WGSS Calendar of Events 2011 - 2012
Spring 2012 February March April
Spring calendar is under construction. Check back for updates.
February/March:
CLS Inclusive Excellence Film Series: The Help, Feb. 27, War Zone, March 6--Moderated by our very own Deb Hoskins! and Thunderheart, March 26. Details here: http://www.uwlax.edu/ls/news/documents/Film%20Series%20Poster%20Sp%202012.pdf
March 7, 4 p.m. "International Coffee Hour" on Gender in Different Cultures, Hall of Nations, Centennial Hall.
April
April 4, 4 p.m., "Women and Their Words: Tamil Poetry of Resistance on Film," Gita Pai, Department of History, UW-La Crosse, Cartwright 332.
“SheWrite” (2005) is a documentary film about four women
poets from Tamil Nadu, south India: Salma, Kuttirevati, Malathy
Maitri, and Sukirtharani. In their poems, these women celebrate
their bodies, tackle themes such as desire and sexuality, and
challenge patriarchal expectations. While these poets and their
work earn much acclaim, they also elicit vitriolic attacks by
men who oppose (at times violently) the content and their
presence in the contemporary Tamil literary
scene.
This paper considers the women, their words, and the male
reception of their work. It also explores the medium itself,
that of film, and the filmmakers’ technique of making the lines
of the poetry come alive on the visual field. Lastly, it
critically engages with the ways in which gendered resistance
operates both in print and on film: what do we make of the
poets’ claims that they are continuing a long literary tradition
of Tamil women’s writing?
POSTPONED: April 5, 4 p.m., "Sex, Love and Romance Myths in the Mass Media," Cheri Niedzwiecki, Department of Communication Studies, UW-La Crosse, Centennial Hall 1303. May be rescheduled Fall Semester.
This presentation will explore the role of the print and electronic media in constructing and/or reinforcing unrealistic mythic and stereotypic images and ideals of sex, love and romance. The 12 mass media love and romance myths by Dr. Mary-Lou Galician will be examined in terms of how they affect college students in romantic movies like "The Notebook."
April 5, 7p.m. ALANA Event:
History of Barbie Week/Film Screening of Killing Us Softly 4:
Monday April 2nd-5th, Film Screening - Hall of Nations 7:00pm on
Thursday April 5th.
April 26, 4:00 p.m. The War on Women in
Wisconsin, 1309 Centennial Hall.
Join us for a presentation by Planned Parenthood Advocates of
Wisconsin as we take a look at the status of women’s health
under Governor Walker’s administration. We will review the year
in reproductive rights and health care access in Wisconsin, and
discuss how we can be effective, proactive advocates.
April 29, 3:00 p.m. Asian Music Concert. Valhalla, Cartwright Center. Seven kinds of Chinese musical instruments with Western music instruments and voice. Free and Open to the Public. Voluntary donations benefit All Girls Allowed: http://www.allgirlsallowed.org/our-work. Organized by Shayue Wang. Co-sponsored by Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Fall 2011 Skip to October November
In addition to our programs, there are many other events related to women, gender, sexuality and social justice issues on campus. Two great places to start are the Pride Center, Office of Multicultural Student Services and Campus Activities Board.
Fall 2011
September 29,
4 p.m.:
WGSS Pizza Party in the New Women’s
Resource Center!
come and spend some time in our new space
in Centennial Hall.
While you’re there, learn about upcoming course offerings,
internships, and other opportunities in our program, enjoy some
pizza, and hang out with WGSS faculty and students.
WRC, Centennial Hall
October 3 and 4 Visiting Scholar, Dr. Wei Wei, Associate Professor and Deputy Chair of the Department of Sociology at East China Normal University (ECNU) in Shanghai, China. Sponsored by the UW-L Provost's Office Visiting Scholar of Color Program
October 3, 7 p.m. "Better City, Better Gay Life."
This talk will focus on the significance of local homosexual identities in the context of globalizing cities undergoing rapid urban development. Dr. Wei will examine whether the fight for public gay space leads to further democratization of particular Chinese cities. Wing 102.October 4, 12:30 p.m. "The Representation of Homosexuality in the Chinese Mainstream Media."
Dr. Wei will discuss the contradictory realities facing many homosexuality-themed films that are banned in China yet are internationally recognized. The concepts of social taboo, moral ambiguity, and the symbolic annihilation of LGBT individuals will also be used to understand this cultural phenomenon and its political implications. Centennial Hall, 1400.Further information on Dr. Wei:
Dr. Wei's research interests include gender and sexuality, urban sociology, race and ethnicity, and qualitative methods with a focus on identity formation, public space, community mobilization, media representation, and HIV education and prevention in LGBT communities in contemporary China. He is the first scholar at his institution to offer courses in Sexuality Studies, such as “Sexuality, Society and Health” and “Queer Culture: Media, History and Society.” He also teaches for the Council on International Education Exchange (CIEE)- Shanghai Center.
Dr. Wei Wei has built considerable networks in the field of sexuality with both researchers and NGOs in China as well as overseas. He has given public lectures on contemporary Chinese homosexuality at many universities in Shanghai and has published in academic journals, such as Gender and Chinese Cinema: New Interventions, Human Geography, Open Times Society, Journal of Preventive Medicine Information, Sexuality Matters, Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, and Sexuality, Health, and Culture. He received his B.A. in Sociology from Peking University, China and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology from Loyola University Chicago.October 26, 4 p.m. "Maternal Appeals in Politics," by Grace Deason, UW-L Department of Psychology, 332 Cartwright Center.
Since the early days of feminism, female activists and candidates have appealed to popular ideas of motherhood to garner support for their political agendas. Their choice to emphasize motherhood is at odds with social-psychological theories, which indicate that maternal women will be seen as poor candidates for leadership positions. My dissertation research tested the claim that motherhood can be harnessed to advance a political agenda in a content analysis of political advertisements from the 2004 election and two laboratory experiments. Results indicated that candidates attempt to channel the power of motherhood for political gain, and in the contemporary political environment, male candidates have more leeway to make maternal appeals than do female candidates. Maternal appeals also had effects beyond voters' impressions of candidates: They increased support for liberal policies among some individuals, suggesting that they can contribute to a liberal feminist political agenda. However, maternal appeals also perpetuated stereotypes of mothers in an organizational context, with implications for the ethics of using maternal appeals as a political persuasion tool. Taken together, the findings of these studies support the claim that maternal appeals have a unique power, but in the current socio-cultural context in which motherhood is a low-status role, the effects of its power are limited.
November 14, 5 p.m. "Culture, Human Rights and Social Change," Shayna Plaut, University of British Columbia. Co-sponsored by the Departments of English, Political Science, Educational Studies and by Women's Studies Student Association, Asian Latina Native American African American Women, and Native American Student Association, 102 Wing
Too often human rights and cultural rights are seen as antithetical, thereby creating a false dichotomy: culture versus human rights. This talk examines the way cultural rights can be incorporated into human rights, despite continuous evolution. Plaut provides examples of how societies have confronted their own culture to address human rights from within (i.e. how Romani women (and men) have used local public forums to address the “virginity cult”; the use of narrative video to confront government sponsored rape by indigenous women in Guerrero, Mexico; the use of poetry and prose to explore issues of sexuality, gender and religion by Muslim women; the use of the religious symbol and space of the “sukkah” by Orthodox American Jews to try and heal rifts with the American Muslim community.
Shayna Plaut is a doctoral student in Education Studies at the University of British Columbia. Her academic work focuses on the use of media as a form of human rights project - particularly for Romani populations in the Former Yugoslavia. She has assisted in the designing and researching of an Amnesty research mission focusing on the double discrimination faced by Romani women in Macedonia and has served as the Human Rights Education Coordinator for Amnesty International USA-Midwest region.
November 28 and 29, Co-Sponsored with Pride Center: Owen Daniel-McCarter Campus Visit, Co-Sponsored with Pride and Sociology/Archaeology
November 28, 7 p.m. Owen Daniel-McCarter will give a talk on “Trans 101” that goes over the gender binary, differences between sex and gender, legal issues facing trans people, and medical barriers to care - always with a race/class/disability analysis. It will also include the history of transphobia, some cross-cultural comparisons to the U.S. system, cross-dressing laws, issues regarding policing, and a critique of the mainstream lesbian and gay movement's trans inclusion, 339 Cartwright Center
After the talk, there will be a closed meeting for trans students, faculty/staff, and community members, 349 Cartwright Center
November 29, 4:30 p.m. Owen Daniel-McCarter will give a talk on “Criminal legal system 101” (as it pertains to trans/queer folks) that will discuss the history of the criminalization of gender non-conformity in the U.S. starting with imperialism and conquest of indigenous folks, discuss actual laws that criminalize gender non-conformity, and then discuss the how laws that are uniform on their face are applied in a disproportionate manner (again class/race analysis throughout). He will also address the issues facing gender non-conforming prisoners and strategies for transformation and liberation, 339 Cartwright Center.
November 29, 7 p.m. Owen Daniel-McCarter will be meeting with Rainbow Unity students, 339 Cartwright Center.
Owen Daniel-McCarter, Esq. is one of the founding collective members of the Transformative Justice Law Project ( TJLP ) of Illinois, which provides free, zealous, life-affirming and gender-affirming holistic legal services to poor transgender and gender non-conforming people targeted by the criminal legal system in Chicago, as well as folks in prisons throughout Illinois. TJLP provides legal services with a commitment to three core values: the right to gender self-determination, vision towards a long-term goal of prison abolition, and dedication to resisting state-sponsored systems of control through transformative justice and community empowerment models. Owen—who has advised LGBTQ organizations such as Chicago Dyke March—is also an adjunct professor at DePaul University.