called for an appointment. Time was of the essence as she was nearing the end of her first trimester. But when Darlene got to the place, she discovered it was not at all an abortion provider, but a pro-life outfit. For two hours, Darlene was forced to look at gruesome photos of late-term abortion fetuses and to listen to lectures on the hellish consequences of getting an abortion. The whole experience had shaken her deeply and caused enough of a delay that she was no longer able to secure a first-term procedure. We were stunned into silence. Darlene indicated she wanted the discussion to move on, so it did, and the subject was never brought up again - even though over the weeks Darlene was clearly starting to show.
"To learn that we've perhaps made a difference in the life of someone else is a great gift and honor."
Near the end of the quarter, Darlene missed class and I took the opportunity to suggest we throw her a surprise baby shower. The idea was enthusiastically received by everyone. Money was collected, gifts bought and wrapped, and a cake and party favors were brought on the last day of class. I think all of us felt better about being able to do something to help Darlene with what life had thrown at her. She clearly appreciated the gesture and thanked us profusely.
So that is why it was so easy for me to remember Darlene. Her email continued:
You threw me a baby shower, which I always remembered.
My daughter, Leslie (name changed) is now a graduating
senior, and has been been admitted to DePaul.
What? Was it possible that the child born of that pregnancy was now graduating from high school and attending college in the fall? Since the class Darlene had been in was 18 years ago, yes; it was indeed possible. But as if hearing that news wasn't great enough, Darlene went on to say:
Once I graduated from DePaul, I went to graduate school
at Harvard University where I earned a master's degree in
education. I have been a school teacher since 1995. I am
currently teaching middle school social studies in
Broadview, which is just west of Oak Park.
Harvard? I was bursting with pride and happiness for Darlene's great accomplishments. I can't even imagine how hard it must have been for her to raise a child and earn an advanced degree in city away from her home.
And finally - although by far not the coolest part of this story - Darlene wrote:
I wanted to tell you how grateful I am to have had such a
wonderful professor to leave such a strong impact upon
me. I appreciate your influence. I am very happy to see
that you are still influencing the lives of young people in
your roles at DePaul. I wish you the best.
I was so touched by Darlene's kind words, I emailed her back immediately to express my congratulations - and appreciation for writing. I added that as an educator herself, she must have known that hearing from her after all these years was something that those of us lucky enough to teach live for - to learn that we've perhaps made a difference in the life of someone else is a great gift and honor. And sometimes - just sometimes - if you stick around long enough, you even get to see those pebbles of influence come back in the form of another generation of young women to teach. |
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CROSSING BORDERS Creative writing by Kelly Baldwin
Student in the Graduate Certificate in Women's & Gender Studies program
Life is teaching me that feminism and social justice are rarely separate issues. And while that may seem like an obvious statement, it is one I continue to work at understanding, and giving a named space to that process seems important. Feminism, like social justice, is about patriarchy and capitalism and white-supremacy and imperialism and so many other political and social systems through which our complicated lives are framed and lived out. So, when looking back on a trip I made to the borderlands between the United States and México in 2002, at the time I didn't use the label 'feminism' to understand my experiences, but part of the value of memories and stories is the opportunity to revisit those pieces of our past and the ways we choose to understand them. The story included here is one piece of my experience, and as time passes, my ways of understanding it change and shift as my understanding of the world broadens and expands. But stories rarely hold the same meaning for any two people, so I wonder what this story may mean to you, particularly in the ways you understand and experience feminism or the seeking of social justice...
The first time I went to México, I drove from Ohio to Texas and crossed the border where El Paso and Juárez are separated by this tiny trickle of water called the Rio Grande, the Big River. In México they call it Río Bravo del Norte, the Fierce River of the North. Either way, I had always figured that this river marked on all of the maps as a big, wide blue chasm had to be this roaring expanse of liquid, not the ankle-deep, clay-red brook that greeted me as it wound slowly along the ground. That was my first indication that the barriers we build between our nations, our economies, and our peoples are stories that we tell one another to solidify boundaries of difference and inequality that otherwise might not seem all that tangible.
My second day in Juárez I was taken to the colonia Anapra where I was to stay for a few days as I tried to better understand the realities of our nation's intersecting identities. Anapra is a borderland community that has risen out of the desert as people have migrated from further south to work in the maquilas. Unable to afford other housing, residents typically build their homes by hand using cement, scraps of wood, cardboard, tarps, clay bricks, and other found materials. Most homes lack water or sewage systems, there are no paved roads, and the few buildings with electricity have often spliced power from transistor wires not designed to support the dozens of cables wired to them. From the overlooking bluff, the single-story, make-shift dwellings of the colonia stretch along what was, at the time, a six-foot chain link fence marking the division between the United States and México. To the north and to the east sprawled the corporate buildings of El Paso and Juárez, symbols of economic prosperity and growth.
During my first evening in Anapra, after the sun had gone down and the neighborhood was mostly dark, shouting broke my internal solitude as someone screamed "¡Fuego! ¡Fuego!" Just down the path, a neighboring house was bright with flames, sending jumping shadows across the sand, across the cardboard walls sheltering people's only belongings, and across the faces of startled neighbors. When you live in Anapra, even if someone has electricity and a telephone, there is no guarantee that a fire truck will come. And if one does, which often takes hours, the roads are unpaved and too narrow, there are no street lights or street signs to guide the way, and the only water is the water already on the truck. When you live in Anapra, wind can set all of the neighboring homes aflame, as the shelters are so close together and nothing is fire resistant. When you live in Anapra, your survival has no government support system, no social services, no promise of community care. And as you carry buckets of water from the only well, your feet press through the shifting sand and you fight the urge to move faster for fear that you'll spill too much water. You raise the bucket or pot above your head and hand it to the man standing atop the burning shelter and watch him pour water into the flames and throw the spent pot back to the earth - the same one you used to cook the beans you ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and you know that your survival has been marked as less worthy than that of the people in the city lights on the horizon. And the next morning, when the sun casts new shadows on your neighborhood, all is quiet, just as it was before. You can smell fire in your hair, feel the grit of soot on your hands, and see a small blackened patch of ground where someone's home stood, but no one speaks of it and the pickup trucks are full of workers heading into town. | |
Caroline Smith and Chera Tribble
Newsletter Editors DePaul University
Women's and Gender Studies Program
2219 North Kenmore Ave
Byrne Hall
Fourth Floor
Chicago, IL 60614
773-325-4086 |
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