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| Director's Letter: Beth Catlett | | |
| Greetings!
The change of seasons this year brings many positive changes for me, and for Women's and Gender Studies! I truly am honored to have begun my term as Director of the WGS Program. I want to thank my colleagues for all their support as I transition into this new role. I have a lot to learn, but am fortunate to have the help and guidance of wonderful faculty, staff, and students. Please feel free to stop by my new office (SAC 568) for a visit; I continue to marvel at the fact that I have a refrigerator in my office!
Please join me in extending a warm welcome to our new faculty member, Dr. Sanjukta Mukherjee! Sanjukta comes to us after receiving a Ph.D. from Syracuse University and a postdoc from the University of Toronto. She has settled into life here at DePaul beautifully! The energy and vitality that she already has brought to the program is a delight! In fact, I recently had a student in my office raving about their fabulous new professor! You can find out more about Sanjukta's background and teaching and research interests in her column in this newsletter.
Another change for WGS this year involves my long-time colleague, Dr. Laila Farah, who is settling into her new role as Graduate Director. Laila welcomed this year's graduate cohort at an orientation and reception hosted at the local tapas restaurant Café Ba-Ba Reeba. Laila also has started a new proseminar for graduate students this year. This proseminar meets three times per quarter, and gives graduate students the opportunity to discuss issues that are central to their graduate training, to meet affiliated faculty from around the university, and perhaps most importantly, to build community. We have all been impressed by this year's vibrant group of graduate students, whose diverse interests promise to make this a uniquely exciting year!
As our WGS Program grows, and our curricular offerings deepen, we have the opportunity to bring in part-time faculty from the Chicago community. This quarter we are fortunate to welcome Misty DeBerry to DePaul. Misty is a writer, actor, and activist who brings a strong community-based and performance arts focus to her teaching. Misty is currently teaching a course that is cross-listed between Women's and Gender Studies and African and Black Diaspora Studies - Black Women's Experiences. Students simply cannot stop talking about this course! Before joining our faculty at DePaul, Misty had affiliations at a variety of universities throughout Chicago. For instance, in 2007 she was awarded a fellowship from the Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media at Columbia College. I hope that you will have the opportunity to meet Misty at some point soon!
There have been so many wonderful programs, speakers, seminars and conferences this fall that I couldn't possibly talk about all of them! Suffice it to say that life for the Women's and Gender Studies community at DePaul is active and stimulating. From documentary films, to speaker series, to performances, to conferences, our community of faculty and students are making a difference at DePaul, in the Chicago community, and indeed around the world! I'm particularly pleased that several of our graduate students will be traveling to the National Women's Studies Association conference in Denver, Colorado in mid-November to make paper presentations. Stay tuned for our winter newsletter in which we'll make sure to provide detailed information on these presentations! And please visit us on the 5th floor of SAC - our walls and office doors are replete with flyers and announcements about all the wonderful programming of interest for the WGS community.
Looking forward to winter quarter, we're planning an open house where we'll hope to create some warmth and fun during the cold Chicago winter. Also, we have wonderful course offerings for winter, so again, drop by our office or check out our website to see what courses might be of interest to you.
Wishing everyone a wonderful and productive year!
Beth Catlett
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| Greetings from our Newest WGS Faculty Member: Sanjukta Mukherjee | | |
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Greetings everyone! As the newest member of the WGS community, I want to say a heartfelt "thankyou" for the warm and enthusiastic welcome to DePaul and Women's and Gender Studies. I am really excited to be here and look forward to getting to know and work with you in the near future. I have a PhD from Syracuse University and a postdoc from University of Toronto. As an interdisciplinary scholar with a background in Human Geography and Women's Studies, my research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of feminist political economy, critical international development studies, postcolonial theory and urban and cultural geographies. I am particularly interested in exploring the complex and dialectical relationship between culture and economy deploying a feminist anti-racist anti-capitalist lens.
My most recent research has been focused on the social and spatial implications of the manner in which nation-states in the global south that are integrating with the global market, use gendered ideologies and practices to attract middle class professional women and men into their new hi-tech workspaces. Through an analysis of the Indian software industry and IT boom I reflect on the state's attempt to justify neoliberal policies by invoking contradictory discourses of modernity; a modernity that celebrates young middle class women's empowerment as they find increasing opportunities in the transnational spaces of professional services, but do not challenge underlying patriarchal structures and expectations of femininity, purity and tradition that continue to perpetuate women's primary role in social reproduction. My work thus exposes the importance of analyzing how particular gender and class regimes interact with global capital and influence the developmental visions of nation-states in the current neoliberal moment. In my future research I plan to further explore the transformations in India's urban political economy, particularly in relation to its ties to the transnational diasporic community.
One of the most interesting aspects of working in academia is the opportunity of using the classroom as a space for progressive and transformative politics. My commitment to social justice in general and feminist praxis in particular thus finds expression in pedagogical practices that attempt to diffuse boundaries like university/community, personal/political and scholar/activist - even in the brief time I have been here, I realize DePaul and Women's and Gender Studies is a perfect fit in this context, especially given the focus on experiential and service learning and strong community ties. I am thoroughly enjoying the two courses (WGS 100 and WGS200) I am teaching this quarter and as I get to know Chicago better, I look forward to opportunities that will allow me to nurture my interests in global/transnational issues and highlight how they may relate to local, context specific transformations in this fascinating metropolis and its diverse communities.
Dr. Sanjukta Mukherjee
Assistant Professor,
Women's and Gender Studi |
Building Communities, Ending Violence
By Michelle Emery | | |
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Last spring quarter I attended the Cynthia L. Bischof Conference on Youth Anti-Violence - a wonderful conference organized by Dr. Laila Farah, Sara Goldstein and a number of other amazing student leaders. At this conference, I experienced my first peacemaking and community-building circle with Ora Schub from Community Justice for Youth Institute. In the circle we each had an opportunity to share stories about people who inspire us and explore the meaning of community. Although I was familiar with the majority of the DePaul students in the circle, this was my first time hearing these powerful stories of inspiration and learning more about what makes people feel connected to a group or community. There were several moments where I was surprised to hear my own experience reflected in someone else's story - whether it was about our relationships with our mothers or times that we felt unsafe to speak up in class. These were stories that I had never heard before and I felt a deep sense of gratitude and validation in learning about experiences that were both similar and different from my own.
It's from this peacemaking circle that I realized the power of storytelling, community-building and collective healing. I gained a new perspective about the ways I want to engage with others - an approach that is now centered on non-judgment, openness, compassion and accountability. In fact, I feel so strongly about the powerful and transformative possibilities of circles that I wanted to create more space and opportunities to have them here at DePaul.
In a shared vision for more spaces for peacemaking circles and other community accountability practices, Dr. Ann Russo and I are excited to start a new community-based project called Building Communities, Ending Violence. This project brings exciting opportunities for DePaul students, staff and faculty to collectively engage in processes of community building, conflict resolution and decision making.
We believe communities are defined by intentional commitments to self-determination, dignity and respect of the individual and the group or community as a whole. Additionally, we understand the challenges of working across difference and the ongoing, and often difficult, processes of relationship building among members of a community. We also believe that building meaningful relationships among different people helps create communities that are more accountable, sustainable and ultimately transformative.
Through peacemaking circles and safety labs, this group will work towards strengthening relationships among DePaul community members and provide opportunities to connect and network with other Chicago-based community members and activists. Specifically, peacemaking circles provide a space for community members to connect with one another and share their stories and experiences in order to work across difference and cultivate meaningful relationships grounded in accountability, respect and compassion.
Although my experience with my first circle focused on community building, other circles may focus on celebration, inspiration, problem-solving, support, healing and more. Safety labsare spaces for creating strategies for community-based responses to conflict and violence. These labs serve as great opportunities for skill-building and connecting! We encourage people to utilize their own resources, ideas and experiences as sources of knowledge and power - in order to strategize new methods for intervention, accountability, support and violence prevention.
Keep an eye out for ongoing circles scheduled throughout the year. For more information about Building Communities, Ending Violence, please contact us at buildingcommunities.depaul@gmail.com.
We look forward to building with you! |
| Visiting Professor: Misty De Berry | | |
coxcomb squeeze
by Misty De Berry
mesozoa
in my pipes-
as if (sh*t) wasn't enough.
nothing good to be seen-
tastes like
the sounds of you
coming in-
ash cotton
and wet wood-
spoiled seed at the lip/
me
and my mind-
2:45
on no particular day
(before class)
and always
during
our tableside meetings-
march
of
the
ph.d.s-
fleuret (at) the spine.
turns out-
when the cradle falls
the bough will/break.
and 'how'
the hic-cup heart writhes-
could never not
fake a smile/
good like that.
yeast expanding
'Other' unmodified -
we are met
ambiguously.
wanna hide this (love) in here-
a coxcomb squeeze-
missing
tooth.
'Coxcomb Squeeze' is an excerpt from Tower, a new original full length solo-play by Misty De Berry centered on the performance of Black identity in Academia as informed by physical and internal systems of architecture from both sides of the desk. Placed in an Afro-futuristic landscape it fuses poetry, gesture and sound for an intimate look at the process and product of self construction through the journey of one Black woman and her shadow.
Misty De Berry is a Chicago-based writer and actor. Since receiving her BFA in acting from North Carolina School of the Arts, she has received numerous fellowships, including: the Kennedy Center; New York Theatre Workshop; and the New Federal Theatre in New York City. She has worked with such esteemed theaters as the NYC Hip-Hop Theater Festival and the 78th Street Theater Lab, with whom she won the coveted best original production by an ensemble at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival for the Production of Boy Steals Train, which later aired on BBC Radio. In Winter 2007, she was awarded a Fellowship from the Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media, Columbia College Chicago, which supported the development of what is now Milkweed. In collaboration with ESB Institute, De Berry was selected to participate in the "solo/black/woman" performance series at the Department of Performance Studies, Northwestern University, funded through the Mellon Foundation "Global Encounters" grant. The series is meant to archive the work of black women performance artists by videotaping the work, archiving it digitally, publishing the script, recording an interview with the artist, and soliciting a critical essay on the work to be included in an anthology to be published by Northwestern University Press. A recipient of an Albert P. Weisman Award for her graduate body of work, she recently received her MFA '09. DeBerry is now currently teaching a class, Black Women's Experiences, at DePaul University. Keep an eye out for other classes she will be teaching in the future!
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| Calling out ALL Artists!!!! | | |
Are you a creative person? Do you like drawing for fun?
Then the WGS Newsletter needs you!
The WGS is starting a logo contest to give the newsletter a "face lift".
This logo will be the official logo for the WGS Newsletter!
Want to enter? Please submit all your entries by Dec. 15 at Midnight to WGS.Newsletter@gmail.com limit of two entries per WGS Majors/Minors and WGS graduate students please! So get your computers, paper, and pencials out! Its time for the contest to start! Good luck!
(THE WINNER WILL BE REVEILED NEXT NEWSLETTER)
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Revolutionary Activism
By Emily Williams | | |
| What happens when we love the people we hate most? When we engage the people who we believe to be the "problems" in the world? What does it mean to embrace the individuals who embody the attitudes that hurt us most? There is an example in my life that may provide some insight to the answers of these questions.
My neighbor, Adam*, is a retired police officer, middle-aged, attractive, flirtatious, and a White male. On several occasions He has tried to kiss me without my consent or even the slightest indication of desire on my part. His girlfriend is two decades his junior- she's my age. Although, he's employed by CPD, he has not worked a single day since I met him one year ago. Yet, he owns a building in the city, a cabin in Michigan, a boat, a motorcycle, a truck, and rents an apartment near where I live. Despite racist, sexist, and at times, classist views, Adam is generally an, "okay dude." I am a person who finds value embracing individuals from all social locations.
Adam makes offensive comments all the time- quite frankly, in every conversation we have. He has said things like, "Black people don't want to work. My family came here, they had nothing. When my grandfather got to this country, businesses had signs on the door that said, 'Irish need not apply'." He projects his privilege and expectations onto individuals with much less social collateral than himself. Those projections are then reinforced by the "dysfunction" he has seen as a police officer. He thinks that because he's patrolled the "projects" that he understands fully the capabilities of people with Black skin in financially limited situations. What Adam does not know is the limitations of his arrogance or the possibility of humility.
The authority that Adam assumes in naming what is the "problem" with Black people and others different than himself is a direct result of an attachment to his privileged identity. His experiences have been so opaque that he cannot see outside of his own experience. He is literally confined by his White, middle class, heterosexual, male identity. That bondage allows him to know little else.
I have invited him into my home on several occasions to meet my friends, to attend parties, or simply to exchange conversation as friends. Regardless of the occasion, it is not long before Adam gets uncomfortable, because he is exposed to a new idea, different cultural values, a novel sense of humor, or someone dancing freely. He often does not know how to respond. This exposure shocks him because, it inherently and directly challenges his whiteness, his maleness, his heterosexuality, and his middle classness- the identity to which he is married.
Adam quite possibly would represent the "enemy" of many feminist identified individuals; however, he would benefit from our friendship. Since I have known Adam, I have seen him begin a re-thinking and re-shaping process to which I believe will lead him to embrace diverse groups of "others", and, I hope, to eventually release the shackles of his identity by which he is currently stifled.
Although I have been personally offended, my friends have been personally offended, and my life values insulted, I am happy that Adam is in my life. I am happy that I am his friend. By confronting his assumptions, challenging the authority he assumes, and simply sharing parts of myself with him, I am challenging sexism, classism, racism, privilege, and entitlement and often times in my own home. He is one person. The action may seem small, but it gives me the sense that I am partaking in revolutionary activism.
Next time you encounter someone who represents the "problem" with the world, or encounter someone who embodies the attitudes that hurt you most, allow the possibility of revolution to guide your responses and see what feelings that activism gives you.
* Adam is a pseudonym
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| Highlight of Past and Present Political Figures | | |
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Present: Dolores Huerta
She fought for legislation making non-U.S. citizens eligible for pensions and public assistance. She also backed successful legislation that allowed people to vote and take driver's examinations in Spanish. In 1962 Huerta and activist Cesar Chavez founded the organization that later became the United Farm Workers of America (UFW).
She continues her political and social activism in support of rights for immigrants and women.
PAST: Emma Willard (1787 - 1870)
Facts You Must Know:
Willard was a pioneer in woman's education.
In 1814 she opened a school in her home, where she taught subjects not then available to women. In 1818 she addressed to the New York legislature an appeal for support of her plan for improving female education.
She devoted the remainder of her life to the improvement of common schools and to the cause of woman's education
History is herstory too.
~Author Unknown |
| Alumni Profile: Krystal Baugher | | |
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So I recently earned my Master of Arts in Women and Gender Studies (as well as Master of Arts in Writing and Publishing from DePaul). I was part of the first cohort of students in the M.A. program in WGS. My final creative project was the recording of the album Syntactical Makeover-under the band name Pervertable Tongues (on www.myspace.com/perveratabletongues). Avante pop feminist-theory-embedded jams.
Since graduating this past June, I have moved to Boulder, CO (my partner is going to CU in the MFA-Painting Program (www.rwruehlen.com ).
And though I have not found paying work yet I am interning for a great online magazine called Elephant Journal (www.elephantjournal.com)-it's all about eco-friendly mindfulness and creating a transformative better enlightened society. I write an article a week ranging from topics such as open relationships ("More Sex with More People: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Open Relationships") , Eco-Friendly Sex (Bad, Better, Best of Eco-Friendly Sex), visiting psychics (Top Five Things I Learned at My Psychic Reading) and much more. Also, I am working on finishing the second Pervertable Tongues album, which has more of a spaghetti western twist, as well as some new solo work that's pop technoesque (also doing a rap spoof that's sure to change the world). Recently I've gotten into visual arts and am working on a new art series based on the history of sexuality through painting, collage and Readymade materials. All should be all be finished in about a month or two. Anyhoo, Boulder is absolutely beautiful and I'm very happy to be here chilling in the mountain air around a bunch of "peaced-out" amazing people! I can be reached at stalher03@yahoo.com or check out my blog... http://lipsunzipped.blogspot.com/ "green" sex toys (Bad, Better, Best of Eco-Friendly Sex), http://www.elephantjournal.com/2010/09/bad-better-and-the-best-of-eco-friendly-sex-krystal-baugher/ visiting psychics (Top Five Things I Learned at My Psychic Reading) http://www.elephantjournal.com/2010/10/future-still-not-clear-but-at-least-theres-lady-gaga-krystal-baugher/ |
| From new co-editor to sexual health Lobbyist: Veronica Lozano's adventure | | |
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Hello! I hope this meets everyone well! My name is Veronica Lozano and I am the new co-editor for the WGS Newsletter. It will be a pleasure to be working for the WGS office this year. Many may know me already and for those who don't, allow me to tell you a bit about myself. I am a Senior at DePaul, double majoring in Political Science and Women's and Gender Studies, with a minor in Psychology.
However, besides holding this position , you may see me zooming around campus or running off to catch a plane or metra train right after classes for the weekend. Why you might ask? Well besides going to school full time and working for DePaul, I have the exciting life of being a lobbyist for sexual health. I work for two different non-profits that require me to travel and lobby for sexual health issues on a state, national, and global levels. It's really awesome, but tiring! I have the privilege of working for the Young Women of Color Leadership Council, which is part of Advocates of Youth, DC based non-profit, as well as the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health (ICAH), another non-profit.
My last adventure as a lobbyist was in September when I traveled to DC to lobby for a global and national reproductive health and comprehensive sex education legislation.
Work never ends for me. My day starts at 6 am as I get ready for 8am class, having back to back classes til 6pm, then I rushed off to the airport to run to DC. After being delayed for 3 hours, arriving in DC at 2am ET, finally arriving to the hotel at 4am, having a near melt down once I found out my $14,000 wheelchair had gotten damaged on its way to the hotel, thanks to the hotel management, needing to then get up at 7am to get ready for a weekend full of training and lobby work, I was exhausted! But my energy quickly rejuvenated itself once I realized I was going to spend the weekend surrounded by a wide age range of young sexual health advocates/lobbyists from all over the States, as well as from Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Jamaica, 150 in total. Its hard not to get an energy boost from that!
The youth movement is not dead! We literally took over the Hill that Monday when we lobbied. After having a pep talk from none other than Lt. Dan Choi himself as he reminded us that, "We are not the leaders of tomorrow, but of today", we were ready to take over legislators offices, demanding our rights and the rights of others.
My time in DC ended that Monday night getting home around 9pm, it was time to go to bed...I had to get up at 6am the next morning for class...
Overall, lobby day went well. I am happy to report that we were able to make some kind of difference. On Sept. 29th, Senators Lautenberg, Franken, Sanders, Kerry, Brown (OH) and Menendez and Rep. Barbara Lee to introduce the "Repealing Ineffective and Incomplete Abstinence-Only Program Funding Act of 2010" (S. 3878 and HR 6283).
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The Striker
by Caryl Churchill
Directed by Jess Jung
Combining the dark folklore of the past with the high-speed urban culture of the present, Caryl Churchill's The Striker delves into the world of the cruel, the damaged, and the inhuman, through the eyes of an ancient, shape-shifting fairy. In a story of fear, love, and revenge, director Jess Jung takes a hard look at the loss of innocence and lack of connection in our modern world.
11/5-11/14
11/11 -- Post-Show Discussion with the cast
The Greenhouse Theatre
2257 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago
Tickets are FREE! Reservations are recommended.
Call the Box Office: 312-922-1999
For more information, check the web:
http://theatreschool.depaul.edu
"Slanty Eyed Mama: Re-birth of an ASIAN," an evening of contemporary comic monologues accompanied by violinist Lyris Hung
Date: Saturday, November 06, 2010
Time: 8:30 PM - 11:00 PM
Location: LPC, Student Center, 120AB
Event Details:
Event: Cultural Cafe
When: Sat, November 6, 8:30pm
Where: Student Center Room 120AB
Description: "Slanty Eyed Mama: Re-birth of an ASIAN," an evening of contemporary comic monologues accompanied by violinist Lyris Hung. Performer Kate Rigg describes it as "a combination of Def Poetry Jam and Def Comedy Jam, with a decidedly Asian slant." * Collaboration with the Critical Mixed Race Studies Conference
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Jennifer Finney Boylan:
A Life in Two Genders
Date: Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010
Time: 10:00 - 11:00 AM
Francis W. Parker School -
Diane and David B Heller Auditorium
2233 N Clark Street
With her bestselling book She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders, Jennifer Finney Boylan helped redefine the conversation about being transgendered in the United States. In this program, Boylan talks candidly about being transgender and about the changes in her roles as spouse, parent, and friend as she transitioned from male to female. The author of ten books, Boylan teaches at Colby College in Maine and is distinguished writer-in-residence at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania in 2010. A regular contributor to the Op-Ed page of the New York Times and Condé Nast Traveler, she is also a nationally known advocate for civil rights.
Judy Norsigian: co-author of Our Bodies, Ourselves-Doris Conant Lecture on Women and Culture
Date: Friday, Nov. 12 , 2010
Time: 6:00 - 7:00 PM
Francis W. Parker School -
Diane and David B Heller Auditorium
2233 N Clark Street
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the groundbreaking book Our Bodies, Ourselves. Judy Norsigian, executive director and a cofounder of the organization now known as Our Bodies Ourselves. In her current advocacy efforts, Norsigian discusses the pros and cons of selected technological breakthroughs in the field of women's health and how the complexities of our modern healthcare system sometimes mitigate against the use of established best practices.
For more events for this year's Chicago
Humanities Festival, visit:
http://www.chicagohumanities.org/
Jane Addams Symposia
December 10 Symposium
Be sure to Save the Date for the next Jane Addams Symposium to be held on Friday, December 10, 2010, which is Jane Addams Day!
Jane Addams Hull House Association Headquarters
1030 W. Van Buren
Chicago, IL 60607
Toll Free: 800-448-0083
Phone: 312-906-8600
Fax: 312-235-5287
Email: info@hullhouse.org
Sex for Survivors at Early to Bed
November 16th, 7:30 pm
When you're a survivor of sexual assault or abuse, feeling safe and in control of your body can be challenging. This workshop focuses on embodiment, being present during sex, and sexual empowerment in your solo and partnered sex life. We'll be talking about triggers, one of the key hurdles in the bedroom after abuse, ways to lessen their presence and tools confront them head-on.
http://www.early2bed.com/
Women Made Gallery
November 5 - December 23, 2010
Artist Reception: November 5 / 6 - 9 p.m.
Mothers, group exhibition juried by Rachel Epp Buller
Girl, Please! group exhibition juried by Kristen Carter and Emanuel Aguilar
Artisan Gallery Exhibition functional craft works by women.
Sunday, November 14, 2010 - 2 - 4 p.m. - Free
Reading: Girl: Please! SomeWhere Over the Spectrum of Gender
Curator: Nina Corwin.
Sunday, November 28, 2010 - 2 - 4 p.m.
Her Group, women artists' meeting
Bring work to share - finished or in progress. Membership required and a small donation appreciated. 685 N. Milwaukee Ave. Chicago, IL 60642
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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 Chera Tribble and Veronica Lozano at: WGS.Newsletter@gmail.com
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