Events On Campus
Wednesday, February 11, 2009, 2:15-4:15, with reception to follow. Depaul Center (downtown, 1 East Jackson), Room 8005. Robert Jensen, "Pornography and the End of Masculinity"
Robert Jensen, noted feminist critic of pornography, will present on his new book, Getting Off: Pornography and the End of Masculinity, where he argues that the pervasive misogyny of today's pornography is altering what it means to be human and what it means to be a man and a woman. A "men's reactor panel" will follow, and then a reception. Sponsored by the DePaul University of Law Schiller DuCanto and Fleck Family Law Center, with cosponsorship by the Center for Public Interest Law.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009, 11:30-1:30 pm, Women's and Gender Studies Scholarship Series - Exploring the Multi-Layered Violence in Women's Lives
DePaul Faculty share their research on the multi-layered violence in women's lives - Alec Brownlow (Geography), "Keeping up Appearances: Patriarchal Politics in the Nation's 'Safest' City"; Mechtild Hart (School for New Learning), "Taking Care of the White Man's Dirt: Migrant Domestic Workers and the Violence of Global Capitalist Patriarchy"; and Lourdes Torres (Latin American/Latino Studies),"Proyecto Latina: A Latina LGBTQ Survey"
* For more information on Dr. Lourdes Torres see article "Proyecto Latina: An LGBTQ Survey."
Friday, February 20, 2009, 5:00 pm, "Reclaiming the Black Gay past in the Era of Civil Rights", DePaul Art Museum, 2350 N. Kenmore
Kevin Mumford is associate professor of history and African American studies at the University of Iowa, where he teaches African American history, civil rights, and the history of sexuality. His research looks at long-term social inequalities and the dynamics of oppression and resistance in cities. He is the author of Interzones: Black/White Sex Districts in Chicago and New York in the Early Twentieth Century (1997) and Newark: a History of Race, Rights, and Riots in America (2007). He is also currently working on a study of black gay history from the 1960s to the 1990s. Cosponsored by History Department, LGBT Studies, among others.
Thursday, March 5, 2009, 12:00-2:00 pm, Women's History Month Luncheon; Student Center, Room 120.
With Laura Washington, a distinguished Chicago journalist who joined the faculty of DePaul University in September 2003 as the Ida B. Wells-Barnett University Professor and as a Fellow of the Humanities Center, will speak. An award-winning editor and columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, Washington brought to the post more than two decades of diverse experience in print and broadcast journalism, urban affairs, and social justice issues. She teaches courses in the Communication Department and in the African and Black Diaspora Studies Program. She also acts as a consultant, writer and lecturer on a variety of topics including media ethics, social advocacy, politics, race, poverty, and urban affairs. Cosponsored with Women's Center and Women's and Gender Studies Program among many others.
Thursday, March 5, 2009, 7:00-9:00 pm, Andrea Smith, "Another Politics is Possible: Women of Color Organizing" Student Center, Room 120.
Andrea Smith, a Native American Cherokee activist and scholar, is co-founder of INCITE!, Women of Color Against Violence, a national organization that applies direct action, critical dialogue, and grassroots organizing to address this critical issue. She was the co-founder of the Chicago chapter of Women of All Red Nations (WARN). Smith has worked with Amnesty International as a Bunche Fellow and represented the Indigenous Women's Network and the American Indian Law Alliance at the United Nations World Conference Against Racism. Described as one of the leading voices in Native Liberation theology, she is the U.S. coordinator for the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT). Smith has published widely on issues of violence against women of color and is one of the nation's leading experts on women of color organizing against multiple and interlocking forms of violence. She is author of Conquest: Sexual Violence and the American Indian Genocide (South End Press, 2005) and Native Americans and the Christian Right: The Gendered Politics of Unlikely Alliances (Duke University Press, 2008). Cosponsored with Women's Center and Women's and Gender Studies among many others.
Thursday, March 12, 12:00 noon, Dr. Christine Stansell on History of Feminism; Cortelyou Commons, 2324 N. Fremont. Lunch Provided.
Since the early 1970s helped to establish and further the "second wave" of women, gender, and sexuality. Her first book, City of Women: Sex and Class in New York 1789 - 1860 (1986), explored the streets, tenements, dance halls, and sweatshops of antebellum New York City to reveal the central role working-class women played in the city's history. At the same time, she worked in the new field of the history of sexuality, collaborating with Ann Snitow and Sharon Thompson to publish the groundbreaking collection Power of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality (1983). Her more recent book, American Moderns: Bohemian New York and the Creation of a New Century (2000), weaves together the lives of the influential group of writers, artists, and political radicals who lives in Greenwich Village in the years between 1890 and 1920 to deliver a wide-ranging account of left-wing politics, avant-garde art, intimate relationships, and American social history at the opening of the 20th century. Cosponsored with Department of History, Women's and Gender Studies, and Women's Center.
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Come spend your Valentine's Day with DePaul students performing Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues! This is DePaul's 10th year of celebrating the VDay Campaign!
VDay is a global movement to end violence against women and girls. The play itself is based on interviews Eve Ensler conducted with over 200 women, celebrating women's narratives and stories about women whose voices will no longer be silenced. Each year, DePaul students join thousands of other colleges and universities in the VDay campaign to raise awareness and work to end violence and create dialogue surrounding violence against women and girls.
Our performances this year will be held Saturday, February 14th and Sunday, February 15th at 8pm in The Student Center, Room 120.
Tickets are $10 and can be reserved through email at:
vday.depaul@gmail.com or purchased at the door.
If you would like to volunteer, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Stephanie Lash at: lash.stephanie@gmail.com |
Didn't Make it to Luna Fest?
Check Out These Films Made by Women:
ARUSI Persian Wedding
A film by Marian Tehrani Iranian American filmmaker Marjan Tehrani chronicles her brother Alex's return to Iran during the start of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, as he travels with his American wife Heather to have a traditional Persian wedding and explore his lost heritage - just as his own Iranian father and American mother did back when Iran and the U.S. were allies.
The Feminist Initiative
A film by Liv Weisberg, Produced by Boris Jordan-Mirchev
THE FEMINIST INITIATIVE, by director Liv Weisberg, reveals the passion, pitfalls and promise of a diverse group of women working to establish the world's first feminist political party in Sweden in the spring of 2005. Charting every step (and misstep) along the way, Weisberg follows an ex-party leader, a couple of '70s feminists, a group of homo-bi-transsexuals, and several enthusiastic younger women from their energetic start to the climatic moments of their inspiring, celebrity-supported rally.
Shooting Women
A film by Alexis Krasilovsky Shot over a period of six years and featuring more than 50 camerawomen from around the world, including Ellen Kuras, Sandi Sissel and Agnès Varda, Shooting Women celebrates the amazing talent and unflinching spirit of image-making women from the sets of Hollywood and Bollywood to the war zones of Afghanistan. Broaching the persistent issues of the glass ceiling, sexual harassment, and childcare for professional camerawomen around the globe, this film offers viewers a compelling glimpse of how women behind the camera are changing the world.
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Ballenger Memorial Scholarship
in Women's and Gender Studies
*** Win a merit based scholarship worth up to $1500! Applications are now being accepted for the year 2009. ***
If you are a
Undergrad WMS major or minor OR
a grad student with a WMS concentration OR
a MALS or IDS student completing a WMS certificate
pick up
Information and Applications in the Women and Gender Studies Office
Byrne Hall, 4th Floor
2219 N. Kenmore (LPC)
Applications due by March 13, 2009
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Nominations are now
being accepted for
The Carol klimick
Cyganowski Service Award
The Carol Klimick Cyganowski Service Award is given annually to a faculty member, staff person, current student, or alumnus in some way connected to the Women's and Gender Studies program, in recognition of service, whether within the program, the university, or the larger Chicago women's community.
Candidates should demonstrate excellence and dedication in some form of community service that incorporates one or more of the following: leadership, vision, advocacy, and activism.
To nominate someone, please send their name and a short paragraph explaining why they should be considered for this award to Laila Farah (lfarah@depaul.edu) by May 4th, 2009.
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5 Year BA/MA in Women's and Gender Studies!
How Does it Work?
In your fourth year, take three graduate courses that will count towards both your undergraduate and graduate majors. In the fifth year and beyond, you are officially matriculated at the graduate level and then you'll just have to complete 9 remaining courses of the 12 required for the M.A.
If you are a Junior, applications are now being accepted.
All applications must be turned in by the end of Winter quarter 2009!
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Come Share Your Support for Feminist Front!!!
Student Center room 380 at 9pmAs a feminist group, we agree to work toward:· Supporting the empowerment of female bodied or female identified people · Acknowledging the intersectionality of all forms of oppression · Actively fighting oppression through a diversity of tactics · Creating a safe space for both liberal and radical feminists · Promoting a healthy body image and self esteem · Rejecting the production and reproduction of oppressive culture/dominant hegemony through media outlets · Promoting sexual and mental health for all individuals · Advocating for the rights of reproductive freedom as well as autonomy over one's body and sexuality · Challenging prescribed gender roles and heteronormativity · Advocating for the immediate end to violence against women as well as the institutionalized brutality of patriarchy · Promoting consent without the necessity of uniformity · Recognizing the historical marginalizations of people and continuing a struggle within these contexts · Acknowledging our personal privileges and oppressions while defending and encouraging liberation for all As a group, we intend to plan the following events and activities:· Deconstruct and define feminism · International focus on feminism · Take Back the Night · Volunteering both within and outside of the DePaul community · Teach-in on intersectionality and different forms of oppression · Host speakers and panelist discussions · Consent workshops as well as advocacy for greater sexual health recourses at DePaul University · Hold self-defense and sexual assault workshops · Reach out to male bodied or male identified people · Build coalitions with other activist groups on campus to build a cohesive and safe community · Create and distribute literature
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Greetings!
 Greetings!
2009 is going to be a great year for Women's and Gender Studies at DePaul! There's been quite a buzz this year - new students declaring Women's and Gender Studies, prospective graduate students contacting us, students energized about the important issues covered in classes, and many seeking out opportunities for change and transformation. Some students are starting their culminating capstone projects. I'm lucky enough to be working with the undergraduate capstone class and several of the MA students. These powerful projects are clearly going to make their mark in contributing to DePaul's community, to the field, and to the world. We'll have more news about these projects in next quarter's newsletter . . . so stay tuned.
One of the things I love about Women's and Gender Studies is our persistent conversation about the role of research and scholarship in our lives, our education, our communities, our public policies, and our everyday movements for progressive social change and transformation. Rather than accept the binaries constructed between scholarship and social change, theories and praxis, and research and activism, many faculty and students at DePaul persistently interrogate their interconnections - exploring the ways that scholarship contributes to the shaping and production of knowledge as well as to the shaping and production of public policy, social change, individual and collective consciousness and transformation, etc.
Along these lines, this quarter, there are some fabulous opportunities to experience theory and research in action. On Wednesday, February 18, we have two events - at 11:30 am (Library, Room 300), three DePaul faculty (Drs. Alec Brownlow, Mechtild Hart, and Lourdes Torres) will share their community-based research projects exploring violence in women's lives. And then at 6:00 pm (Library 300), Dr. Dubravka Zarkov, Institute of Social Studies in The Netherlands, will interrogate media images of gender, war, and sexual violence, and the way media shapes our interpretations and responses to war and sexual violence.
On March 5, please join us for the Women's History Month events organized through the Women's Center. At the annual luncheon, we'll be honoring Laura Washington who has been the Ida B. Wells Distinguished Scholar at DePaul for the past five years; she will speak about gender and politics. This will be followed by an evening lecture by Dr. Andrea Smith, author of Conquest and cofounder of the national organization Incite! Women of Color against Violence. Dr. Smith along with the many women of color scholars and activists of Incite! have transformed feminist anti-violence theorizing and scholarship in profoundly radical ways. Don't miss the opportunity to hear her talk, "Another Politics is Possible: Women of Color Organizing." And on March 12 (12 Noon, Cortelyou Commons), Dr. Christine Stansell will suggest reframing of US feminism with "Women's Rights and Democratic Homemaking: the Quieter Origins of Feminism, 1945-65."
Hope to engage with you in some of the serious Women's and Gender Studies theorizing and action sometime this quarter!
Ann Russo, Director, Women's and Gender Studies
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How Does Healthcare Policy Affect Women? by Dr. Jill Murray, MSW Program |
 There are two ways in which women are disadvantaged in having their healthcare needs met in the United States. The first is in our healthcare system itself. The second involves specific policies regulating women's access to health services they require.
The United States healthcare system is one which is primarily employer-based and for-profit. According to the US Census Bureau, more than 47 million people are left uninsured. Of course, healthcare is an issue for everyone, but our healthcare system leaves women and other minorities particularly vulnerable. Due to job discrimination, women are often dependant on their partners' employer-based insurance. Women tend to assume responsibility for their families' healthcare needs. When men and women divorce, it is women who are more often left without health insurance. Gay and lesbian couples are also disadvantaged in that partners in these couples usually do not qualify for spousal health insurance benefits. (As an aside, DePaul University does provide benefits to gay and lesbian couples.)
I had the pleasure of developing and teaching a course for the 2008 December Intercession entitled, "Healthcare Policy and Women." We had some lively discussions about ways the current US healthcare system disadvantages women, as well as about specific healthcare policy issues such as family planning and childbirth, Botox and surgical cosmetic procedures, female genital mutilation, and breastfeeding. We also discussed the disproportionate degree to which African American and Latina women experience healthcare discrimination and unmet healthcare needs. It is difficult to separate healthcare from its intersection with gender, class, race, and societal norms and expectations.
There is a bill in Congress, HR676, introduced by Representative John Conyers of Michigan, which would level the healthcare access playing field. HR676 would create a single-payer insurance system, eliminating our current system of countless, for-profit insurance companies. It would disconnect healthcare from employment and would thus free women who are reliant on a partner for healthcare benefits. HR676 would provide healthcare to all residents of the United States regardless of gender, marital status, income, and residency status. Women would no longer be disadvantaged by the healthcare system and would have full access to services. In addition, they would have full access to healthcare for their children. Coverage under HR676 would include preventative care, family planning, prescription medications, mental health services, substance abuse treatment, home care, and long-term care with no deductibles or co-pays.
I am one of the founders of an organization called the Chicago Single-Payer Action Network (www.chispan.org). We are a group of community organizers involved in educating the public about single-payer healthcare and about what people can do to help change the system. We meet twice each month to strategize and organize our actions. The meetings are open to all who are interested in this issue. We have a speaker's bureau and will provide speakers or panel discussions. Our website provides information on how to get involved.
President Barack Obama has placed healthcare high on his agenda and has previously acknowledged the benefits of a single-payer system; however, he currently seems to be considering a continuation of our for-profit insurance-based system. Consider getting involved in this important women's issue.
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| "Proyecto Latina: An LGBTQ Survey"
Dr. Lourdes Torres |
 On Wednesday, February 18, 2009 (11:30 am, Library 300), Latin American/Latino Studies professor Dr. Lourdes Torres will be speaking on "Proyecto Latina: A Latina LGBTQ Survey." Dr. Lourdes Torres is involved in a number of projects on campus and off. Here are some of her current interests and research projects:
Queer Puerto Rican Women's Narratives
In this work, I explore representations of Puerto Rican lesbians on the island and stateside in both social science and humanities literature. I examine the construction of the lesbian in psychological and sociological texts and juxtapose this with the depiction of Boricua lesbians in a range of literary and filmic texts.
Spanish in Chicago
This book will be the first to offer a comparative analysis of the various Spanish-speaking communities in Chicago. This study offers insight into the evolution of Spanish dialects in a contact situation.
Journals
I am also editing two journal issues. I am co-editing a NWSA Journal special issue on Latina Sexualities and I am editing the upcoming Dialogue Magazine on the topic of Latin@ Sexualities. This work has developed from my participation in the Race, Sex, and Power Conference that I helped organize, which took place on April 11-12, 2008.
History of Amigas Latinas
Amigas Latinas is a Chicago based Latina queer activist group. It has been in existence for 14 years. Few grassroots queer women's group last this long and have the kind of impact that Amigas enjoys. Unfortunately, there are few studies that look at the existence of queer Latina activism in the Midwest. I am writing a history of this organization. I am conducting interviews with current and past leaders and participants. I am also analyzing archival materials (organization minutes, flyers, newsletters, media coverage) of Amigas Latinas. My article will be the first to study this important Midwestern queer Latina organization.
"Proyecto Latina: A Latina LGBTQ Survey."
On February 18, I will be talking about the work of Amigas Latinas. Amigas Latinas is a 14 year old lesbian organization in Chicago. Amigas Latinas has established itself as a strong visible organization that advocates for Latina lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LBTQ) community in Chicago. It is the only organization in Chicago that has as its exclusive focus the needs and advancement of the Latina LBTQ community. Amigas Latinas is unique because it is one of the few lesbian organizations in the United States that has sustained itself over a decade and continues to meet the needs of the Latina LBTQ community; most organizations of its type do not survive for more than two or three years. Amigas Latinas began in 1995 as a small group of lesbian and bisexual Latinas who gathered for a brunch/discussion group in women's homes. Its initial purpose was to provide a safe space and opportunities for lesbians of Latina heritage to gather, celebrate and explore their identities. Although this purpose continues, the organization has expanded to address the issues of bisexual, queer, and transgender people and now also strives to enact social change both within the community it serves and in the larger Latina community. Amigas Latina has developed into a not-for-profit 501c3 organization with over 300 members. Anyone who wants to learn more about the org should check out our website at www.amigaslatinas.org. |
| Representative Alice Rollins Shares... |
After eight years of being out of school, I decided it was time for me to reenter the world of education and pursue my goals of obtaining my master's in Women's and Gender Studies. No one in my family ever thought I would end up in Chicago pursuing my degree, but here I am-braving the icy cold weather at one of Illinois' prominent schools.
My interests in women's and gender studies began as a junior in college at Florida State University. English Literature no longer held the type of excitement or rewarding experience I had hoped it would and I was desperate to find something "new" that would enable me to help others. That's when I decided to take an introductory level women's studies course. Wow! What a difference it made in both my private life and career aspirations. Although I decided not to change my major (I was too far in and almost at the finish line-graduation), I did, however, receive a minor in women's studies.
Now, almost at the end of my first year, I can say that pursuing my degree in women's and gender studies has been what I had always known it would be since my first introductory course almost ten years ago-ABSOLUTELY REWARDING! No other field like women's and gender studies trains you to actively question your everyday surrounding s with intense critical analysis. You would be amazed at how often I find myself unable to watch anything on television without first going through an intense analysis of its content and how it relates to the scholarship I am currently consuming in my classes.
After I graduate from DePaul, I plan to continue my educational pursuits and obtain my Ph.D. in women's and gender studies. My overall career goal is to become a professor in this field of study. I would encourage anyone out there who has not yet taken at least one women's and gender studies course to do so-- for it will inevitably change the way you see yourself and the world around you.
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| Knit Together With Kenya! |
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Knit Together with Kenya is a newly organizing service knitting project cosponsored by University Ministry, Women's and Gender Studies, and Catholic Studies in partnership with Vincentian missions in Kenya. Our goal is to teach people (students, faculty, staff, anyone whose interested) knitting skills, bring them together for on-going education and community building in knitting groups, and knit things (scarves, hats, socks, etc.) to send to Kenya. Our knitted items will be sent to incarcerated women and children, children with AIDS in an orphanage, and men and women in hospice care. We are in the process of scheduling a workshop for beginners and will also schedule a workshop in upcoming weeks for more advanced knitters. Knitting groups will also be forming in upcoming weeks.
For more information contact Kate Ritger, kritger@depaul.edu. Let's start knitting!
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HEALING HISTORY THROUGH A COLLABORATIVE VISION
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An exhibit featuring the collaborative installation of Abegunde(MA WMS 2nd year) and artist LaShawnda Crowe is featured at the Chicago Cultural Center (Yates Gallery, 4th Floor) until April 5, 2009. Be/Coming, a tribute to the history of African American women, is part of Collaborative Vision: The Poetic Dialogue Project, which features 31 pairs of artists and poets who were selected to create a work of art that integrated visual art and text.
Be/Coming is rooted in various masquerade traditions found throughout Africa, particularly Gelede and Egungun of the Yoruba in Nigeria. Gelede honors female mystical power, and the ability of women to manifest all things. Egungun honors the collective ancestors of an individual person or group.
"The project took almost nine months to complete," said Abegunde. "In addition to writing the poem that accompanies the costume, I learned how to sew and how to properly bead necklaces. It was important that I not just write a poem. Women contributed the names of their ancestors for the poem, which is designed to be read as a community chant. In addition, numerous people contributed cloth, hair, beads, and hours of work. LaShawnda, a quilter and sculptress, did the majority of the sewing and kept us on task from the beginning to the end. The spiritual energy of the community - men and women of all cultures and races - was integral to bringing the poem and the costume to life."
Be/Coming is the foundational costume in an ancestral masquerade series that will address historical and contemporary social ills and in/justices rooted in the American social vortex. In this first manifestation, Be/Coming dances for African American women to reclaim their primordial female power, which was and continues to be fractured, destabilized, and undermined by the weight of history, negative stereotypes, and derogatory imagery. Each time a masquerade is danced, the memory of that people is activated and, through the ritual performance, brought to life by those present. Be/Coming dances so that African American women can remember, honor, cherish, and reclaim their ancestral power, as well as begin to access and use it.
This masquerade costumeisa fusion of peoples and traditions, thus Be/Coming is grounded in the American folk art tradition of quilting, which is about the piecing together of disparate parts and leftover things. African American folk traditions and mythologies such as the Underground Railroad Quilt, and the controversies and hearsay surrounding American history and iconography (i.e. the Statue of Liberty) are also included. Various esoteric and spiritual symbols are also incorporated to activate the spiritual energy necessary to heal and counteract these destructive forces.
Like many healing rituals, in order for the community to benefit, multiple individuals must take part in its construction. Abegunde and LaShawnda invite others to participate in this healing process. With each contribution, great or small, the circle of healing expands.
How to Particiapte
To participate in the project, please contribute the story of a woman who has impacted your life - any woman whose healing spirit and memory needs to be honored.
If you would like to participate, please email your stories to community.storm@gmail.com. If your want to handwrite, quilt embroidery stitch, paint, collage or submit your story in any other creative format, then please do so. The only requirements are that it be no larger than 8x10 inches and is durable. Perishable goods cannot be accepted. Also include your contact and email information.
Submissions will be posted on the website and exhibited (when possible) at the other locations.
Mail all hard submissions to:
Attn: LaShawnda Crowe Storm
Becoming - Poetic Dialogue Project
P.O. Box 90348
Indianapolis, IN 46290
Note: Anyone attending the exhibition may also leave their stories at the installation. All items left will become part of the exhibition as it travels and develops.
Please Join Us at These Upcoming Events
February 14, 2009
2:30 PM
Claudia Cassidy Theater
Panel discussion with poets and visual artists
March 14, 2009 2:00 p.m. 1st Floor Garland room Panel discussion with poets and visual artists Abegunde and LaShawnda (and other poets/artists) will share their collaborative process during this presentation. In addition, prior to the panel, they will share details about the costume's history, construction, and connection to African American women today. If you are interested in attending the pre-panel discussion and/or the panel discussion, please contact Abegunde at abegunde_at_depaul@mac.com
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Lunafest made a grand appearance in Chicago on January 23 at DePaul University! There was a great turn out for the festivities and one could feel an air of excitement and anticipation before the event while students and staff feasted on catering from Wholefoods, Chipotle, and other sponsors. Lunafest is a festival that shows short films by, for and about women. Lunafest travels nationally and raises money for the Breast Cancer Fund and other local non-profit organizations. This year, the Chicago Lunafest provided funds to Females United For Action (FUFA).
FUFA is a citywide coalition of young women leaders dedicated to education on issues that affect women and girls. One FUFA member, Ally Pates, stood up and shared information about FUFA's work of healing and organizing around important issues for young women of color and LGBTQ women of color. FUFA recognizes that the media too often represents women and girls negatively. These images lead to exploitation and violence against women. FUFA has identified three issues in response to the media's role in the social structures that contribute to the violence that takes place. First, FUFA aims to create more positive images of women in the media. Second, they work to educate the public and encourage people to act and think about the media. Finally, FUFA strives to make the media more responsible for the images it puts out. FUFA is one of two initiatives of the Women and Girls Collective Action Network. For donations or more information about FUFA and Women and Girls CAN see the website at: www.womenandgirlscan.org. After the presentation about FUFA and the raffle, Lunafest festivities ensued. The short films seemed to entertain and delight the audience. During the films with subtitles, students rushed to sit on the floor center aisle to get a better view. These moments and poignant parts from each film drew laughter, shock and perhaps a few tears. A few film favorites include "Big Girl", "Red Wednesday", "My First Crush", and "The Ladies." For anyone interested in attending Lunafest next year, we recommend it! http://www.lunafest.org/ |
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Japanese Beetles
In my bed on a Saturday night,
tasting the alcohol from his lips.
Breaking tradition and inhibition,
sex crawls on my skin like Japanese beetles.
Broken and sorry, I swallow his apologies.
True differences appear the morning after
when the sun is isolating and sad.
Someone must dust my body for fingerprints;
He does not recall our naked happenings.
Nobody Likes a Gossip
The headline said her hemline was rude.
Should we just turn the page?
No, no, no--
It'll put you in the mood.
She can't sleep on the front page.
Said The Gynecologist To The Girl
As I lay with my legs in stirrups
the gynecologist says:
"Your ovaries are stunning!"
I think, she must say that to all the girls.
I imagine my ovaries on display
in a modern art museum-
the halogen lighting practically burns them.
The two white orbs rest in the palms
of the fallopian tube.
That is stunning, I guess.
My fear of being at the gynecologist
subsides while I place my ovaries on a pedestal.
But then, my anxiety begins to rise...
What if they disappoint her next time?
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| What You Need To Know About The Gaza Conflict |
The tragedy of the situation is Gaza is complex and devastating. The accounts of all the individual lives impacted by this conflict cannot be accounted for. A team from Amnesty International reported that "previously busy neighborhoods have been flattened into moonscapes" and "how there is no camera lens wide enough to embrace the sheer dimensions of the devastation." Amnesty International reports evidence of war crimes and other serious violations of international law by both sides of the conflict.
As of mid-January, over 1,300 Palestinians have been killed and of these at least 412 children and 110 women, and over 5,320 have been injured (Ministry of Health figures). In Israel, 3 civilians and 10 soldiers have been killed and over 84 civilians have been injured. A ceasefire was again agreed upon by both parties on January 19th. However, the work for peace in this area is ongoing. As both sides are breaking the ceasefire, the numbers of casualties continue to rise.
The women and children living in the Gaza Strip are overwhelmingly victims in this tragedy. The United Nations reports that: "Children are hungry, cold, without electricity and running water, and above all, they're terrified. Women are at greater risk of maternal death or injury as maternity wards are being used as surgical facilities to treat the wounded."
The Palestinian Red Crescent society reported that over a hundred bodies, including women and children, have been removed from under the rubbles of destroyed houses. Over 4000 homes have been totally damaged and 16,000 partially damaged. To donate funds to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, see their website at http://palestinercs.org;
Women now face the task of treating the physical and emotional needs of their families, attempting to care for them with a severe shortage of supplies. The United Nations reports that over 45,000 people are living in UNRWA shelters throughout the Gaza Strip. The medical facilities in the Gaza Strip need disposables, medicine, medical equipment, Humanitarian Aid, relief items, food, water, fuel, etc. They also need basic construction materials to repair public infrastructure and of private homes. Cash, fuel and security for humanitarian agencies are also desperately needed in the Gaza Strip. (United Nations Report). To donate funds to the United Nations Children's fund, see their website at http://www.unicef.org/.
Many website provide ongoing updates about the situation in the Gaza Strip. A few good websites include: Electronic Intifada, B'tselem, and Madre. Electronic Intifada at http://electronicintifada.net/ provides ongoing news, commentary, analysis, and reference materials about the conflict from the Palestinian perspective. B'tselem at http://www.btselem.org/English/ is the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the occupied territories which provides information about the situation in Gaza from the Israeli perspective. Madre at http://www.madre.org/ is a feminist organization that demands "rights, resources and results for women worldwide." They work on a variety of human rights campaigns including work in the Gaza Strip. Madre's sister organization The Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS) provides emergency medical supplies and relief services to the people in Gaza.
The New York Times reports that President Obama has not made any specific US policy changes towards Israel at this time. However, he has named Mr. George Mitchell as special envoy for Arab-Israeli affairs. Mr. Mitchell, a former senate majority leader, helped broker a peace agreement in Northern Ireland. Remarks made by President Obama suggest he may make policy changes in the future with a clear emphasis on diplomacy. Mr. Mitchell has travelled to the middle-east to work on the truce agreement between Israel and Hamas. He met with Palestinian and Israeli leaders asking for an end to rocket fire and an end to the blockade. He also announced that Obama had approved $20 million in new assistance for Gaza. The money, which will go to two UN agencies and the Red Cross, will be used to provide food, medicine and shelter. During a press conference on January 22, President Obama said, "Our hearts go out to the Palestinian civilians who are in need of food, clean water, and basic medical care." |
| International Women's Day |
 International Women's Day is a day that was created to bring women from all different backgrounds together to celebrate the contributions that women have made in the world. Regardless of age, culture, religion, class, gender, ethnicity, or political differences, March 8th is a day for women to join together in solidarity and acknowledge all of the amazing accomplishments that have been made by women throughout history. Not only does International Women's Day reflect on the decades of struggle for ending sexual oppression, ending violence, fighting poverty, and ending social injustice; it is also a day to reflect on the future. International Women's Day brings women together from all over the world to commemorate the past and look towards the hopeful future. This year, Sunday, March 8, 2009, women and men from all over the globe will be focusing on the injustices women are being faced with in Gaza. Through breaking barriers of differences, women and men can join together and end the violence that is happening to the women and children of Gaza. An international delegation is being sent to Gaza in effort to deliver humanitarian aid, please show your support by becoming a sponsor (to help with outreach), making a donation and/or joining the March 7-12 International Womenπs Delegation to Gaza. Contact gaza.codepink@gmail.com What more powerful way to celebrate International Womenπs Day than working collectively to ease the suffering of the women of Gaza! |
Kenya: The Green Belt Movement
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 In this short-term program, undergraduate students from all disciplines study Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the Cultural Ecology of Food with the Green Belt Movement, a grassroots non-governmental organization founded by Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai. Her renowned organization focuses on providing income and sustenance to millions through planting trees and restoring the environment. GBM has planted over 30 million trees, and has conducted several large-scale campaigns informing Kenyans about women's rights, civic empowerment and the environment. Classroom activities on campus prior to travel introduce students to the courses' topics. While in Kenya, students and GBM members work on community projects such as tree planting, food security, and sustainable agriculture. In addition, travels and excursions introduce students to the diversity of Kenyan society, culture, and environment.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: May 15, 2009
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Need Help With Your Career?
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 Need help with your resume? Don't have time to set an appointment? Cruise on over to the Career Center for a Resume Drive Thru. The Career Center staff at both campuses will be standing by every Tuesday and Wednesday between 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. to help you create or revise your resume. No appointment necessary! Want Career Advice Fast? It doesn't get faster than this! Career Center staff will be taking walk-in appointments to assist you in creating a quick internship or job search plan and offering advice about looking for career opportunities. Make a Job Search Quick Stop at either campus 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays or 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Winter Job & Internship Fair
Tuesday, February 17, 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Lincoln Park Campus, Student Center
Begin your search for a summer internship or post-graduation position this winter. Don't miss the opportunity to interact with top recruiters from a wide variety of industries seeking qualified job candidates of all majors and experience levels. Pre-registration will be available until Sunday, February 15th. Free registration is also available onsite in room 120.
Please visit: http://depaul.erecruiting.com/stu/cf_registered_employers?fhnd=3111 for more information and to view a list of participating employers.
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Explore Chicago: Upcoming Events Off Campus!
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 Maria's Field Jan 20, 2009 - Feb 22, 2009 | 312.744.6630 TUTA Theatre looks back at a lost generation of Russian women in this English language translation of one of Russia's most exciting young playwrights, Oleg Bogaev. "Polaroids: Mapplethorpe."Mary & Leigh Block Museum of Art Northwestern University, 40 Arts Circle Dr http://www.blockmuseum.northwestern.eduWhat's not to love about instant photos of Patti Smith? Taken between 1970 and 1975, the 100 self-portraits, figure studies and still lifes in this exhibition-originally curated by the Whitney Museum-offer new insights into queer provocateur Robert Mapplethorpe's early career. Opens Thu, Jan 22, 5-8pm. Through Apr 5.
Congo/Women: Portraits of War (African American History Month)
Feb 4, 2009 - Feb 14, 2009 | 312-369-7994 | Free Admission
"Congo/Women: Portraits of War"-on view at Columbia College -is an international photography exhibition designed to raise awareness of the sexual violence facing women and girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Jaclyn Friedman and local contributors
Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape Time: Thursday, February 19, 2009 7:30 p.m. Location: Women & Children First These controversial and compelling essays examine rape culture through the lenses of class, race, gender and sexuality. Join co-editor (with Jessica Valenti) Jaclyn Friedman, and local contributors Lee Jacob Riggs and Hazel/Cedar Troost for a passionate conversation about fighting sexual assault while celebrating women's sexual agency. 
Stop/Kiss
The Gift Theatre
4802 N Milwaukee Ave
Northwest Side, Chicago |
773-283-7071
Description
Callie and Sara fall in love with New York City and possibly each other in Diana Son's dangerous comedy about the risks of taking risks. Michael Patrick Thornton directs.
Concordia University Celebrates Women's History Month
February 9 - March 15
Beyond Boundaries: Women of Courage
Oil and Cold Wax Portrait Paintings by Andrea Harris
Portraits of Women Who Inspire Others
February 15, Sunday, Artist's Reception, 2 - 4 PM
March 11 Wednesday, 4 PM, Artist's Talk in the Gallery for Women's History Month
4 Women Onlyhttp://www.labryschicago.com/4_women_only.htm Come join all the women each and ever Wednesday night at: Each Wednesday, 4 female performers will showcase their talents in an all female show. For one month, the performers will be the same, but will rotate and change their sets. February Performers Cindy Brandle Diana Lawrence Lauren Frost Elizabeth Bagby Uncommon Ground 1401 W. Devon 773-465-9801
Cake Chicago
Hosted by Ripley Caine Queer Variety Show 3rd Saturday of each month. Comedy, spoken word, DJ sets and more. With Mara Levi, Caine, and Samantha Cathcart When:Sat 2/21 9PM Where:Red Line Tap, 7006 N. Glenwood Myspace.com/cakechicago  | |
Check out Facebook and join the WGS Newsletter Group under "WGS DePaul". We will provide ongoing news updates and information. This is a space for you to post info, pics, events, and whatever you like as well!
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Feel free to submit articles, poetry, art, or anything else you would like to see published in your Women's and Gender Studies Newsletter.
Contact editors Caroline Smith and Chera Tribble at:
WGS.Newsletter@gmail.com
DePaul University
2219 North Kenmore Ave
Chicago, Illinois 60614
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