Center for Women’s & Gender Studies

The goal of the Healthy Sexuality Peer Educator program is to empower UT students to make healthy sexual choices that are right for them.

Healthy Sexuality Peer Educators carry out the program’s goal by conducting outreach and education activities such as presenting workshops to student groups, distributing information at tabling events, conducting individual consultations, and instructing the Methods of Contraception class. Healthy sexuality peer educators cover a variety of topics related to sexuality including sexual decision making, STIs, HIV/AIDS, condoms, methods of contraception, anatomy and physiology, safer sex, men’s health, women’s health, and safer sex communication.

Students receive 5 hours of upper division Kinesiology credit for their participation.
The application can be found here.

MEChA and La Collectiva Femenil presents: Lenguas Sueltas, open mic nite on April 27th from 6-8pm on the West Mall.
for more information, contact: lenguas-sueltas@hotmail.com.

Are you graduating in May, August or December 2011 from a UT Austin undergraduate or graduate program?
If so, join us to celebrate your success at the annual UT Lavender Graduation on May 18th ! To register, follow this link.
Lavender Graduation is a special graduation ceremony that honors the achievements of graduating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and ally students on campus.
Lavender Graduation is co-hosted by the Gender and Sexuality Center Advisory and Working Group and the Queer Students Alliance (QSA). Our goal is to provide a venue to demonstrate the success of our community members in a personal, entertaining and celebratory way. The Lavender Graduation Ceremony includes: exhilarating speeches from UT faculty, administrators, students, and alumni; the chance to cross the lavender stage to celebrate your success and to receive a Lavender Graduation certificate as well as a rainbow tassel; and music, cake and food to share with friends, family and well-wishers!

If you are currently a student leader or are wanting to gain leadership experience and have at least a 3.0, this is the position for you! The College of Liberal Arts is looking for a few good men and women to fill the ranks of FIG Facilitator. As a FIG Facilitator you will help the FIG Mentor organize and conduct educational and social activities to help new UT students become better acquainted with each other, faculty, the university, and community as a whole.

No prior experience required. Just fill out the attached application and turn in to Shelley Bowers at sbowers@austin.utexas.edu by April 29.

The Center for Asian American Studies (CAAS) at The University of Texas at Austin is an interdisciplinary academic program devoted to raise awareness of issues pertaining to Asian Americans. CAAS provides scholastic awards for exceptional students who have furthered the promotion of research, service, and academic involvement which is imperative for the growth of Asian American Studies.
CAAS Scholarships are open to any student attending the University of Texas at Austin, pending that they meet specific application requirements. Please visit this website in the Spring Semester to download the scholarship application(s). Contact CAAS if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.
SPRING 2011 Awards:

Spring 2010 Scholarship/Awards are now available. Click Here!
Scholarships Available: DUE DATE for all scholarships is Friday, April 22nd.
CAAS Student Service Award:
The Center for Asian American Studies (CAAS) at The University of Texas at Austin is an interdisciplinary academic program devoted to raise awareness of issues pertaining to Asian Americans. CAAS provides scholastic awards for exceptional students who have furthered the promotion of research, service, and academic involvement which is imperative for the growth of Asian American Studies.
Community involvement is highly encouraged both at the UT-Austin and CAAS levels. Additional support to CAAS is very appreciated and should be noted in the applicants CV/resume.
Undergraduate applicants must have completed or are enrolled in at least 1 (3 credit hour) Asian American Studies (AAS) course.
Service Award Amount for the 2010-2011 academic year: (Pending on the applications received, one award will be received by an undergraduate student and the second to a graduate student.)
$250 for two undergraduate students
CAAS: Asian American Undergrad. Student Organizational Excellence Award:
CAAS provides scholastic awards for exceptional students and organizations who have furthered the promotion of research, service, and academic involvement which is imperative for the growth of Asian American Studies. University and community involvement is highly encouraged both at the UT-Austin and CAAS levels. Additional support to CAAS is very appreciated and should be noted in the application.
Award will be given to President of the organization. This individual should be the one who fills out the scholarship form. This individual will also be the recipient of the monetary award. Only one form per organization please.
Student Organizational Excellence Award Amount for the 2010-2011 academic year:
$500 for one undergraduate student organization
CAAS: Undergraduate Research/Scholarship Award:
Due to the interdisciplinary focus of our program, the scholarship awards can include research papers, works of fiction, visual art/representation, and other types of research activities. Research must be backed by the faculty assigned to the course in which the research paper/project was completed. Research submitted may be from the Fall 2009 and/or Spring 2010 semester. Items submitted must be in it’s completed and graded form from Fall 2009. However, Spring 2011 research may be “works in progress” meaning that they are 90% completed. This is for research that would be graded for the final, but due to the deadline of this application may not have received the final grade before May 6, 2010.
Please submit a copy of the completed Research Papers/Project with the grade you received on it. We need some indication on what grade you received for the Research/Project. A letter of recommendation from the faculty member who was the instructor of record for the course your research paper/project is required. Papers should be electronically submited to Barbara Jann a barbaraj@austin.utexas.edu. Anything on DVD/CD should be delievered to CAAS.
Undergraduate applicants must have completed or are enrolled in at least 1 (3 credit hour) Asian American Studies (AAS) course.
Undergraduate Research Award Amounts for the 2010-2011 academic year:
$200 for two undergraduate student with an exceptional research paper/project
CAAS: Graduate Student Research Scholarship Award
Please see description above for undergraduate research scholarship award.
Additionally, graduate students should acknowledge in their application any affiliations they have with CAAS. Please also attach your CV/Resume.
Graduate Research Award Amounts for the 2010-2011 academic year:
$250 for one graduate student

REGISTRATION IS OPEN for Feminist Action Project 2011: Feminism is for
Every(body)

April 1 & 2 at the UT School of Social Work

Organized by students, aimed at building community, this conference is
open to everyone interested in social justice. Come join us to talk
about body politics and increasing accessibility to feminist thought.
We will explore reproductive justice, size acceptance, images of
women in the media, activism in academia, and more!

Presenting keynote speakers:
Loretta Ross, the national coordinator of SisterSong Women of Color
Reproductive Health Collective, co-author of Undivided Rights: Women
of Color Organize for Reproductive Justice, and longtime human rights,
anti-racism,and anti-sexual violence activist

Marianne Kirby, a blogger, artist, and the co-author of Lessons from
the Fat-o-sphere. Quit Dieting and Declare a Truce With Your Body

We have many exciting panels, workshops, and presentations lined up.
Sample titles include:
- Women of Color in the Media: Deconstructing a Lens of Inequality
- Airport security, our bodies, and rape survivors
- Beyond Waves of Controversy: Feminist Art Making and Queer Political Forms

Register and join the conversation at:

http://www.feministactionproject.blogspot.com

Welcome back from Spring Break! The Queer Performance Reading Group will meet at Sao Paolo this Friday, March 25, at 3:30 pm to discuss Tavia Nyong’o's The Amalgamation Waltz: Race, Performance, and the Ruses of Memory. This book won
the Erroll Hill award from American Society for Theatre Research for the best book in African American performance studies. As always, you are welcome to join in the discussion even if you have not read every word of the book. Hope to see you Friday!

Best wishes,
Robin Bernstein

PS: Our schedule for the rest of the semester is:

Friday, March 25: Tavia Nyong’o, The Amalgamation Waltz: Race, Performance, and the Ruses of Memory

Monday, April 4: Judith Halberstam, In a Queer Time and Place: Transgender Bodies, Subcultural Lives

Friday, April 15: Lawrence LaFountain-Stokes, Queer Ricans: Cultures and Sexualities in the Diaspora

Monday, April 25: Scott Herring, Another Country: Queer Anti-Urbanism

All meetings are at 3:30 pm at Sao Paolo on San Jacinto Street.

Rally Against Budget Cuts
Save Public Education
March 2nd – 11:00a.m.
Meet at S.A.C. outside near MLK statue, then march

http://thestudentsspeak.com/

Let’s make it a day the administration and Texas will never forget. United we stand!

The College Women’s Political Caucus at UT is a new student organization and the first student chapter of the National Women’s Political Caucus, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to increasing political awareness and the number of pro-choice women in office. They are planning on hosting an event on March 8th for International Women’s Day. This event will take place in the West Mall, during the most trafficked times. Each organization that participates would set up an exhibit, table, or interactive display that would highlight an issue faced by women in the United States or abroad. Every organization can tailor their topic to the mission of their group. Not only is this a great way for us to bring awareness to women’s rights issues, it is also an excellent opportunity to let more people know about our organizations and how they can participate.

Volunteers to help facilitate the event. Please contact Kate Ergenbright at kcergenbright@aol.com for more information.

Dear all,

I’m looking forward to this semester’s first meeting of the Queer Performance Reading Group on Friday, Feb. 11, to discuss Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick’s Touching Feeling.

This email contains two new pieces of information. First, please save the date on Friday, March 4 and Saturday, March 5, for the symposium, “Performing Lesbian Archives.” This symposium, generously sponsored by the Harrington Foundation, the Department of Theatre and Dance, and the LGBTQ Research Cluster, explores the question, “How can theories and practices of performance reconfigure knowledge of lesbian histories?” Participants include Robin Bernstein, Jennifer DeVere Brody, Charlotte Canning, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Meta Jones, Omi Jones, Catherine Lord, Kim Marra, Lisa L. Moore, Deborah Paredez, Matt Richardson, Q-Roc, Harold Steward, and Julia Wallace. All panels and performances will occur in the Winship building; I’ll send a full schedule out soon. All are welcome. Please save the date for this exciting event!

Second, please note the following slight change to our reading list for the semester. Sara Ahmed’s book, _The Cultural Politics of Emotion_, has proved difficult and expensive to acquire in the United States. We will therefore read her book _Queer Phenomenology: Orientations, Objects, Others_ instead.

The Queer Performance Reading Group’s full schedule is as follows:

Friday, February 11: Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Touching Feeling: Affect, Pedagogy,
Performativity

Monday, February 28: Sara Ahmed, Queer Phenomenology: Orientations, Objects, Others

Monday, March 7: Jose Esteban Munoz, Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of
Queer Futurity

Friday, March 25: Tavia Nyong’o, The Amalgamation Waltz: Race, Performance, and
the Ruses of Memory

Monday, April 4: Judith Halberstam, In a Queer Time and Place: Transgender
Bodies, Subcultural Lives

Friday, April 15: Lawrence LaFountain-Stokes, Queer Ricans: Cultures and
Sexualities in the Diaspora

Monday, April 25: Scott Herring, Another Country: Queer Anti-Urbanism

As always, our group meets at Sao Paolo on San Jacinto. All are welcome, including those who have not read every word of the book. I look forward to seeing you at the Queer Performance Reading Group and the Performing Lesbian Archives Symposium!

Warmly,
Robin

The Living with Pride series begins again on Thursday, February 17th with “Living with Pride: Religion and Sexuality.” This will include a discussion about the intersections of religion and sexuality. Snacks will be provided. “Living with Pride: Religion and Sexuality” will take place from 6:00 – 7:30pm in the Gender and Sexuality Center, Student Activity Center 2.112. We look forward to seeing you there!

Dear all,

I’m delighted to announce the spring semester schedule of the Queer Performance Reading Group. Each meeting will convene at Sao Paolo on San Jacinto at 3:30. As always, it is the social norm in this group that you are welcome to drop in and out (there is no expectation that every participant will attend every meeting) and it is also fine to join the discussion even if you have not read every word of the book.

Our spring semester schedule is:

Friday, February 11: Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Touching Feeling: Affect, Pedagogy, Performativity

Monday, February 28: Sara Ahmed, The Cultural Politics of Emotion

Monday, March 7: Jose Esteban Munoz, Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity

Friday, March 25: Tavia Nyong’o, The Amalgamation Waltz: Race, Performance, and the Ruses of Memory

Monday, April 4: Judith Halberstam, In a Queer Time and Place: Transgender
Bodies, Subcultural Lives

Friday, April 15: Lawrence LaFountain-Stokes, Queer Ricans: Cultures and Sexualities in the Diaspora

Monday, April 25: Scott Herring, Another Country: Queer Anti-Urbanism

I hope to see you soon at Sao Paolo to discuss these exciting books! Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Best wishes,
Robin

The College Women’s Caucus is a new national feminist organization designed to increasing political engagement among college-aged women, both on campuses and within their local communities. It is a part of the National Women’s Political Caucus, a multipartisan, multicultural grassroots organization dedicated to increasing women’s participation in the political field and creating a political power base designed to achieve equality for all women.

The CWC at UT is the first chapter in the entire nation, which means YOU have a chance to shape the direction of this new national organization! Just a few of the things we will be doing this next year include:
Working on Student Government campaigns as well as local political campaigns
Hosting training sessions and forums open to all students on various political topics and on issues of concern to college women
Inviting successful women politicians to come share about their experiences in the political realm
Working with middle school and high school girls to give them the leadership skills and belief in themselves to be leaders later in life
Traveling to the National Women’s Political Caucus convention next summer

If you would like more information about CWC, please contact Alyssa Davis at alyssalynn7@gmail.com and check out our facebook group: College Women’s Caucus at UT.

We decided last semester that our spring reading would include:

Tavia Nyong’o, The Amalgamation Waltz: Race, Performance, and the Ruses of
Memory

Jose Esteban Munoz, Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity

Judith Halberstam, In a Queer Time and Place: Transgender Bodies, Subcultural
Lives

Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Touching Feeling: Affect, Pedagogy, Performativity

We can add other books, as well. I’ve prepared a list of suggested additional
books as a “wish list” on Powells.com. To access this list, please go to
powells.com, click on “wish list,” and then search under my email address( rbernst@fas.harvard.edu). At our first meeting of the semester, we’ll set our schedule and decide what, if
any, additional books we will read.

As always, the spirit of the Queer Performance Reading Group is welcoming toward
grad students and faculty of a variety of disciplines, and it’s fine, as always,
to drop in and out or to attend discussions even if you have not read every word
of the book. We had a terrific set of conversations last semester, and I look
forward to continuing over the coming months!

**The final take-away of this message: if you want to influence the schedule of
meetings this semester, please email me( rbernst@fas.harvard.edu)

***Remember: grad
students may receive course credit for participating in the reading
group–please email me for details (rbernst@fas.harvard.edu)***

The Women’s Resource Agency (WRA) at the University of Texas at Austin is an agency of Student Government aimed to provide resources and programming for the UT campus and community-at-large regarding women and women’s interest issues. For more information, please contact texaswra@gmail.com .