News Archive

View our archived news. See what kinds of events the Women's and Gender Studies Program presents, and learn how to get involved.

In addition, those who are interested can contribute to the mission of SMU's Women's and Gender Studies Program by making a donation.

Telling our story archive 2019

Please call the SMU Gift Process office at 214-768-3739 to make a donation to a particular fund. Please have the fund number ready when you call. Thank you!

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Women's and Gender Studies Network: Support the Women's and Gender Studies bi-yearly newsletter! If you would like to receive a copy of the newsletter, please send us a note with your name, address, and a $10 check to:

Women's and Gender Studies Network
Southern Methodist University
PO Box 750227
317 Clements Hall
Dallas TX 75275

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The Louise Ballerstedt Raggio Endowed Lecture Series in Women's Studies.

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The Ann Early Award. This award is given every year to an outstanding student in Women's and Gender Studies.

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The Betty Janette Maynard Awards.

Celibacy and Eroticism in the Worship of Isis in the Ancient World

 

Sandra Fluke on contraception, women's health, and the media. Followed by panel discussion with Professor Charles Curran, SMU Elizabeth Scurlock University Professor of Human Values; SMU Associate Provost and law professor Linda Eads; and Mr. Ken Lambrecht, the President and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Texas.

Sponsored by Women’s and Gender Studies; co-sponsored by the Embrey Human Rights Program, Dedman College, and the Office of the Provost.

Time: Monday, September 24, 6:30 - 8:00.
Place: The theatre in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center

This event is free and open to the public. Visitor information can be downloaded as a PDF here and here.

The Women's Center and Women's and Gender Studies will be having and end of year celebration at the Women's Center. The event will be April 28, 4:30-6:00 pm. For more information contact Val at verwin@smu.edu or x84792.

The Women and Gender Studies Program will host the following events as part of its
Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Faculty Seminar:

Friday, February 5, 3:00- 4:30 in the Hyer Room, Dallas Hall.

Professor Caroline Brettell, Altschuler Professor of Anthropology and Director of Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute, will offer an informal conversation about her most recently completed book on Gender and Immigration

Thursday, February 25, 3:30-5:00 in the Hyer Room, Dallas Hall 121

 Professor David Doyle, Adjunct Professor of History, Director of the Honors Program, and Assistant Dean of Dedman College, will circulate a book proposal and chapter of his book project, "A World of Friends: Male Same-Sex Culture in Late Nineteenth Century America."

Readings will be available by request from Womnstud@smu.edu on Monday, February 10

Thursday, March 17, 3:30-5:00 in the Hyer Room, Dallas Hall

Professor Cara Diaconoff, Visiting Professor of English, will introduce and read from her novelMarian Hall. It is a a historical novel based on the life of Elizabeth Bentley, an American Communist Party member who spied for the Soviet Union during the late 1930s and early '40s.

Thursday, April 21, 3:30-5:00, Dallas Hall, Room 116

Professor Melissa Dowling, Associate Professor of History, will present a lecture entitled "Celibacy and Eroticism in the Worship of Isis in the Ancient World," on the occasion of the 2769th birthday of Rome

Fondren Library Media Collection Bi-Annual Film Festival Presents:

History of Women in America: Rights and Achievements

This installment of our festival features the topic Women's Historic Achievements in America and their place in society. Our topic is in honor of the 90th Anniversary of the Women's Suffrage.

Tuesday, October 12th & Wednesday, October 13th
7:00pm - 10pm in McCord Auditorium
3225 University Blvd. in Room 306 Dallas Hall
On the campus of Southern Methodist University
Admission is FREE and free Parking is located in the lot on Daniel Blvd. just off Hillcrest Ave.

Tuesday, October 12th

Speaker : Dr. Joci Caldwell Ryan
From SMU’s Women’s and Studies Program

Films Screened :

Suffragettes in the Silent Cinema
In the days before movies could talk, silent films spoke clearly of sexual politics, and in Suffragettes in the Silent Cinema, rare and wonderful footage opens a historic window into how women’s suffrage was represented in early American cinema.

One Woman One Vote
Why did so many people of both genders vehemently oppose giving women the vote, and how was this attitude overcome? One Woman, One Vote documents the seventy-year battle for woman suffrage, which finally culminated in the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

The Pill
In May 1960, the FDA approved the sale of a pill that arguably would have a greater impact on American culture than any other drug in the nation's history. For women it was liberating: it allowed them to pursue careers, fueled the feminist and pro-choice movements and encouraged more open attitudes towards sex.

Wednesday, October 13th

Films Screened:

A History of Women’s Achievements in America
(Segments)

As adventurers, educators, artists, and freedom fighters, women have played an essential role in the shaping of the United States for 400 years. Celebrate the inspiring accomplishments and victories of American women in every arena of American life. From the earliest pioneers to the intellectual giants of the 20th century, the poets to the prominent social reformers learn about the women at the forefront of American achievement and progress.

SMU Department of English, Department of Art History, and WGS present a Gilbert Lecture Series talk: "Fashioning Identity: ORLAN and the Harlequin Coat" given by Rhonda Garelick. This free talk is on Wednesday, April 27, 2011. The reception will be at 6:00 pm, Texana Room, DeGolyer Library and the lecture will be at 6:30 pm, Stanley Marcus Reading Room, DeGolyer Library.

About the speaker: Rhonda Garelick is a Professor of English and Performing Arts of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her books include Rising Star; Electric Salome: Loie Fuller's Performance of Modernism; Fabulous Harlequin: ORLAN and the Patchwok Self; and the forthcoming Antigone in Vogue: Coco Chanel and the Myths of Fashion (Random House). Garelick has won many awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship.

About the talk: For decades, French artist ORLAN has interrogated all aspects of human identity through an endlessly mutating oeuvre that defies categorization. She is most famous for her 1990s series of plastic-surgery performances. Recently, ORLAN has launched a new series based on the commedia dell'arte's Harlequin figure, using his patchwork coat as a metaphor for multicultural identity. The Harlequin Coat project combines fashion, furniture design, and biogenetics (making use of animal and human cells woven inot a "cloth"), and marks the first time that ORLAN has suppressed her own image entirely.

For more information, see the Gilbert Series page.

February 17, 2012 WGS and the Center for Teaching Excellence present

“Gender at the Lectern: Perceptions, Expectations, and Course Evaluations.” 11:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Lunch, lecture, panel discussions. For faculty and students.

 

For more information and to register for the event, please visit our registration page.

See our Facebook event page here.

You may be interested in the readings here.

Please join other students interested in gender issues for an Open House on August 31, from 4:30-6:00 pm, at the Women's Center, third floor Hughes-Trigg Student Center! Food, fun, games!

Please note, the correct RSVP email is womnstud@smu.edu

February 17, 2012 WGS and the Center for Teaching Excellence present

“Gender at the Lectern: Perceptions, Expectations, and Course Evaluations.” 11:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Lunch, lecture, panel discussions. For faculty and students.

 

For more information and to register for the event, please visit our registration page.

See our Facebook event page here.

You may be interested in the readings here.

The Department of English and the Women's and Gender Studies Program are sponsoring an upcoming talk entitled, "Getting the Sensation: East Lynne and the Pleasures of Domestic Melodrama." The talk will be given by Mary Armstrong, Associate Professor of English and Women's and Gender Studies at Lafayette College. The talk will be on April 12 from 2:00-3:00.

Perkins School of Theology is sponsoring a conference: "God Loves Diversity and Justice!: Progressive Scholars Speak about Faith, Politics, and the World" on April 12. For more information, see the announcement here or the Facebook event page here.

Perkins School of Theology with the Embry Human Rights Program present a talk, "Human Trafficking and Forced Migration in Afghanistan and post-Saddam Iraq: Human Rights Implications for Occupying Armies." The speaker will be Dr. Victoria Fontan, Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University for Peace, San Jose, Costa Rica. The talk will be Monday, April 11 from 4:00 - 6:00 in 134 Clements Hall. For more information call 214-768-2460.

There will be an upcoming lecture: "Islam and Power in Colonial India: The Making and Unmaking of a Muslim Prince(ss)" given by Dr. Barbara Metcalf, current President of the American Historical Association.

Talk abstract: Shah Jehan Begum, the Muslim woman ruler of the princely state of Bhopal in Colonial India, was a prolific author and poet. She also sponsored an impressive array of architectural and urban planning works. Dr. Metcalf will discuss the Begum of Bhopal’s entanglements with the colonial government, which tried to marginalize her as a ruler and accused her consort of plotting "jihad."

The talk will be Thursday, November 11 at 4:00 PM in McCord Auditorium (Dallas Hall 306).

Download the event flyer here

Concerned about your safety at night as you walk on campus? SMU sponsors an annual tour of its nighttime lighting for all interested students, faculty and staff. The purpose of the tour is to look for lighting deficiencies and to educate the SMU community about the best travel paths.

This year’s tour will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 5, at the Flagpole. The tour is open to all students, faculty and staff who wish to participate.

Join our listserv and stay up to date on events, internships and more! 

If you want to have information about talks and events relating to women's and gender studies send to your inbox, you should subscribe to the WGS Listserv.

To subscribe, simply send a message to womnstud@smu.edu!

Please join the Religious Studies Club for a free public lecture on "Oprah's Diverting Conversions: The Makeover as Social Rite." Dr. Kathryn Lofton of Yale University will discuss how religious studies methodologies illuminate the Oprah Winfrey phenomena and its combination of entertainment, self-impovement, and consumerism.  Thursday, October 20, 7:00 PM in Umphrey-Lee 241.

Women’s and Gender Studies and Dedman College are pleased to announce a symposium titled “Women, Men, and Professional Work in the 21st Century,” to be held on March 26, 2011 from 9-4:30 in McCord Auditorium. Recognizing that more women have been graduating from college than men since 1982 (currently by a ratio of 3 to 2), the symposium will explore a number of key issues, including:

• How the influx of women into fields formerly dominated by men is affecting both women and men, and whether it is affecting the fields themselves
• How the workplace is changing to reflect the changing social reality
• What kinds of pressures this social change has placed on families, and on the “family” as an institution

In addition to the two keynote speakers, Mary Frank Fox (Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Public Policy) and Jerry Jacobs (University of Pennsylvania, Sociology), several panels composed of Dedman faculty and speakers from the local community will address the issues from their perspectives.

All Dedman faculty, staff, and students are invited to the symposium. A free lunch will be provided for those who register by March 18.

The Women's and Gender Studies Program of SMU mourns the loss of Louise Raggio, a trailblazing lawyer and SMU graduate, who died this weekend. She spearheaded a rewriting of the Texas law code in order to secure legal and property rights that were denied to married women before 1967.

If you would like to make a donation to Louise Raggio's memory, please click here or use the Donate to WGST link on the lefthand column. If the words "Raggio Fund in Women and Gender Studies" do not appear in the drop-down, choose "Other" and write in "Raggio Fund #410648-20."

For an editorial about her life, see Dallas Morning News.

There is an upcoming talk, "But for the Grace of God: Is Religiosity a Risk or Protective Factor in Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration?" at 5:00pm, March 22 in McCord Auditorium, Dallas Hall 306. The talk will be given by Claire M. Renzetti: Endowed Chair for Studies of Violence Against Women, Center for Research on Violence Against Women, and Professor of Sociology at the University of Kentucky. The talk is presented support from the Scott-Hawkins Lecture Series, the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, the Department of Anthropology and Department of Psychology.

Talk abstract: Research has shown that religious people, compared with non-religious people, express greater concern for the welfare of their intimate partners, have better marital adjustment and less marital conflict, and are able to resolve conflicts with their partners more productively. Although some observers have argued that religious beliefs and teachings may legitimate or even encourage the subjection of women to men, especially wives to husbands, others report that religion and religiosity may contribute to a reduction in negative interactions, including physical and psychological abuse, between intimate partners. This study extends previous research by using measures that tap multiple dimensions of religiosity to examine its effects on likelihood of perpetrating intimate partner violence among a national sample of adult men.

About the lecturer: Claire M. Renzetti is editor of the international, interdisciplinary journal, Violence Against Women; co-editor of the Interpersonal Violence book series for Oxford University Press; and editor of the Gender, Crime and Law book series for Northeastern University Press. She has authored or edited 16 books and numerous book chapters and articles in professional journals.

For more information, please contact Professor Nia Parson, nparson@smu.edu

The Women's and Gender Studies Program would like to invite you to see Robert Jensen speak about his new book The End of Patriarchy: Radical Feminism for Men.

 Jensen Talk Archive

Please join us February 22 at 4PM in Hughes-Trigg Portico BCD. Everyone is welcome, and light refreshments will be served.

 If you have any questions, contact us at womnstud@smu.edu

 Learn more about Robert Jensen here: http://robertwjensen.org/

The Women's and Gender Studies Program would like to invite you to see Robert Jensen speak about his new book The End of Patriarchy: Radical Feminism for Men.

 JensenTalk

Please join us February 22 at 4PM in Hughes-Trigg Portico BCD. Everyone is welcome, and light refreshments will be served.

 If you have any questions, contact us at womnstud@smu.edu

 Learn more about Robert Jensen here: http://robertwjensen.org/

Take Back the Night is an annual march to end sexual assault. This year SMU's Take Back the Night will include a march and rally, a candlelight reflection, a speak out, and a reflection and reception.

Come raise awareness and show your support of victims of sexual violence and pledge to end sexual assault.

The week preceding the event will be a Sexual Assault Awareness Week. Donate to support the Dallas Area Rape Crisis Center and participate in other exciting events.

The event will take place Monday, November 8, 8:00pm - 10:00pm at Hughes-Trigg Varsity.

The Scott-Hawkins Distinguished Lecture Series and the Department of Anthropology present:

Professor Meredeth Turshen, Rutgers University

“Violence against Women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo:The Political Economy of the New Wars”

This talk looks at the political economy of the new wars and situates violence against women within this analytic context, taking the civil conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a case study.

Date: Thursday, November 3, 2011
Time: 4:30p.m.
Location: McCord Auditorium, Dallas Hall

Contact person: Nia Parson at nparson@smu.edu

Minding the Field at UTA

Come learn about gender studies in North Texas and see our director speak at the opening panel. Learn more here.