Eastern Michigan University Women’s and Gender Studies Gazette Our Philosophy The Women‟s and Gender Studies program of Eastern Michigan University maintains a commitment to interdisciplinary perspectives that investigate the intersections of gender with race, ethnicity, class and sexual or affectional orientation, in order to "embrace the experiences, voices, and concerns of all those who have been excluded from academic tradition." Inside this issue: News From The Head Desk 2 Cooperative Learn- 2 ing Opportunity for Giving 2 IIntroducing the GA’s 3 WGSSA Update 3 What’s Happening We Want to Hear From You! 3 4 December 2010 Volume 2, Issue 1 New Faces, New Places WGST Welcomes its First Full Time Faculty Member 35 years of antici- Critical Race Studies. She pation, the Dept. of Wom- emphasizes intersectionalen‟s and Gender Studies is ity and focuses both her scholarly work proud to introand activism duce its first on social jusfull time factice. ulty member, Professor CurElizabeth Currans was inrans, PhD. Dr. spired by her C u r r a n s aunt who comes to us teaches Engfrom Denver, lish and Womvia Colorado en's Studies at State UniverBriar Cliff sity, UniversiCollege in Professor ty of Oregon, Iowa. She reBeth Currans UC Santa Barbamembers seeing ra and her most photos of her cousins as recent teaching position at children at protests wearWilliam and Mary in Wiling "Pass the ERA" shirts, liamsburg, VA. She has a “My parents would have background in English, never attended a protest, Folklore and Religious much less taken me with Studies steeped in Womthem so I‟ve always en‟s, Feminist, Queer and After looked up to her.” Encouraging students to think critically about things taken for granted and to analyze how culture constructs norms is central to Beth‟s teaching methods. While at EMU Beth hopes to start LGBTQ Studies minor and one day major, while helping to strengthen the master‟s in WGST curriculum. She is currently working on a book titled *Engendering Publics: Women's Demonstrations in the 21st Century US" and on a collaborative project documenting and analyzing the Santa Barbara, CA anti-war movement from 2003-05 Welcome, Professor Currans! NWSA Update Eastern Michigan University Well Represented at Annual Conference The National Women‟s Studies Association Annual Conference was well attended by EMU faculty and students. We were honored to have seven presentations given by our students and faculty this year. Head Linda accompanied presenters Nicole Carter, Beth Currans, Tetiana Grytsenko, MaryAnn Kozlowski, Elaine Martin, Solange Simões, Kathryn Ziegler. Presentations focused on fat studies, LGBT marriage, transnational feminism, gender education in Ukraine, women judges, and performance feminism. The NWSA 2011 Conference: Feminist Transformations November 10-13, at the Sheraton Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia. Alumni or friends wishing to travel with the EMU contingent in 2011 should contact Head Linda. Eastern Michigan University Page 2 From the Head Desk Dr. Linda Pritchard Department Head Greetings from our temporary home in King Hall. Due to the Pray-Harrold renovation, we relocated to the fourth floor (opposite WEMU). We have busily solidified our organizational structure since we became the Department of Women‟s and Gender Studies a year ago. I was honored to become the first permanent Department Head („interim‟ was removed from my title, signifying EMU‟s administrative commitment). Our first full time faculty member, Dr. Elizabeth Currans, arrived in August to join Dr. Solange Simões, õur halftime faculty member shared with Sõciõlõgy. We reconfigured participation of faculty throughout the university, resulting in an interdisciplinary WGST governing body of 25 Department Members and Faculty. Building on this structural momentum, we are planning a full review of our undergraduate and graduate curriculum in March. Thanks largely to our fabulous instructors, overall enrollment in WGST classes continues to climb, giving us more students each semester than 3 longstanding departments at EMU. An EMU delegation of eight, including three graduate students, just returned from Denver where we participated in the National Women‟s Studies Association annual conference. A busy and productive first year, no?! Come and visit us in our new digs! Cooperative Learning Takes Off Into the Community Come visit us in our new home 404 King Hall. Home Sweet Home until August 2011! Several undergraduates are out in the community making a difference through Cooperative Learning experiences. Erica Peyton and Itta Diggs-Taylor are working with the Planned Parenthood staff attorney. Janae‟ Griggs is learning about the daily challenges of The Corner Health Center, an Ypsilanti institution serving young people ages 12- 21 with primary care, education and support without regard to income. Joi Mullins is serving at Safe House, the Ann Arbor organization dedicated to ending domestic violence and sexual assault. Nadia Hasah has partnered with the Central Academy, a public school in Ann Arbor with a strong ELL program designed to help children who come from homes where English is not the primary language. We are extremely grateful to our partners for the opportunities they have extended to our students and hope we continue these relationships for many years! If you would like to participate in Cooperative Learning , or can provide such an experience to our students, please email: dmihaly@emich.edu. Opportunities to Help WGST Students Our beloved Margaret (Peg) M. Smith passed away this year at 95. May we all have such a rich and joysustaining life! Margaret “Peg” M. Smith 1914-2010 Alumna, Friend of Eastern Michigan WGST When she turned 85, her friends endowed a scholarship in her name in order to honor her work on behalf of women as a librarian and hostess. The Smith award, along with the Distinguished Leaders award in honor of EMU‟s first generation of Women‟s Studies professors, provides our only two (tiny) student scholarships. The market has not been kind, so on behalf of our deserving students, I ask that you consider donating to these scholarships. For contributions made easy, go to emufoundation.org! (#00732 for Smith and #01275 for Distinguished Leaders). For other giving opportunities, talk to HeadLinda at 734.487.1177 December 2010 Page 3 Meet the Graduate Assistants WGST is Pleased to Welcome Four GA’s to the Department This Year MaryAnn Kozlowski hails from “lots of locations”, but home base is Northern Michigan. She received her undergraduate degree from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. She plans to work towards a PhD when she completes her Master's at Eastern. MaryAnn is interested in philosophical approaches to understanding media, bodily autonomy, and issues of space and power. Anna Brogan-Knight, a 2005 EMU grad, comes back from academic hiatus eager to immerse herself in feminist scholarship. A Toledo native, Anna is committed to advancing the feminist agenda of access to that which enables a person fully realize their potential, in particular the exploration of intersecting forces of oppression and creative solutions for success. Lacy Story is focusing on motherhood and feminism and women‟s roles in urban farming. Her undergraduate studies were in sociology and women‟s studies at Oakland University. She lives (and farms) in Detroit. Rachel McCready-Flora is a newlywed from Andover, MN. She is currently a Housing and Financial Counselor at GreenPath INC. Rachel has a BA in psychology from Bethel University in St. Paul, MN and is focused on gender and sexuality and feminist epistemology. EMU WGST 212 Graduates 35 Years 29 States WGSSA Update The Women‟s and Gender Studies Student Association is off to a strong start this year holding meetings every Tuesday at 4:30 in the lobby across from the book store . Members take turns selecting articles relating to women‟s and gender studies in current events, historical context and pop culture. The coming semester will also add student roundtable dis- Erika Berhmann, and GA’s M. Kozlowski and A. BroganKnight tabling for WGSSA cussion of career and curriculum concerns and interests. A report will be generated for the faculty and staff in time for the planned curriculum review in March. WGSSA will also publish a zine and give voice to the feminists in our EMU community this year. We are calling for work from EMU students, staff, faculty and alumni including poetry, comics, essays, artwork, reactions to pop culture, politics and more. Our goal is to publish a feminist rag to help people consider a different way of considering the world. If you have any questions about submissions or you would like to help support the zine please email abrogan@emich.edu 23 Dept Members 14 Adjuncts 7 Countries 4 GA’s 3 Faculty In a nutshell. All EMU Students are Welcome in WGSSA! Want to Get Involved? Women‟s and Gender Studies will soon have a chapter in the EMU Alumni Association. Be involved from the ground up and help support EMU WGST! Contact GA and fellow alumna Anna Brogan-Knight at abrogan@emich.edu. March is almost upon us bringing the Celebration of Women‟s History Month! For more information, or if you would like to contribute to the programming please contact GA Lacy Story at lstory@emich.edu. The Michigan Women‟s Studies Association Conference is March 26, 2010 at Grand Valley State University e-mail Info@MichiganWomen.org for more details. We welcome your input! Please pass on any information you have about events, conferences or activities that you think would interest our student body, alumni and friends! A happy group of Eastern Michigan NWSA conferencegoers. The Women’s and Gender Studies Gazette Women’s and Gender Studies Department 404 King Hall Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI 48197 Eagles Shout Out! Your Alma Mater is interested in you! Tell us your news! Name: _______________________________________________________ Class Year: ___________________________________________________ Address: _____________________________________________________ City/State/Zip: ________________________________________________ Email: _______________________________________________________ Phone: _______________________________________________________ _____This is a new address/phone number. News: Mail to: EMU WGST 404 King, Ypsilanti, MI 48197 The doors to historic King Hall, WGST’s New Temporary Home. Or e-mail abrogan@emich.edu Please Inform Us When You Move! Alumni and friends, please let us know when you move, get married, or change your name. Contact Anna Brogan-Knight at abrogan@emich.edu. 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