Center for Women’s & Gender Studies

The Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies FLAS Fellowship Applications are available for Summer 2010 and the 2010-2011 Academic Year.  The competition is open to current UT-Austin graduate students and newly accepted students in the Graduate School at UT-Austin (in good standing), who are interested in studying Portuguese, Quechua, or another arranged Amerindian language.

Estimated Stipend:
Academic Year: $15,000—pending DOE approval (fall and spring semesters) plus UT tuition and fees (up to 12 credit hours)
Summer: $2,500 (one summer session only) plus UT tuition and fees

Application Deadline: February 9, 2010.

Eligibility:
o citizen/permanent resident
o shows potential for superior academic achievement as indicated by a long-term interest in Latin America
o a graduate student in good standing at UT-Austin, or has been accepted for regular admission to the Graduate
School at UT-Austin

Please visit our website for the application and more information:  http://www.utexas.edu/cola/insts/llilas/graduate-program/financial-support/flas.php

“Sex is a right,” one woman in the audience asserted, immediately qualifying her statement, “It’s in the Qur’an.” The room was tense with impassioned Arab women, each politely struggling to be patient while anxious syllables escaped their throats. “We should be able to discuss sex without talking about religion,” another woman remarked.

The 3^rd Annual New Arab Woman Forum (NAWF) invited women from across the Middle East and North Africa to discuss the role Arab women play in politics, society, media, and education. However, the conversation always found its way back to one subject—sex. At $300 per ticket, the conference attracted an exclusive crowd of over 600 women; more notable, perhaps, were those excluded from the conference. While poverty was discussed at the forum, I do not suppose there were many poor people in attendance. A colorful version of the truth landed me an invitation as a member of the American press reporting for the University of Texas Center for Women’s and Gender Studies.

I met women from Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Sudan, Bahrain, and even some European countries. However, most of the attendees were local Lebanese women. Many Americans might assume that all Arab women don a burka, wear hijab, or at least dress conservatively; to the contrary, women in Beirut are famous for their flashy fashion. Although the awkward mingling that takes place at such events later substantiated the fact that most of the attendees were Lebanese, initial clues lied in the perfect hair, doll-like make-up, stylish heels, tight skirts, and shades of red, pink, and orange nail polish that made the event look more like a fashion show than a conference. The subtleties of perfection reiterated that Lebanese beauty was not a one-day affair; instead, I got the impression of pre-prom preparation. Every detail was taken into consideration from head to toe. Of course, these observations do not address all Lebanese women, but they describe a trend that was undeniably apparent at the conference.

Lebanese women are often thought to be the most beautiful of Arab women, but this focus on beauty, which is common throughout the Arab world, leads to internal (personal) and external (societal) conflict that dominated much of the discussion at NAWF.  “Why do we compete so viciously to be beautiful?” asked panelist Fawziya Salama, Egyptian journalist and TV persona.  “To attract men? And then do what with them?” Salama described the way men in the streets make comments to women as they pass by or “birmoo kilma,” which literally translates into “ they throw a word.”  It is an impersonal exchange supported by men’s control of public spaces, and something I have become very familiar with living in Jordan. To deter this behavior, many people often repeat a common adage, “If a man makes perverse comments to women on the streets, other men will make similar comments to his sister or mother.” Salama explained such a proverb takes a male-centric approach towards what could arguably be considered sexual harassment, “this saying ignores the way women are affected by objectionable comments and focuses instead on how men feel.”

The conversation continued on into the lunch break. The consensus at my table seemed to be that sexualized images of Arab women in the media are contributing to the sexual mis-education of Arab youth. “Our culture is a culture of silence when it comes to sex,” one woman told me. “The next generation is being bombarded with sexual images and there is no one to guide them, answer questions, or even address health concerns and STDs.” Globalization is forcing the Middle East to confront and address issues related to sex and sexuality that have been traditionally contained by cultural and religious conservatism.

As NAWF came to an end, I overheard two women express their disappointment stating that nothing was accomplished at the forum. However, the conference itself was an accomplishment. I was reminded of the role that consciousness raising plays in the struggle for equality and self-actualization. I appreciated the insight the speakers had to offer, but the biggest thrill came from members of the audience. Many of these women were more than passionate; they were angry. Some women spoke with tears in their eyes, others screamed, a few even fought, and one woman spoke for way, way too long. The women in the audience were so eager to speak and to be heard in a public space with an audience of influential people.

(A special thanks to Alamo Heights Rotary Club and Rotary District 5840 for making my experience abroad possible.)

Volunteers are needed to help at the National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change on February 3 – 7, 2010 at the Sheraton Dallas. Volunteering with the conference is a great way to experience the work of the conference, both in sessions and behind the scenes, while getting to meet new people from your community and around the country.

Volunteers will need to attend a one hour volunteer orientation/training on Sunday, Jan. 31. Training sessions begin at Noon and at the top of every hour until 6 PM. During orientation, volunteers will sign up for at least one four hour shift that will involve workshop room monitoring, registration and/or general office help.
Those who fulfill their four hour shift at the conference will be able to attend the remainder of that day’s conference program for free. There will also be a volunteer appreciation party on Sunday night, Feb. 7.

Sign up to volunteer here: http://www.kintera.org/autogen/home/default.asp?ievent=312253 .
For more information about volunteering, email dawnacornelissen@gmail.com .
For more information about the conference, visit http://www.thetaskforce.org/events/creating_change .

Gender and Sexual Geographies of Blackness

Themed Issue of

Gender, Place and Culture:

A Journal of Feminist Geography

Rashad Shabazz (University of Vermont) &

Marlon M. Bailey (Indiana University, Bloomington)

Broadly, race, gender and sexuality are categories of social life and power that are inextricably linked to space. Like Black feminists and queer theorists, who have forever changed how we examine race, gender and sexuality, human geographers theorize space in ways that illuminate the geographies of race, gender and sexuality. Hence, human geographers have taken up and expanded spatial analyses

to examine not only how space is imbued with power, but also the ways in which various forms of social stratification and marginalization are structured and experienced in spatial terms. And although space plays a profound role in constituting the conditions of social stratification and

marginalization, it also provides possibilities for resistance and social and cultural transformation. This is most evident for Black communities, especially those who live at the intersections of and are marginalized by gender, sexuality, class, disease and location. Therefore, we propose a themed issue to mark a critical and interventive turn in human geography, one that conceives and treats space as a

social agent and not merely as a physical location and/or concrete spatiality.

The central aim of this proposed themed issue is to examine the spatial relationships between gender, sexuality and blackness. In an effort to explore these intersecting categories and the conditions of violence and social deprivation to which Black people from many walks of life are subjected, we seek, through interdisciplinary knowledges and methodologies, to elaborate these intersections of gender, sexuality, blackness and space. In addition, we are interested in highlighting the ways in

which Black communities and social spheres of Black alterity draw upon space and spatial practices to negotiate or transform the conditions under which they are situated. We understand that blackness, sexuality, gender and space are not fixed categories. Conversely, they are fluid; they overlap and function in many different forms and expressions. Therefore, in addition to the aforementioned, we

will invite essay submissions that engage the following themes:

*Black queer spatialities

* Blackness space and class

*Carceral spaces

*Blackness, space and disease

*Performance and theatrical spatialities

*Blackness, sexuality and location

*Blackness, gender and space

*Black urban youth cultural practices

*Black culture and space

This proposal for this themed issue is the brainchild of the late Dr. Glen S. Elder, former Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of geography at The University of Vermont.

A month before his passing last spring, he suggested we think of doing this special issue. Thus, the themed issue of Gender and Sexual Geographies of Blackness is in memory of our dear colleague and friend, Dr. Glen S. Elder.

Please send abstracts to baileymm@indiana.edu or Rashad.shabazz@uvm.edu by March 1st.

23rd Annual Graduate French and Italian Symposium 2010

University of Wisconsin – Madison

April 16 – 17, 2010

The body is a big sagacity, a plurality with one sense, a war and a peace, a flock and a shepherd.

-Friedrich Nietzsche

The human body has continued to captivate intellectuals of the arts and sciences throughout history, whether through an aesthetic or physiological study of its structural form and internal mechanisms or in an attempt to comprehend the complexities of the mind that reside within the biological machine. Literature, art, music, film, and storytelling often turn our attention to these ideas of the body, and their inquiries into the physical body and the mind have framed our universal conceptions of health and disease while also giving rise to myriad variations on the notions of bodily normality and abnormality. The body becomes a receptacle for our non-corporeal collective and individual identities, divisions, and prejudices. Sick or well, beautiful or ugly, powerless or powerful, the body is the site of competing visions that structure our perceptions of its physical form and its philosophical and social signification. While we frequently favor the “normal” and thereby reject the “abnormal”, it is the bodily abnormalities that best explore and question our definitions and interpretations of the body. Reflection on these bodily deviations not only elucidates what we consider to be normal and why, but it also destabilizes conventional distinctions between the typical and the atypical, between conformity and deviancy. The 23rd Annual Symposium of the Graduate Association of French and Italian Students seeks to investigate various representations of the deformed or deviant body in order to explore what constitutes our formulation of health (normality) and disease (abnormality).

We welcome submissions from all applicable disciplines that shed light on the ways in which we can “reform” our general conceptions of the body through the lens of the deviant or otherwise “deformed” body.

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

The Sick Body:

Physical illnesses, epidemics, disabilities, doctors and medicine

Mental illnesses, neuroses, psychoses, the mentally ill as Other, treatment, therapy, the fragmentation of the self

Medical or societal definitions of the healthy and unhealthy human body

The Ugly Body:

Aesthetic conceptions of the body in artistic, visual, literary and cinematographic forms

Physical deformities, monstrosities, the grotesque

Fragmentation, bodily manipulation or transformation

The Sexual Body:

Queer studies and the queering of the body, sexuality, transsexuality

Gender studies, Woman as Other, masculinities and feminities, social or physical gendered roles

Eroticism, fetishism, masochism

The Powerless Body:

Crimes against the individual, crimes against humanity, genocide, persecution, destruction of the body

Politics, authority, regulation of the body

Effects of colonialism, occupation, wars on the body
We invite abstracts in English ranging from 200 – 250 words that relate to or expand upon the topics suggested above.  Papers will be limited to 20 minutes and must be presented in English.  In your abstract, please include name, email address, academic affiliation, and AV requests.  Along with your abstract submission, please suggest the category or categories to which you feel your submission is best suited.

Please address inquiries and abstract submissions to Theresa Pesavento and Tina Petraglia at gafissymposium2010@gmail.com.  Abstracts must be received no later than February 1st, 2010.  For further information, please visit http://frit.lss.wisc.edu and click on the GAFIS link.

ONE TO THREE MONTH FELLOWSHIPS • 3,000 PER MONTH

For research in the Center’s collections. A limited number of two or three month fellowships are available for projects requiring extensive work with the Ransom Center’s collections.

TRAVEL STIPENDS • $1,200-$1,700
Travel stipends may be awarded to scholars with research projects that require less than one month’s research at the Ransom Center. Awards of $1,200 are available for domestic U.S. travel; $1,700 for foreign travel. There is not a specific required length of residency for travel stipends. Travel stipends may not be combined with other Ransom Center fellowships and are not available to graduate students.

DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIPS • $1,500
Six fellowships jointly sponsored by the Ransom Center and The University of Texas at Austin Office of Graduate Studies are designated for graduate students who are working on doctoral dissertations. Dissertation fellowship residencies must be taken up during the period from September 1, 2010 through August 31, 2011. There is not a specific required length of residency for dissertation fellowships.

To apply:
http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/research/fellowships/application/

A Journal of Southern Connecticut State University’s
Graduate Program in Women’s Studies

Submission Deadline
February 1, 2010

Gender on Our Minds is an interdisciplinary publication dedicated to awareness from the perspective of gender studies. Gender on Our Minds provides a space for marginalized groups to discuss topics and issues such as GLBTIQ identities, academic and queer pedagogy, arts, cultures, histories, politics, and theories.

Submission is open to the general public.
The editors welcome all submissions, but are particularly interested in submissions that contribute to current conversations in gender studies and queer studies.

Submission Guidelines:
*Submit articles or stories up to 7500 words; up to10 photographs of artwork; or up to three poems and or short stories (maximum 10 pages totals).
*Entries will be considered for publication by the editorial board. Under no circumstances does Gender on Our Minds guarantee publication. The board’s decision is final. *Include an SASE for notification; mss.not returned. *Include a brief bio, but no name should appear on the mss. *Submission must include the writer’s phone number and email address. *Simultaneous submissions allowed if Gender on Our Minds is notified of acceptance elsewhere. *Once received, all submissions become property of Gender on Our Minds. Gender on Our Minds reserves the right to edit submissions for content, length, grammar, and mechanics.

Active Service Solutions for Economic Transition (ASSET) is seeking qualified applicants for the following AmeriCorps positions (www.americorps.gov):

• Assistive Technology Navigator Team Leader to provide leadership to a statewide team of Navigators as they work directly with people with disabilities to help them to become financially independent; Coordinate statewide assistive technology trainings; Coordinate community service projects in the Austin area with other Austin based ASSET*AmeriCorps Navigators; Assist in the development of ASSET*AmeriCorps program resources including expansion of Assistive Technology team leader position duties and scope. Other duties as assigned.

• Double Click Project Navigator to provide support in the implantation and development of the Double Click refurbished computer and loan program. Duties will include maintenance of interest list in computer and loan program, Assistance with the intake, evaluation, approval of applications for the loan product and assist consumers with evaluating appropriate loan repayment terms; Coordination of the development of delivery processes and procedures to ensure safe delivery of the refurbished computers to the individual consumers. Other duties as assigned.

Application Process: Interested individuals should contact Dana Carpenter by email Dana@ucptexas.org or by phone 512-472-8696.

Work Schedule: Full time/ 40 hours per week from February 1, 2010-August 31, 2010
Location: Austin, Texas
Benefits include Biweekly living allowance of $491.31, child care assistance available if eligible, health insurance, loan forbearance if eligible, education award of $2362.50 available after successful completion of service term.

Required Qualifications:
• United States Citizen or Permanent Resident
• At least 18 years old
• Interest in empowering people with disabilities as they work towards independent living goals
• Proven leadership ability
• Strong interpersonal communication skills
• Interest in working with assistive technology
• Ability to work independently and on a team
• Self-starter with good follow-through
• Basic computing and internet research skills
• College degree or equivalent life experience (Double Click position does not require college degree)
• Car Required with valid Driver License and current insurance (Double Click position ONLY)
• Able to lift 40lbs (Double Click position ONLY)

Preferred Qualifications: Experience with project management, experience working with people with disabilities or life experience with a disability, communication skills in Spanish

• Special Events Intern
• Communications & Outreach Intern

JDRF Austin is looking for responsible and enthusiastic college students to join us for our Spring and Summer internship program. Applicants must have excellent communication and writing skills, strong organizational and time management skills and an ability to manage multiple projects. Required computer skills include Microsoft Office applications, including Publisher and familiarity with Adobe Photoshop. In addition to being enrolled in a current undergraduate program with a higher education institution, the ideal applicant for this internship should have a strong interest in working in a nonprofit or health related organization.

The mission of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is to find a cure for juvenile diabetes and its complications through the support of research.

For a detailed description of available internships please visit http://www.jdrf.org/index.cfm?page_id=111425. Please send all cover letters and resumes to austin@jdrf.org or contact 512-343-0663 for more information.

The Texas Governor’s Commission for Women is looking for interns who can help coordinate commission meetings and events, create PowerPoint presentations, respond to constituent casework, and write newsletter articles. This opportunity offers interns a rewarding internship with a great deal of responsibility.

Students can call or e-mail Lesley Guthrie at (512) 475-2615/ lguthrie@governor.state.tx.us
with any questions or to apply.

The Governor’s Commission for Women is a division of the Texas Governor’s Office, designed to promote opportunities for Texas women through outreach, education, research and referral services. For more information, please visit www.governor.state.tx.us/women.

Active Service Solutions for Economic Transition (ASSET) is seeking qualified applicants for the following AmeriCorps positions (www.americorps.gov):

• Assistive Technology Navigator Team Leader to provide leadership to a statewide team of Navigators as they work directly with people with disabilities to help them to become financially independent; Coordinate statewide assistive technology trainings; Coordinate community service projects in the Austin area with other Austin based ASSET*AmeriCorps Navigators; Assist in the development of ASSET*AmeriCorps program resources including expansion of Assistive Technology team leader position duties and scope. Other duties as assigned.

• Double Click Project Navigator to provide support in the implantation and development of the Double Click refurbished computer and loan program. Duties will include maintenance of interest list in computer and loan program, Assistance with the intake, evaluation, approval of applications for the loan product and assist consumers with evaluating appropriate loan repayment terms; Coordination of the development of delivery processes and procedures to ensure safe delivery of the refurbished computers to the individual consumers. Other duties as assigned.

Application Process: Interested individuals should contact Dana Carpenter by email Dana@ucptexas.org or by phone 512-472-8696.

Work Schedule: Full time/ 40 hours per week from February 1, 2010-August 31, 2010
Location: Austin, Texas
Benefits include Biweekly living allowance of $491.31, child care assistance available if eligible, health insurance, loan forbearance if eligible, education award of $2362.50 available after successful completion of service term.

Required Qualifications:
• United States Citizen or Permanent Resident
• At least 18 years old
• Interest in empowering people with disabilities as they work towards independent living goals
• Proven leadership ability
• Strong interpersonal communication skills
• Interest in working with assistive technology
• Ability to work independently and on a team
• Self-starter with good follow-through
• Basic computing and internet research skills
• College degree or equivalent life experience (Double Click position does not require college degree)
• Car Required with valid Driver License and current insurance (Double Click position ONLY)
• Able to lift 40lbs (Double Click position ONLY)

Preferred Qualifications: Experience with project management, experience working with people with disabilities or life experience with a disability, communication skills in Spanish

Spend a week (or a month or more) this spring or summer helping young people discover how to make a difference in the world! The Civic Education Project (CEP), a leadership and citizenship program at Northwestern University, is now hiring exceptional staff for our Spring & Summer 2010 service-learning programs.

Learn more: www.ctd.northwestern.edu/cep/jobs/

January 28-30, 2010

1/28 (8:30-12:30) Dean’s Conference Room, GEB 3.312
1/28 (12:30-6:00) Meyerson Conference Room, WCH 4.132
1/29-30 (8:30-6:00) Meyerson Conference Room, WCH 4.132

Participants:
• Siobhan Lambert-Hurley, Chair (History, Loughborough University, UK)
• Gail Minault (History, University of Texas, Austin, TX)
• Hulya Adak (Cultural Studies, Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey)
• Sonia Nishat Amin (History, Dhaka University, Bangladesh)
• Kathryn Babayan (History, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI)
• Margot Badran (Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University, Washington, DC)
• Marilyn Booth (University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK)
• Afshan Bukhari (Art History, Suffolk University, Boston, MA)
• Miriam Cooke (Arabic Literature and Culture, Duke University, Durham, NC)
• Nawar al-Hasan Golley (Arabic and Translation Studies, American University of Sharjah)
• Ruby Lal (Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies, Emory University, Atlanta, GA)
• Anshu Malhotra (History, Delhi University, Delhi, India)
• Ellen McLarney (Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Duke University, Durham, NC)
• Roberta Micallef (Modern Languages and Comparative Literatures, Boston University, Boston, MA)
• Farzaneh Milani (Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA)
• Mildred Mortimer (French and Italian, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO)
• Sylvia Vatuk (Anthropology, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL)

This workshop is the first of three to be held by an international network of scholars working on women’s autobiographies
in Muslim societies. Dr. Siobhan Lambert-Hurley of Loughborough University, the Chair of the network, has
received a grant from the Arts and Humanities Council of the UK, and the co-operation of local sponsors, to hold this
series of workshops. The first will convene at the University of Texas in austin, January 28-30, 2010, with papers to be
given by members of the network. Subsequent workshops will be held at the India International Centre in New Delhi in
late 2010, and at the University of Sharjah, UAE, in late 2011. It is a great honor for the South Asia Institute of the
University of Texas to co-sponsor and host this inaugural gathering, which will be of interest to scholars of South Asian
and Middle Eastern Studies, Women and gender Studies, and Comparative Literature.

We want to let you know that the new issue of Flow: A Critical Forum on
Television and Media Culture is available at http://flowtv.org.

This issue features columns from Amanda Ann Klein, Zoe Druick, James Bennett, Hannah Hamad, Nina B. Huntemann, Charles R. Acland and Vanessa Au.

This issue’s columns in brief:

“Window Dressing: Spectactular Costuming in MTV’s The City” by Amanda Ann Klein (http://flowtv.org/?p=4733)
An examination of how costume trumps narrative in MTV?s The City.

“A Married Couple: Reality TV’s Progenitor Turns 40″ by Zoe Druick (http://flowtv.org/?p=4705)
A re-examination of A Married Couple in light of the current proliferation of reality-based TV.

“The BBC Presenter Pay Scandal: The Political Economy of Television Fame” by James Bennett (http://flowtv.org/?p=4716)
A look at the recent pay scandal surrounding BBC?s Jonathan Ross ? and what it tells us about the economics of fame today.

“‘Attack of Boss-zilla!’ ? Female Conflict and Generational Discord in Postfeminism?s New Monstrous Feminine” by Hannah Hamad (http://flowtv.org/?p=4710)
An examination of film and TV series? treatment of postfeminist identities, especially the popularity of women as terrorizing forces, or ‘-zillas.’

“Irreconcilable Differences: Gender and Labor in the Video Game Workplace” by Nina B. Huntemann (http://flowtv.org/?p=4730)
A look at the labor politics of the game industry.

“Avatar as Technological Tentpole” by Charles R. Acland (http://flowtv.org/?p=4724)
Is James Cameron’s Avatar a “game-changer,” or business as usual?

“Twitter Revolution” by Vanessa Au (http://flowtv.org/?p=4720)
A consideration of the Iranian elections and the potentially revolutionary aspects of social media.

Interested in supporting Flow? Click HERE (http://flowtv.org/?page_id=2143).

FlowTV is now on Twitter! Follow Flow’s Twitter page at:

http://twitter.com/flowtv

FlowTV is also on Facebook! Get updates on your news feed by becoming a fan: www.facebook.com/FlowTV

We look forward to your visit and encourage your comments.

Best wishes,

Flow Editorial Staff

Wednesday, February 3, 2010 • 4:45 PM • GAR 2.112

In the talk, Dr. Bigler will argue that it is important for parents and schools to explicitly address the topic of gender discrimination with elementary-school-age children.  She will support her argument with data from a series of recent studies that use differing methodologies to examine children’s knowledge and views of gender inequality, prejudice, and discrimination.
Sponsored by: The Center for Women’s and Gender Studies