Women’s & Gender Studies Program / 1112
I. Administration and Personnel
A. Directorship
Fawzia Afzal-Khan, Professor of English, served her third year of a three-year term. She has been re-elected for another term.
B. Steering Committee
David Keiser (affiliated faculty, Curriculum and Teaching);
Raul Galoppe, (affiliated faculty, Spanish and Italian, and former GLBTQ Studies Coordinator); and
Yasemine Besen (affiliated faculty, Sociology and returning Steering Committee member)
each have one year left in their two-year terms.
Venezia Michalsen (affiliated faculty, Justice Studies) and
Julia Landweber (affiliated faculty, History) are each at the end of their two-year terms and have both been re-elected to another term.
Gil Zicklin (affiliated faculty, Sociology) is at the end of his two year term
C. GLBTQ Studies Program Coordinator
Gil Zicklin (affiliated faculty, Sociology) served his second year of a two-year term.
II. Curriculum Development
A. Program at a Glance
The Women’s Studies program graduated the following:
Jan 2011 1 majors, 1 WMGS minors
May 2011 5 majors, 2 WMGS minors, 3 GLQS minors
Eight new majors, Twelve new WMGS minors, and 4 new GLQS minors declared during the academic year. Our program numbers
now show 27 majors, 21 WMGS minors, and 26 GLQS minors. These are the completely updated numbers from Spring 2011 double-checked against the Registrar’s lists (contact person: Dwayne Lorenzo Harris)
B. Program Development
1. Curriculum Retreat (Fall 2010) Actions taken
a. WMGS 102-02 was taught by Adjunct J Professor Jill Hersh as a Service Learning course. There was a positive response from students. However, they would like the sites to be more relevant to the material taught. We are looking for more instructors of WMGS 102 to teach their courses as SL courses. The Program will establish a sub-committee that looks at SL, experiential learning and will experiment and brainstorm on it in the AY 2011-12.
b. The following 3 courses were created as cross-listed courses:
i. WMGS 350: Writing Women Safe: Writing, Rape Prevention, and Community Activism.
ii. WMGS 316: Victimology.
iii. WMGS 208: Men & Masculinities.
Having cross-listed courses means increased visibility for WMGS, as well as increased SSHs (Student Semester Hours)—which should be included as part of the revenue stream generated by the Program.
c. In an effort to integrate Global Perspectives and Methodology early on in the WMGS Program sequence, as well as to boost enrollment in the program and attract Gen Ed students, WMGS 303: Global Feminism was changed to WMGS 200, meeting GNED K2. Social Science: Non-Western Cultural Perspectives as well as the MAR/ World Cultures Requirement. We are waiting confirmation that it has passed the Gen Ed Curr Committee; it was approved at both the Undergraduate CHHS and University Curriculum Committees this year.
d. New adjunct Professor Shannon Harry’s syllabus for WMGs 102 was presented at the Advisory Board Meeting in Spring 2011 to showcase an example of globalizing the 102 curriculum. Upon request by our faculty, we are in the process of setting up a WMGS page on the Community BB, so as to encourage faculty to look at posted global articles and other suggested resources for Globalizing WMGS 102 and other courses.
e. More effort was put into outreach activities, such as participating in Major/Minor Discovery Week; being the highlighted program to speak to all parents and students at the Undergraduate Admissions Open House in October 2010; hiring a Federal Work Study Student as Outreach Student Assistant, etc. (see more below in Section IV. D. Outreach Activities)
f. Steering Committee voted to have WMGS proceed to work on implementing Teacher Ed. Certification. Fawzia Afzal-Khan will work with head of Philosophy and Religion, Dorothy Rogers, who’s already done this for her Dept. This should help increase WMGS majors.
g. Yasemin Besen of Sociology developed a survey to ask students about name change suggestions (Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Gender and Ethnic Studies) and course topic suggestions (Women and Science Courses; and Women and Business). Results to be tabulated in the Fall.
h. Raul Galoppe is working to develop a Study Abroad program for WMGS majors/minors and GLBTQ Studies Minors with Universidad Nacional del Litoral in Santa Fe, Argentina.
III. Programs, Projects, Special Events, and Awards
a) Events sponsored by Women’s & Gender Studies (total attendees: 1025)
1. “Sex, Intersex, and the Making of ‘Normal’”
With Dr. Elizabeth Reis, Associate Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies and History at the University of Oregon in Eugene.
Co-sponsors: The Women’s Center and Dept of Sociology.
09/13/10. 45 attendees.
2. “Reinventing the Republic: Gender, Migration, and Citizenship in France”
with Dr. Catherine Raissiguier, Associate Professor of Women's and Gender Studies at New Jersey City University.
10/4/10. 20 attendees
3. “Of Balance and Being: South Asian Queer Experiences on College Campuses”
with Raja Bhattar, Assistant Director of Campus Diversity & Inclusion at the University of Redlands, Redlands, CA.
Co-sponsor: The LGBT Center
11/29/10. 65 attendees.
4. Women’s & Gender Studies Faculty Speaker Series…
b) “Women, Cookbooks, and Changes in Gendered Lives.”
with Alice Freed, Professor of Linguistcs.
Co-sponsor: The Dept. of Linguistics
11/03/10. 25 attendees.
c) “History of Same Sex Marriage Legislation in the USA”
With Gil Zicklin, Professor of Sociology. 2/11 50 attendees
5. Women’s Studies Fall Open House
10/21/10 [date updated] 120 attendees.
Women’s History Month
EnGendering Justice
6. “Gendered Violence and Cultures of Surveillance in the Private and Public Spheres”
Dr. Marietta Morrissey, Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences; Dr. Linda Gould Levine, Professor and Chair , Department of Spanish and Italian; Dr. Venezia Michalsen, Asst Professor Dept of Justice Studies;
Ms. Dorria Fahmy, Founder and Executive Director of Wafa House and Dr. Fawzia Afzal-Khan, Prof of English and Director of Women and Gender StudiesCo-sponsors: Dept. of Spanish & Italian and Justice Studies
3/1/11. 50-60 attendees.
7. “Crossing Borde: rsAn Author's Journey Across a Hundred Mountains”
with Reyna Grande, award-winning author of : Across A Hundred Mountains and Dancing with Butterflies. Co-sponsors: The Latino Caucus, The Center for Academic Development and Assessment, the Center for Writing Excellence, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the College of the Arts, the Creative Research Center, the Department of Human Resources, the Division of Student Development and Campus Life, the English Department, Latin American and Latino Studies, the Latin American Student Organization, the Minority Association of Pre-Health Students, the Multicultural Psychology Student Association, the Office of Equity and Diversity, the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, the President’s Commission on Affirmative Action and Diversity, the Psychology Club, the Spanish and Italian Department, the Upward Bound Program Dept. 3/3/11. 150 attendees.
8. Women’s Empowerment in Pakistan: the Behbud Project
with staff from the non-profit organization: Behbud Association USA, Inc
3/07/11. 100 Attendees
9. Patricia Smith reads from Blood Dazzler
With Patricia Smith, National Book Award Finalist.
Co-Sponsors: English Dept. and African American Studies Program.
3/8/11. 45 Attendees
10. “Perspectives on Maria Montessori in the Early Childhood Classroom”
With the Graduate Students of Dr. Victoria Puig, Assistant Professor,
Dept. of Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, and Literacy Education.
Co-Sponsors: Coccia Institute for the Italian Experience in America and Dept. of Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, and Literacy Education
3/9/11. 35 Attendees
11. “Global Legal Empowerment of Women: Women’s Inheritance & Property Rights and Achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals.”
With Ugoji Eze, International Human Rights Lawyer and Member of The United Nations Women’s Guild, and The NGO Committee on the status of Women
3/10/11. 45 Attendees
12. "This is for my Barrio!": A Latina Hip Hop Story
With Lah Tere, Female Hip Hop Artist and Activist and Co-Founder of Momma’s Hip Hop Kitchen, a multifaceted hip hop event designed to showcase women artists, especially women of color
3/28/11
45 Attendees
Engendering Justice: Women’s Cross-Cultural Prison Narratives2-Day Symposium
Made possible by a grant from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities,
a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities
13. Day One: Panel Discussion: “Reading and Writing As If for Life”
With
Megan Sweeney, Associate Professor, English and African American Studies at the University of Michigan and author of Reading is my Window: Books and the Art of Reading in Women’s Prisons
Michele Lise Tarter, Associate Professor of English, Coordinator of Graduate Studies at The College of New Jersey and Author of Shakedown: Reflections on Teaching a t Maximum Security Women’s Prison;
Francine C. Raguso, Adjunct for Justice Studies at MSU
Venezia Michalsen, Assistant Professor, Justice Studies at MSU
Jessica Restaino, Assistant Professor, English at MSU
and
Angela Marshall, Senior Parole Office, NJ State Parole Board and for Essex County’s Female Offender Re-Entry Group Effort (FORGE)
3/23/11
100 Attendees
14. Day Two: Main Symposium Panel
With
Dr. Nawal El Saadawi, internationally acclaimed Egyptian feminist writer,
activist, and author of Memoirs from the Women’s Prison.
Dr. Barbara Harlow, Louann and Larry Temple Centennial Professor of
English Literature. Interim Director, Rapaport Center for Human Rights and
Justice at the University of Texas. Author of Resistance Literature.
Dr. Megan Sweeney, Associate Professor Department of English and African
American Studies at the University of Michigan. Author of Reading is My
Window: Books and the Art of Reading in Women’s Prisons.
Dr. Michele Lise Tarter, Associate Professor of English, Coordinator of
Graduate Studies at The College of New Jersey. Author of Shakedown:
Reflections on Teaching in a Maximum Security Women's Prison
3/24/11
120 Attendees
C. Events sponsored by GLQS minor
1. GLBTQ Studies Reception and Talk: Same-Sex Marriage: A Socio-Legal Perspective
With Gil Zicklin, Associate Professor of Sociology and Program Coordinator, GLBTQ Studies Minor
3/2/11
5 Attendees
2. “What is Queer About Queer Poetry?”
With Rachel Simon, CUNY Purchase School of Humanities | School of Natural and Social Sciences
Co-Sponsors: English Department
3/31/11
40 Attendees
3. Digitally Queer: Changing Forms of Visuality & New Imaginations of Queer
With Kimberly Cunningham, Adjunct GLBTQ Studies Minor and Sociology Dept.
Co-sponsors: Sociology Dept and Women’s Center
4/13/11
30 Attendees
IV. Other Program Achievements and Awards
D. EnGendering Justice: Women’s Cross-Cultural Narratives, $20.000 Grant f unding 2-day Symposium
TheWomen and Gender Studies Program received a$18, 000 grant in conjunction with the Justice Studies Department, for a two day symposium on the themes, “ EnGendering Justice: Women’s Crosscultural Prison Narratives. “ The grant was conceived and written by Fawzia Afzal-Khan and Norma Connolly and featured two days of programming at MSU on March 23rd and 24th, with an outreach component to Newark Public Library on the evening of the 23rd. Students ,faculty and staff were treated to stimulating discussions on Prisons and Women prisoners’ reading and writings practices as models for rehabilitative work , with scholars and writers participating from around the nation and abroad.
E. Outstanding Achievements
1. NJWGSC Undergraduate Research Colloquium.
MSU was represented at the 7th Annual New Jersey Women’s and Gender
Studies Undergraduate Research Colloquium held at Brookdale Community College, 3/25/11, by the following students:
a) Lucia Doyle, WMGS major, presented her research paper entitled “Who’s Afraid of” a ‘Smash-Up’? Using ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’ and ‘Smash-Up’ as Visual Narratives for the Morning After the Honeymoon”
b) Grace Momanyi, WMGS major, presented her research paper entitled “Dawn Transnational Feminist Organization”
c) Sandy Medina, English Education/Spanish majors, presented her research paper entitled “Beauty: Its Unrealistic Standard, Social force, and Peril Upon Young Latinas”
The MSU faculty who judged the MSU submissions for the NJWGSC Undergraduate Research Colloquium were David Keiser (Curriculum & Teaching), Julia Landweber (History), and Venezia Michalsen (Justice Studies).
2. MSU 5nd Annual CHSS/CSAM Research Symposium, May 3, 2008
a) Sandra Felz, WMGS major, presented her research seminar paper as a poster presentation entitled “Transnational Feminist Organizations”
3. Women of MSU Scholarship-May 25, 2011
a) Grace Momanyi, WMGs major, was awarded they Women of MSU Scholarship by the MSU University Foundation
F. Other Activities
1. Fundraising for Behbud Association, USA
During all events sponsored by the Women’s & Gender Studies Program, funds were raised for the international non-profit organization based in Pakistan, Behbud Association, USA, which A Total of $250 was raised during 2010-2011
2. Advising Consortium
The Women’s & Gender Studies Program participated in the majors’ fairs and the Advising Consortium sponsored by the Center for Academic Advising & Adult Learning.
3. New Jersey Women’s and Gender Studies Consortium
MSU Women’s & Gender Studies Program continues to be an active member in the NJ Women’s and Gender Studies Consortium as evidenced by our participation in the annual student conference. Afzal-Khan attends all quarterly meetings and annual retreats.
4. Outreach Activities
a) The Women’s & Gender Studies Program participated in Majors and Minors Discovery Week; Undergraduate Admissions Open House; Transfer and Adult Learning Orientation;
b) Developed standard talking points and new audio-visual materials- relating the major with career opportunities-to be used in all presentations, class visits, etc.
c) Hired a Federal Work Study student as Outreach Student Assistant to focus specifically on outreach activities, such as developing relationships with student organizations, including Greek organizations, on campus; conducting class visits to WMGS 102 as well as WMGS elective courses to speak about the program; updating and maintaining our Facebook page; maintaining and creating outreach materials such as pamphlets, and fliers; reaching out to students interested in our program, etc.
V. Activities of Administrative Units within Depts.
Not applicable
VI. Individual Faculty Accomplishments
G. Scholarship
1. Books, chapters, articles and reviews.
Brigid Callahan Harris, Ed. Second Edition of American Democracy Now. McGraw-Hill publishers (December 2010)
Frances M. Rothstein. “New Migrants in a New Age: Globalization, Networks and Gender in RuralMexico.”InClass, Contention, and a World in Motion,eds. Winnie Lem and Pauline Gardiner Barber. Bergahn Books. (2010)
Cynthia Eller. Gentlemen and Amazons: The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory, 1861-1900. (Reviewed in MS. Magazine’s April issue)