Updates
Faculty Associates' Fall Social
NIU 2008 Conference for Young Women
Three Recent Women's Studies Events
Upcoming Events
Sexualization of Girls in the Media-Part 2
Crafty Women Holiday Sale
Women's History Month 2009 Update
Spring Courses
Women's Studies News
Give to Women's Studies and Improve the Lives of Students
Support/Join NIU's Women's Rights Alliance
People
Student in the Spotlight
Faculty in the Spotlight
Alumni News
What Have You Been Reading/Watching?
UPDATES
FACULTY ASSOCIATES' FALL SOCIAL
The Women's Studies Program thanks the College of Law for once again allowing us to hold our Faculty Associates’ Fall Social in the beautiful Thurgood Marshall Gallery. Everyone who attended seemed to have a great time sharing conversation over wine and hors d’oeuvres. Thank you to everyone who was there and to those who brought snacks. We always enjoy kicking off the school year with this fun event, which allows us to meet new colleagues and reconnect with those we have known for some time.
NIU 2008 CONFERENCE FOR YOUNG WOMEN
This year's NIU Conference for Young Women was held on Monday, October 6, and was a real success. We had a record number of high school women in attendance—over 50! We appreciate those who helped organize the conference, spoke to the young women, or contributed toward scholarships! Thank you also to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences External Programming office for co-sponsoring the event.
This year's conference participants truly enjoyed meeting successful women faculty and students, as well as learning more about the academic side of college life. One participant said of the conference, "It is a good structured introduction to a college campus in a supportive environment. It’s also very fun." Another said, "I got to meet new people and it showed how many possibilities are available to women."
This year, we were able to give scholarships to cover half the cost of the conference for nine students. If you wish to contribute to the funds available for next year's conference scholarships, please send a check to the Women's Studies Program made out to NIU with "Conf. for Young Women" in the memo line.
THREE RECENT WOMEN'S STUDIES EVENTS
On Monday, October 20, the Women's Studies Program hosted a social for WOMS minors and other interested undergraduates. Those who attended enjoyed pizza and were offered an opportunity to preview spring courses, meet other WOMS students, and meet some WOMS faculty. Thank you to everyone who participated! We will host a similar event for Women's Studies Graduate students and prospective students on Monday, November 3, from 11:30-1:00 in the Women's Studies Conference Room, Reavis 103.
NIU Professor of Art History Jeff Kowalski presented 'Textile Designs in Northern Maya Architecture: Women's Production, Cloth, Tribute, and Political Power' on Wednesday, October 29. Those in attendance enjoyed learning about Mayan art and culture, as well as the prominence and power of ancient Maya women. Thank you to Professor Kowalski for presenting this talk. Thank you also to the School of Art; School of Family, Consumer & Nutrition Sciences; Department of Anthropology; and, Latino Resource Center for co-sponsoring this event!
NIU Political Science Professor Barbara Burrell presented 'Women Candidates and Gender in the Year of the Presidential Woman' on Thursday, October 30, just a few days before the presidential election. Many people attended the event and learned about female candidates running for political office. We are grateful to Professor Burrell for giving this talk.
UPCOMING EVENTS
SEXUALIZATION OF GIRLS IN THE MEDIA-PART 2
Please join us for our second panel discussion on the sexualization of girls and women in the media on Wednesday, November 12, at 3:30 p.m. in Neptune Central's Northeast/Southeast meeting room (next to the fireplace room). Topics of discussion will include the media's sexualization of girls and women from different backgrounds; the physical and psychological effects of sexualization; and recommendations to counter negative effects. This year's panelists are, Jill Dunlap, Director of NIU's Women's Resource Center; Colette Morrow, former President of the National Women's Studies Association; and, Emily Prieto, Director of NIU's Latina/o Resource Center. This panel was planned in response to the Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls (American Psychological Association, 2007). Copies of the report are available on the APA website. For more information, contact Jonna Schwartz at or call the Women's Studies Program at 753-1038.
CRAFTY WOMEN HOLIDAY SALE
Our fourth annual CRAFTY WOMEN holiday gift sale will be held November 19-20, from 8:30-4:00 p.m. An opening reception will take place Tuesday, November 18, from 3:30-5:00 p.m. This is a great chance to stock up for holiday gift-giving! We have already been given several large hand-made quilts, and we have been promised handmade cappuccino soap just in time for finals! All proceeds from the sale will go towards the Mothers Memorial Scholarship and Austin Sawicki Scholarship Funds. If you are an artist or crafter, please consider donating items for us sell! Donations may be dropped off in the Women's Studies office (Reavis 103) from 8:00-noon and 1:00-4:30, Monday-Friday, before Friday, November 14.
WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH 2009 UPDATE
This year's Women's History Month (WHM) theme will be "Women, the Environment, and Sustainability." The votes are in from Women's Studies graduate students, and they have decided to bring in two exciting colloquium speakers for WHM. Tiffany Holmes is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Art and Technology Studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Holmes’ art and research explores the potential of technology to promote positive environmental stewardship. Janet Smith is an associate professor of Urban Planning and Policy and co-director of the Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Smith's research interests include transformation of public housing in the U.S, community development with an emphasis on affordable housing preservation and production, and issues of equity and diversity.
Finally, the Women's Studies Program and University Bookstore are once again co-sponsoring the Women's History Month Essay Contest.
The Women's Studies Program is accepting proposals for other WHM activities until November 17. We look forward to receiving your ideas for events and programs. Email Rebekah Kohli or call 753-1044 to share any ideas that you might have. For additional information on the essay contest, or to fill out an activity proposal form, visit the Women's History Month website.
SPRING COURSES
The following WOMS courses will be offered in the spring:
Undergraduate:
WOMS 235//235H, Women Across Cultures and Centuries, MWF, 12:00-12:50 p.m.
WOMS 390, Internship in Women's Studies, TBA (Note: Students must submit proposals at least two weeks before the start of term)
WOMS 430//COMS 496B, Special Topics in Women's Studies: Gender in the Workplace, W, 6-8:40 p.m.
WOMS 430//GEOG 430, Special Topics in Women's Studies: Women, Migration, & Development, MW, 2-3:15 p.m.
WOMS 434//ENGL 434X, Language and Gender, MW, 3:30-4:45 p.m.
WOMS 439, Independent Study in Women's Studies, TBA
Graduate:
WOMS 530, Special Topics in Women's Studies: Gender in the Workplace, W, 6-8:40 p.m.
WOMS 530, Special Topics in Women's Studies: Women, Migration, & Development, MW, 2-3:15 p.m.
WOMS 534, Women, Men, and Language, MW, 3:30-4:45 p.m.
WOMS 602, Internship in Women's Studies, TBA (Note: Students must submit proposals at least two weeks before the start of term)
WOMS 610, Special Topics in Women's Studies: Global Women's Health, TTH, 6:00-8:40 p.m.
WOMS 639, Independent Study in Women's Studies, TBA
Click here for a list of other classes that may count toward the Women's Studies minor or graduate certificate, or stop in Reavis 103. Click here to register for classes.
WOMEN'S STUDIES NEWS
GIVE TO WOMEN’S STUDIES AND IMPROVE THE LIVES OF STUDENTS
As you plan year-end charitable giving, please consider contributing to the Women’s Studies Program and/or one of our scholarship funds. The Mothers Memorial Scholarship Fund honors those who are or act as mothers to members of the NIU community by funding small scholarships for students who help improve the lives of women. The Austin Sawicki Scholarship Fund honors one of our former graduate students who passed away last year by funding students who have made major contributions to NIU Women’s Studies and/or the lives of women at NIU, show exceptional intellectual curiosity, and pursue interdisciplinary academic interests. Preference shall be given to male students.
General donations to the Women's Studies Program help fund myriad activities—they support student travel to present papers at conferences, visiting lecturers, our conference for high school girls, and other programs. Checks made out to the NIU Foundation may be sent to the Women's Studies Program office (address above). In the comment line, please specify which account you wish to have credited (Women's Studies Program, Mothers Memorial Scholarship Fund, or Austin Sawicki Scholarship Fund).
WOMEN'S RIGHTS ALLIANCE BRINGS STUDENTS TOGETHER
The Women's Studies Program sponsors a student organization--the NIU Women's Rights Alliance (WRA). This group is dedicated to promoting the success and wellbeing of women and girls through quality programming that serves the NIU and DeKalb communities. The WRA coordinates the annual Take Back the Night March in opposition to campus violence and violence against women; organizes performances of the Vagina Monologues; and presents the Vagina Seminar, a sexual/reproductive health seminar for women and men, focusing on the female body. The WRA meets the second and fourth Wednesday of each month, at 7:15 p.m. in the Women's Resource Center (at the corner of Normal Rd. and Lincoln Hwy.). Everyone is welcome to attend WRA meetings! For more information on the WRA, visit their website, or email email the WRA.
PEOPLE
STUDENT IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Our "Student in the Spotlight" is Elizabeth Bowman, an English Ph.D student, focusing on Renaissance drama. She is also pursuing a graduate certificate in Women's Studies and works as a Women's Studies graduate teaching assistant. Bowman came to NIU after graduating from Wheaton College with a B.A. in English. In the future, she hopes to "research, publish, and teach at the college level."
Bowman is an accomplished student. She has presented papers at various conferences. In spring 2008, she was awarded the English department's Arnold Fox Graduate Research Writing Award for a paper she wrote on John Donne's view of the individual. She co-chaired the 2008 Midwest Conference on Literature, Language, and Media with another Women's Studies student, Christina Gilleran. She has taught composition and literature classes at NIU since 2005. She has also worked as a research assistant for English professors Christoph Lindner and Nicole Clifton, and this spring she will complete an internship working with several undergraduate feminist theory students.
Bowman was introduced to Women’s Studies (WOMS) during her first week at NIU by her graduate mentor and fellow WOMS student, Valerie Guyant. One area of WOMS that interests her is French feminist theory, especially the writings of Julia Kristeva. Bowman says, “the creative meditations on depression and melancholia," in Kristeva's Black Sun, "have meant a great deal to me. . . . The play of language and love of art forms that is a hallmark of the 'French feminists' captivates me."
Bowman recommends that people become involved in WOMS, “because the program is so caring, compassionate, and supportive to students and the wider community.” Being a smaller program, rather than a large department, also means that "their approach can be and is very personalized." Finally, Bowman says, "the greater awareness of the social and political issues" that are often discussed in WOMS courses and events can lead people to "become more involved citizens and to give back to the community."
When asked if she had any advice for other students, Bowman said:
"Study; don't party. Read everything; constantly be reading new and challenging voices…. Get involved with organizations and community service: donate your money, your time, and your voice. Get in touch with your teachers outside of class or during their office hours; don't just be a face in the crowd. Speak up in class and ask questions if you don't understand something. Get used to talking in class. Always do the extra credit. Travel."
FACULTY IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Brian Sandberg is an assistant professor in the Department of History. He received his Ph.D. in History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prior to joining NIU, he served as a National Endowment for Humanities Fellow at the Medici Archive in Florence, Italy, and as a Jean Monnet Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence.
Since coming to NIU in 2006, Sandberg has taught numerous courses, including “Religion in Early Modern Europe”, “Reformers, Heretics, and Soldiers: The European Wars of Religion”, and “Mediterranean World, 1450-1750”, and “The Renaissance”. He enjoys incorporating gender into his classes, using books such as Barbara B. Diefendorf's From Penitence to Charity: Pious Women and the Catholic Reformation in Paris (Oxford UP, 2004). He also enjoys “guiding student research projects on gender issues.”
Currently, his research “concerns the intersections between religion, violence, gender, and political culture in early modern history,” which is the focus of two books he is writing. He is completing his book, Warrior Utopias: Noble Culture and Civil Conflict in Early Modern France, which examines civil violence in early 17th century southern France. His second book project, Gender and Violence in the French Wars of Religion, 1562-1629, focuses on “the gendered nature of violence and political culture in early modern French history.” According to Sandberg, “gender boundaries…strongly influenced French society, defining women's and men's positions in religious, political, and cultural spheres.” He has presented portions of his research on gender and violence in early modern France at several recent conferences, including “Of Mothers and Aunts: Regency Government and Performance in Early Modern France and Tuscany under Maria de' Medici and Christine de Lorraine,” at the Renaissance Society of America in Chicago, in April 2008. (See also “Brian Sandberg” in the “Accomplishments” section of this bulletin.)
Sandberg became interested in Women’s Studies as an undergraduate at the University of Texas, when he first encountered gender history and wrote a research paper on women in the French Revolution. Later, he “examined gender in the area of France subjected to trench warfare in the First World War.” He has continued to do research on gender and violence in early modern history. In the near future, he hopes to offer a graduate readings seminar on Gender and Violence in the Early Modern World.
ALUMNI NEWS
Tara Lydon, who completed a contract major in Women’s Studies in May 2008, is "lead" of the teen programs for the YMCA in Schaumburg, IL. She runs the after school program for teens, teaching them about healthy lifestyles, offering homework help, and providing community service opportunities. Lydon is also pursuing secondary education teacher certification through the Masters of Arts in Teaching program at National Louis University.
Liz Monge-Pacheco, who completed her minor in 1995, is the director of the College Prep Program at the Young Women's Leadership Charter School, the only all-girl public school in Illinois serving underrepresented students. Liz is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Educational Leadership at Northeastern Illinois University as an ENLACE fellow, a program designed to encourage the participation of Latina/os in higher education. Finally, Liz is expecting her first baby, a girl, who she hopes "will have the courage to change the world we live in just as the women in (Liz's) life have done."
WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN READING?
THE SHOCK DOCTRINE AND MY UNCLE NAPOLEON
-by Colette Morrow, friend of the program
Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (Picador, 2008), traces the increasing influence of extreme capitalism (variously called neoliberalism, macho capitalism, and cowboy capitalism) in the US, Latin America, and Russia in the mid-twentieth century to the present. While many of us are familiar with these ideas in general terms, Klein correlates the growth of extreme capitalism with a rise in despotism, torture, and authoritarian government. She argues that extreme capitalism and the decline of democracy go hand in hand. Klein shows that the shift away from New Deal economics as they are known in the US and the adoption of Milton Friedman's militant capitalism--his advocacy of privatizing almost all traditional government functions and using government policy to increase corporate profits--have increased poverty and significantly diminished democracy. Read this book if you want to understand the economic benefits of the Iraq War for US corporations and the role that social crisis and torture play in imposing extreme capitalism on middle- and working-classes and the poor. It helped me answer a lot of questions that I've had about why so many folks in the US voted against their economic interests in the last two presidential elections.
By far the best novel that I read this summer was My Uncle Napoleon (Modern Library, 2006), which was written long before the Islamic Revolution in Iran. My Uncle Napoleon was written by Iraj Pezeshkzad and made into a TV series in Iran in the 1970s. It was translated into English (by Dick Davis) and in 2006 published in paperback in the US. It is a comedy that features the exploits of a large Iranian family's patriarch and how his hero worship of Napoleon Bonaparte and delusions of grandeur affect his relatives, especially the book's adolescent male protagonist. Interestingly (at least for an English teacher), a stock phrase for sex introduced to Iranian discourse by My Uncle Napoleon appears in Dakhmeh (a book by Naveed Noori)!
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Adrienne Holloway received a HUD Early Doctoral Student Research Grant in the amount of $14,721 to study how municipalities address, support, and develop affordable housing in the Chicago suburbs.
Kathleen Renk's essay, "Magic that Battles Death: Pauline Melville's Marvelous Realism," is forthcoming in the Journal of Commonwealth Literature (March 2009, refereed).
Lesley Rigg was appointed as a Senior Advisory Panel Member for the Geography and Behavioral Sciences at the National Science Foundation (2008-2010). Rigg's book review of Mareen McNeil's Feminist cultural studies of science and technology (Routledge, 2007) was published in the September 2008 issue of CHOICE.
Brian Sandberg presented "'My Hydras and Cruel Monsters Render Homage': The Marvelous in Religious and Political Culture in Early Modern France," at New Worlds, New Publics: Re(con)figuring Association and the Impact of European Expansion, 1500-1700, at the Newberry Library in Chicago, in September 2008.
Sharon Sytsma commented on a paper on abortion at the Central States Philosophical Association Meeting in September; presented "Our Use of Depleted Uranium Weapons" at the New Ideas in History Conference at NIU in October; and, gave a guest lecture on intersexuality to a graduate class at DePaul University. Her review of Defining Right and Wrong in Brain Science: Essential Readings in Neuroethics, edited by Walter Glannon (Univ. of Chicago, 2007), was published in the September 2008 Quarterly Review of Biology. Another review of Surgically Shaping Children, edited by Erik Parens (Johns Hopkins, 2006), was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Finally, Systsma completed her LGBT Ally Training in October.
OPPORTUNITIES & ANNOUNCEMENTS
The National Women's Studies Association (NWSA) will soon post the call for papers for its 2009 conference, which will take place November 12-15 in Atlanta, GA. Proposals are due by February 1, 2009. For additional information, visit the NWSA Conference site.
The NWSA encourages Women's Studies faculty members to post videos of their classes on their YouTube site. To post your video, click here.
The Newberry Library is offering a monthly seminar series on women and gender. Seminars take place on Fridays from 3:00-5:00 p.m. at the Newberry Library, 60 West Walton Street, Chicago. On November 7, the seminar will focus on "Housewives, Citizenship, and Feminism in Postwar America." December 5th's seminar will be "Hull-House After Jane Addams." Visit Newberry Library site for a list of the other seminar topics.
In 2009, the American Psychological Association will sponsor two $15,000 grants under its Wayne F. Placek Grant Program to encourage scientific research to increase the general public's understanding of homosexuality and to alleviate the stress that lesbians and gay men experience in this and future civilizations. The grant application deadline is March 2, 2009. For more information, visit the APA site.
The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), the NWSA, and the Center for Women's Health and Human Rights at Suffolk University (CWHHR) are offering the opportunity for college students to attend the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) meetings at the United Nations in New York from February 28-March 7, 2009. Students interested in being part of the college women's delegation are urged to apply. Students should also identify a faculty member from their home institution who will help negotiate collaboration between WILPF/NWSA/CWHHR and the student's university. Cost of the Practicum in $900. The fee covers all meals, housing, registration and entrance to the CSW, NGO prepatory meetings, membership to Y-WOLPF, and daily briefings from faculty and other experts. The fee does not include transportation. For more information and to apply click here.
The Howard Johnston Award for Graduate Student Travel provides travel grants for outstanding NIU students to present the results of their research projects at national or international conferences in their disciplines. Travel grants of up to $1500 will be awarded on a competitive basis. Currently enrolled, degree-seeking NIU graduate students are eligible for this award. Applicants must be nominated by their research mentor and department. (In exceptional cases, undergraduates who have made significant research discoveries and are presenting the results of their work may also be nominated.) Applications are accepted three times each year: October 30, February 28, and June 30. For additional information about the application and nomination process, go to Howard Johnston Award site.
The University of South Florida's Anything But Safe: Sex, Sexuality, and Gender graduate conference is accepting paper and panel proposals until January 5, 2009. The conference will be held March 6-8, 2009 at the University of South Florida. Visit the conference site or additional information.
NIU's Presidential Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (PCSOGI) has limited travel funds available to help support faculty, staff and students who wish to attend conferences, workshops or seminars for the purpose of learning about or presenting scholarship on lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender topics. Individuals requesting funds must submit a PCSOGI Request for Travel Support form, including a breakdown of costs and other sources of funding support. All travel must take place in the current fiscal year (July 1, 2008-June 30, 2009). To access the form, go to the PCSOGI site For more information, contact Patricia Liberty Baczek at 753-5428 or lgbt@niu.edu..
The National Black Graduate Student Association (NBGSA) is seeking proposals for papers, posters, panels, and workshops that relate to the 2009 conference theme: Engaged, Empowered, Expect It! The conference will be held March 11-15, 2009 in Houston, TX. To learn more about the conference and proposal guidelines, visit the NBGSA site.
We invite submissions and suggestions for future WS bulletins. Please email Rebekah Kohli with subject heading “Bulletin.” You may also call 753-1044.