2008 Spring/Summer Newsletter

Women’s and Gender Studies at Wake Forest University

News & Notes No. 41/Spring-Summer 2008

News from the Director Wanda Balzano Our newsletter appears in an annual edition this year because I was away in the fall semester. I had the privilege to spend the semester in Casa Artom, the house that Wake Forest owns in Venice, Italy. Venice is a unique city, and generations of Wake Forest students who have taken part in the Venice Program agree that it Director (Continued on page 6)

Meet Our New ZSR Library Liaison Women’s and Gender Studies has a new library liaison: Lauren Pressley—who is Instructional Design Librarian at the Z. Smith Reynolds Library since last July—manages the WGS collection and oversees the program’s needs in a variety of ways, working together with faculty, staff, and students.

Lauren holds two B.A. degrees from North Carolina State University, where she majored in Philosophy and in Communication with a Minor in Women’s and Gender Studies. She also earned a Master of Library Information and Studies Library Liaison (Continued on page 8)

From Campus to Congress: Women of Color Creating Change

WGS Students Attend North Carolina Conference for Women

Brady Everett (’09)

Velvet Bryant (’09) The first women of color conference: From Campus to Congress: Women of Color Creating Change was held on the campus of Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina on September 21, 2007. Bennett College is an historic institution that has made many contributions to women of color. Several prominent figures in social activism spoke at Creating Change (Continued on page 13)

Getting to Know Visiting Professor Penny Weiss Kenneth Strickland (’11) Before this spring if someone had asked me what I had found so far to be most enriching about Wake Forest, I would have given them a completely different answer from what I give as I write this article. I recently had the honor of interviewing Dr. Penny Weiss, visiting professor in the Women’s and Gender Studies Program this spring.

Penny Weiss (Continued on page 7)

Below is the speech that Mary DeWGS Acting Director in the Mary K. DeShazer (English/WGS) fall and long-time friend of Sylva Billue, delivered as part of the Memorial Service in Brendle Hall, Wake Forest University, September 25, 2007.

Remembering Sylva Billue

Wanda Balzano, Director Linda Mecum, Editor A106A Tribble Hall Winston-Salem, NC 27109 336/758-3758 wgs@wfu.edu www.wfu.edu/wgs

Shazer,

Sylva Billue was a remarkable woman: an accomplished artist and woodworker, a dedicated feminist, and a visionary philanthropist committed to improving the lives of women and girls. Like many of you who have gathered here to mourn Sylva’s tragic passing and to celebrate her life, I will always cherish having known Sylva. Today I am honored to share with you my appreciation of her generous contributions over the past twenty years to the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at Wake Sylva Billue (Continued on page 15)

I, along with Velvet Bryant (’09) and Jaymi Thomas (’10), attended the North Carolina Conference for Women which was held in Charlotte and was sponsored by Wachovia Corporation. I was able to attend this Conference (Continued on page 4)

WGS Welcomes Activist in Residence We are pleased to announce that in the fall our program is going to have its first Activist in Residence. Dr. Patricia Willis, who was our visiting professor in the spring of 2007, will return to Wake Forest. She is already organizing a conference on anti-pornography that will feature prominent speakers in the field.

She will also be teaching her ever popular course—WGS 377B: Teaching Feminist Activism and Creating Feminist Activists.

Dr. Michaelle Browers Joins WGS Core Faculty The Women’s and Gender Studies Program is delighted to announce that Dr. Michaelle Browers (Associate Professor of Political Science) has joined WGS as a core faculty member. She replaces Dr. Michele Gillespie (Kahle Family Associate Professor of History) who was appointed Associate Provost for Academic Initiatives.

Dr. Browers’ research focuses on Arab and Islamic Political Thought, on Feminist Theory, Political Ideologies and Democratic Theory. In addition to her successful crosslisted course, “Feminist Political Thought”, she has recently developed a new course, team taught with Dean Franco (English), on “Multiculturalism in Literature and Political Theory.” Among her books are Democracy and Civil Society in Arab Political Thought: Transcultural Possibilities (Syracuse University Press, 2006); Contemporary Arab Political Ideologies: Accommodation and Transformation (forthcoming, Cambridge Michaelle Browers (Continued on page 13)

Sheila Kohler: Bluebird, or

On Thursday, September 20, Brady Everett (‘09) 2007, I attended an event in DeTamble Auditorium where author Sheila Kohler read from her novel, Bluebird, or the Invention of Happiness. This novel is inspired by the memoirs of Lucy Dillon, a woman who lived during the French Revolution. Kohler wrote this historical novel from Lucy’s point of view, expanding upon what she may have been thinking and feeling throughout the events described in her memoirs. This event was certainly interesting to attend, as I have Sheila Kohler (left) never before been able to see an author chats with Professor read from his or her own work. It was lovely Elizabeth Evans (English) at a reception to hear Sheila Kohler read the words she following the reading. herself had written, to listen to the way she imagined the dialogue and movements. I especially enjoyed how she used her hands to act out what was happening. There was a good turnout at this event. I saw a great number of students, but there were also people from the community and staff/faculty of Wake Forest.

Although I have not read the novel, I felt almost as though I could identify with the main character, Lucy Dillon, through the short excerpt that Kohler read, as well as the brief history she gave of the character herself. I also felt that the excerpt that Kohler read lent itself readily to a Women’s and Gender Studies critical lens. Lucy Dillon is stuck on a ship with an apathetic husband and fussy children, tied to her duty as a wife and mother and has virtually no control over what is happening to her. She is a female and therefore is subject to the will of her husband. What is her reaction to this loss of freedom? She cuts off her hair. This is symbolic in a few ways, the most obvious of which is that her long hair is a huge representation of her femininity, the very thing that is trapping her. By cutting off her hair, she is rebelling against her femininity. Also, another interesting point is that, to this day, it is common to see women initiate drastic changes (eating disorders, plastic surgery, evervarying hair colors) to their physical appearance when they have little control over their outward lives and situation. Lucy’s hair and appearance is one of the few aspects of her life that she has control over, so she cuts it off.

This reading was a very interesting event and I found it intriguing to be able to actually hear how the author would read the words and hear some reasoning behind why she wrote the story and why she wrote it the way that she did. I am interested in Sheila Kohler’s novel and I am looking forward to reading it!

the Invention of Happiness

Dr. Carol Elizabeth Copeland (’81 BA, ’85 MD) for your ongoing financial support of Women’s and Gender Studies.

Dr. Angela Johnson Baisley (’62 BA, ’73 MA Duke, ’81 Ph.D. Florida State U) for a contribution in support of the WGS award in the name of Professor Elizabeth Phillips.

James and Helen Jo Hardwick (Tulsa, OK), Frances M. and Ernie Day (Tulsa, OK), Larry and Linda Gibson Davis (Winston-Salem, NC), Jill G. Carraway and Debora B. Horning (Winston-Salem, NC), Glenn A. and Judith L. Wright (Tulsa, OK) for your gifts in memory of Sylva Billue.

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WGS Faculty/Student Research Colloquium On Monday, November 12, 2007, Women’s and Gender Studies held its first Research Colloquium of the fall semester. Velvet Bryant (’09), Brady Everett (’09), Elizabeth Gamino (’09), and Jaymi Thomas (’10) shared highlights from their participation at conferences focusing on feminism, human rights, women’s leadership, and issues facing women of color worldwide.

Velvet and Jaymi participated in the World Social Forum last June in Atlanta after working during the spring semester with Dr. Patricia Willis, visiting professor of WGS. Velvet also was part of the Women of Color Conference hosted by Bennett College in September. Brady, Elizabeth, and Jaymi attended the NC Conference for Women in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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Senator Hillary Clinton Visits Wake Forest University On Friday, April 18, 2008, Senator Hillary Clinton made a presidential campaign appearance in Wait Chapel, where she talked with longtime friend and supporter, Maya Angelou, Reynolds Professor of American “Neither of us was writStudies at WFU. Over 2,000 people attended the ten into the Constitution. event.

The long battle for the During their hour-long discussion on a wide range Democratic nomination of topics, Clinton and Angelou talked about the imsends a message to portance of education to our economic well-being, young boys and girls of the need to reinvigorate manufacturing in America, all backgrounds that and the task of achieving full equality. anyone can still grow up In a reference to her Democratic rival Senator aspiring to run for PresiBarack Obama, Senator Clinton remarked:

dent.”

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Congratulations Graduates with WGS Minor December 2007 Mary Scott Hardwick May 2008 Elizabeth “Lizzy” Bell Kelly Curran Ashley Graham Elizabeth “Liz” Iversen Devin Kidner Kayla Landers Joe Lazazzero Emily Mathews Elizabeth “Betsy” Rives Samantha Spaeth August 2008 Elizabeth Gamino

Faculty Congratulations Angela Hattery (Sociology) is the 2008 recipient of 'Building the Dream Award,' given during the seventh annual WinstonSalem State University and Wake Forest University joint Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. The award was established to honor one professor or administrator and one student from either WSSU or WFU who exemplifies the ideals that Dr. King embodied and ultimately died for. Hattery was also recently promoted to Professor of Sociology.

Mary Dalton (Communication) has been appointed to the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation Fellowship. She has produced several successful and highly regarded creative film projects. She has received professional awards for her documentary films, Martha in Lattimore, Reverence with Clay: Crystal King Pottery, Tom Whitaker: Potter at Large, and Sam McMillian: The Dot Man. Also, her paper "Cybill: Privileging Liberal Feminism in Daily Sitcom Life," written with Laura R. Linder, was a finalist for the Ray Camp Research Award at the Carolinas Communication Association Annual Conference last year. Dalton recently created the film story Knitting Lessons, which was screened at the University Film and Video Association Conference in Denton, Texas and the Revolve Film and Music Festival in Winston-Salem and Carrboro, NC. Mary M. Dalton (Communication) and Kirsten James Fatzinger’s (’99) essay “Choosing Silence: Defiance and Resistance Without Voice in Jane Campion’s The Piano,” originally published in Women and Language, has been reprinted in Contemporary Literary Criticism, Project Editor Jeffrey W. Hunter, Vol. 229, 2007. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Thomson Gale, pp. 175182. This paper began as a collaborative research project when Kirsten (then Patchel) was an undergraduate Communication major and Women's Studies minor.

Michaelle Browers (Political Science) is the new WGS core faculty member and has also been appointed to the Junior Faculty Fellowship for her work on Arabic thought. In 2006, she published Democracy and Civil Society in Arab Political Thought and is currently working on another book. Browers was a roundtable participant at the American Political Science Association “Comparative Political Theory—An Interdisciplinary Intervention” annual meeting this past fall.

Her article “Origins and Architects of Yemen’s Joint Meeting Parties” was published in the International Journal of Middle East Studies (November 2007). She received a grant from Consortium of American Overseas Research Centers Multi-Country Fellowship (2009) for research on “Arab-Shi‘i Political Thought since 1959” in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. She also received a grant from the American Academic Research Institute in Iraq Fellowship (20082009) for research on and writing of “Arab-Shi‘i Political Thought since 1959.”

Sally Barbour (Romance Languages) guest edited, with Gerise Herndon, Mango Season, Special Issue: Francophone Women Writers. She also translated “Darn Roots,” by Gisèle Pineau, translated from French by her with thanks to Christiane Makward.

Barbour was invited as moderator of the panel “Maryse Condé: Beyond Borders,” at the Franklin College conference on Caribbean Literature and Culture, “The Caribbean Unbound III,” Lugano, Switzerland. She also attended “Gisèle Pineau’s Créolité in La Grande Drive des esprits,” Presenter and Panel organizer, “Walcott, Pineau and Kincaid: Voicing Caribbean Identities.”

Barbour attended 2008 Association of Caribbean Women Writers and Scholars (ACWWS) Conference in Grenada where she presented “To Read is To Bear Witness in Le livre d’Emma.” She also presented “Staging and Bending Gender in Jean-Pierre Bekolo’s Quartier Mozart” at the 2008 SEWSA Conference.

Lynn Neal (Religion) presented a paper, “White Women and White Knights: Alma White’s Battle for a Protestant America” at Arizona State University. She has also developed a new course, Religious Intolerance in the United States.

Grant McAllister (German and Russian) presented a paper, "Refractions of Subjectivity in Tieck's der blonde Eckbert” at the German Studies Association Conference in San Diego, CA, as well as "Goethe's Theory of Color and Tieck's der blonde Eckbert: how Goethe's theory of light refraction influenced Tieck's literary allegories of self-reflectivity and self-definition” at the German Colloquia at Wake Forest University.

Grant McAllister (German and Russian) and Susanne Hochreiter (visiting professor in German and Russian) received permission from Silvia Bovenschen and her publisher Suhrkamp to translate her feminist study of the male idealized female image in German art and literature from the 17th through the 20th centuries, titled "die imaginierte Weiblichkeit" or "Imagined Feminity." Unlike other major feminist works, this study has not yet been translated!

J.K. Curry (Theatre and Dance) produced 365 Days/365 Plays by Suzan-Lori Parks at various Wake Forest University campus locations and in the Ring Theatre last fall. She also presented a paper “‘Fire Jinx and Tragic Heroine’: Kate Claxton After the Brooklyn Theatre Fire,” on panel at the “Reactions to Disaster: The Regenerative Urge,” Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference.

Ellen Kirkman (Mathematics) received the 2007 Donald O. Schoonmaker Faculty Prize for Community Service during the October 30, Fall Convocation. She received the award in recognition of her commitment to the Wake Forest and Winston-Salem communities throughout her 32 years on the faculty. The award, established in 1988 by the Wake Forest Alumni Council, is in memory of the late Donald Schoonmaker, a political science professor who died in 1993.

Ulrike Wiethaus’s (Humanities) book, Foundations of First Peoples’ Sovereignty: History, Education and Culture, was published this spring by Peter Lang Publishing.

Lynn Book (Theatre and Dance) launched RE:garding Next a collaborative culture project, which was staged as a ‘utopia laboratory’ on exhibition at SECCA Jan 18 – Apr 7, 2007, with a culminating ‘performance utopia’ March 22-24. The project is driven by the conviction that critical desire coupled with creative daring is needed to inspire communities and engage societies to invent a humane future alive with creative potential. RE:Next, a concert version, was performed by Lynn along with Wake faculty member, Jacqui Carrasco and Austrian collaborator Katharina Klement, in New York City, March 31. She was the organizer for “Cook It Up! Arts Entrepreneurship Summit”, which was a public forum on the Wake Forest Campus to encourage entrepreneurship. In addition, she created a new course this spring, “Arts Entrepreneurship.”

Gillian Overing (English/Medieval Studies) presented her paper “Beowulf on Gender,” at the “Anglo-Saxon Futures”, second International Workshop of the Anglo-Saxon Studies Colloquium at King’s College London this past May. Earl Smith (Sociology) and Angela Hattery (Sociology) published an article, "They Play Like Girls: Gender Equity in NCAA Faculty (Continued on page 7)

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Women’s Collaborations: Breast Cancer Experience and “Songs from the Edge” On Tuesday, November 6, 2007, the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, the Department of Music, and the Women’s Forum sponsored a dialogue between prize-winning Israeli composer Ella Milch-Sheriff (left) and Winston-Salem physician Annette Pashayan (right). This event was moderated by Mary DeShazer, while she was Acting Director of Women’s and Gender Studies. She is also the author of “Fractured Borders: Reading Women’s Cancer Literature.”

In 1996, Annette Pashayan wrote a set of five poems about her personal experience with breast cancer. Each poem deals with a specific aspect of her struggle with the disease: After the Fall, Chemo and Gould, Transplantation, Acts, and Restoration.

At a 2004 English-language premiere of the composer’s work at the Chautauqua Institution in New York, Dr. Pashayan was introduced to Ms. Milch-Sheriff. When Dr. Pashayan learned that Ms. Milch-Sheriff had recently lost her sister to the ravages of breast cancer, she shared her poems with the composer. On Christmas Day, 2004, Dr. Pashayan received an e-mail message from Ms. MilchSheriff stating that she wished to set the poems to music.

“Songs from the Edge” is the result of an eighteen-month collaboration between the two women.

On Sunday, November 11, “Songs from the Edge” was the centerpiece of a concert presented at Temple Emanuel in Winston-Salem. Mezzo-soprano Janine Hawley and a string ensemble from the Carolina Chamber Symphony Players (including WFU faculty violinist Jacqui Carrasco) performed the 20-minute chamber work at its North Carolina premiere.

For more information go to www.ellasheriff.com.

I. After the Fall Two arms have I, two legs, two feet, Two eyes to gaze on all I meet; Two ears locate the speaker’s site, Each side I know as left or right.

Inside, two chambers take in blood, And two pump out the crimson mud; Two lungs, two kidneys in me nest, But on my ribs Lies just one breast.

This isn’t how I looked when born, But one was bad and from me torn.

It makes me sad to see me so, One side a breast, the other, no.

But deep inside I am aware This is a lesser cross I bear.

What is to come will far worse be Than seeing this asymmetry.

Annette Pashayan

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Conference (Continued from page 1) through sponsorship from the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, which I am so thankful for! I felt empowered and enriched after this experience. This was a conference of about 2,500 women from around the state of North Carolina, coming from corporations, schools, etc. There was definitely a great mix of ages, occupations, and backgrounds. The keynote speakers featured Soledad O’Brien of CNN and Marta deFox, former First Lady of Mexico.

Although I heard many influential and inspirational women speak during the conference, I think I enjoyed the workshop with Rebecca Walker, feminist author, the most. Her lecture was entitled ‘The New Face of Feminism’ and discussed primarily the difference between the first and third waves of feminism. She had us each write down what feminism means to us, what issues we think are most important, who we think can address these issues and how. This was interesting because there were many different ages represented, myself being one of the youngest in the room. There were a few common things written, such as equality in pay, and there were also a few things that were very different, depending on the different backgrounds, like the hope that one woman had for women to become more involved in hip hop and to redirect rap/hip hop into a more positive place. We ultimately came to the conclusion that there is not just one “feminism” but multiple “feminisms” depending on where one is in life, where one lives, etc. We also talked a great deal about power imbalances and issues of power in the workplace. One of the most important issues that we spoke about was how power is oppressive both for those who are in power and those who are the subordinates. Although the majority of the time women are the ones who are harmed in power situations, I feel that men are also very disadvantaged.

Men are raised knowing that they should be powerful and fit a certain macho image. It is much more common for women to break gender roles than men: it is more accepted for women to play predominantly male sports, to work and to take care of children, to wear androgynous clothing. Men are still very defined by their gender roles: they are criticized for being ‘stay at home dads’, cannot wear women’s clothing without being categorized as “queer” and cannot enjoy predominantly women sports, such as ice skating. This is why I feel that it is important to have Women’s and GENDER studies and to study the narrative of masculinity. I was pleased that Rebecca Walker and our panel brought this to light.

I was so glad to have the opportunity to attend this conference. There is nothing more empowering than spending the day with 2,500 other women and talking about issues that are important to us and our community. I definitely hope to attend again next year and will encourage WGS to advertise it to the entire Wake Forest community.

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WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIES WELCOMES NEW MINORS! Corinne Sweeney ‘09 Joshua Anders '09 Heather Bolt '10 Melissa Council '09 Allison Fuster '10 Ashley Gedraitis '11 Carlos Maza '10 Connie Miller '10 Hope Nardini '11 Angelique Nolan '11 Negatte "Gabby" Retta '09 Mary Ripple '09 Kenneth Strickland '11 Kelly Stroud '09 Corinne Sweeney '09 Matthew Triplett '09 Heather Weygant '09

Women’s Forum Update The Women’s Forum met on March 15, 2008, at the home of Dr. Kristin Bennett, Assistant Professor, Elementary Education, Reynolda Campus. Women faculty and key administrators were invited for an early evening of professional and social exchange.

Brief updates from each Task Force Chair (Work/Life Balance, Leadership and Status of Women), a “spotlight talk” from one woman on each campus focusing on her areas of interest, and vision and a surprise bit of entertainment punctuated the evening.

The Women’s Forum is an organization of women faculty and key administrators at Wake Forest University, working to: encourage collegiality across all schools of the university; create change in policies and practices at WFU; and promote and sustain a healthy and stimulating working environment in which the contributions

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Poetry Reading by Bianca Tarozzi One of the highlights for students in Professor Wanda Balzano’s Window on WGS class in Venice last fall was a poetry reading at Casa Artom by Bianca Tarozzi, poet and teacher of American Literature at the University of Verona, Italy. This is one of her poems.

A Face At eight a voice on the phone says: “She’s gone.” And I without breathing, without responding except for “Yes,” take the little girl to nursery school. Just as I hang the tiny colorful jacket on the row of low pegs, I stop, and say to the attendant, Who has nothing at all to do with it, Who is standing there by chance: “Today my mother died.”

She responds with something I can’t quite hear, but her face is stony, indifferent, and I retreat, alone, to my silence.

Now, each time I see it, that face reminds me of the day I don’t remember except for that face: stony, faraway, round— alien, as the world had become.

Written by: Bianca Tarozzi Translated by: Jeanne Foster Alan Williamson

Women’s and Gender Studies Honors Graduating Minors The Wake Forest University Honors and Awards Ceremony for Undergraduates takes place each year in May, on the Sunday afternoon prior to graduation exercises on Monday. Since 1995, Women’s and Gender Studies has recognized graduating WGS minors at this event.

The Academic Award for Outstanding Senior in WGS is given to the student who has shown initiative and motivation throughout her/his tenure at Wake Forest, who has excelled in a variety of academic disciplines and special projects, and who has maintained a high scholastic average and demonstrated aptitude for further study. The 2008 recipient of this award is Emily Wonnell Mathews.

“Emily’s work is not only outstanding, it is always the best in her class.” “Emily chose a study abroad program that would allow her to work with domestic violence survivors.”

“She is well-rounded in her pursuits and achievements.”

The Leadership Award for Outstanding Senior in WGS is given to the student who best exemplifies the qualities of leadership, service and professionalism, who has excellent academic records and has made a significant contribution to the betterment of society through community service and/or humanitarian undertakings, and who has promoted the educational value of racial, cultural and gender diversity. This year’s co-recipients: Elizabeth Bell and Joseph Lazazzero

“Lizzy’s academic achievements are remarkable. Her passion for research as well as for feminist activism stands as an excellent example to many Women’s and Gender Studies minors.” “Lizzy has raised awareness among her peers about sexual assault—its prevalence, its costs, and its prevention.”

“Joe’s leadership involvements are impressive, from local to international— volunteering as a reading mentor for an inner-city student two hours a week during his junior year; working with Habitat for Humanity as a construction worker during his Freshman and Sophomore years; and traveling as a Helping Hands Service Trip coordinator for two weeks during his Freshman and Junior years, rebuilding and living in a Russian orphanage.”

Meet our New WGS Student Assistant Carolyn (Carrie) Million (’11) joined Women’s and Gender Studies in the fall of 2007 as a student assistant and has already proved to be a valuable asset to our office. Carrie will be assuming Ashley Graham’s (’08) duties in fall 2008.

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Director (Continued from page 1) was the highlight of their college experience. Well, living on the Grand Canal made us all euphoric in the first few weeks, and although I was initially nervous about sharing the house with twenty students, I had the opportunity to get to know them very well, and I soon felt like a mother to them all, worrying about them and guiding them in the Italian ways and in the Italian language that is my (m)other tongue.

While in Venice, I developed an international section of WGS 101: Window on Women’s and Gender Studies, team taught with Dr. Mary Gerardy. At the same time as Dr. Gerardy ran the class with students in Winston-Salem, I ran the class with my students in Venice: it was a successful venture, and a very rewarding one. I hosted an array of cultural events, where students learned about the history of Italian feminism, or about the marginalization of immigrant women in contemporary Italy, and about the Italian women of the Renaissance. We enjoyed a field trip to a unique exhibition on the work of Rosalba Carriera—the most celebrated Italian artist in the eighteenth century. Poet Bianca Tarozzi came to Casa Artom to give us a reading of her celebrated work.

In conjunction with the Center of Women’s Studies at the University of Venice, Ca’ Foscari, we held a public seminar on the place of feminism today in the wider sphere of academic discourse. It was followed by an energizing panel discussion, where much was brought to the table.

Linda Mecum, our indispensable coordinator who this year worked under taxing circumstances in a very busy year, came to visit me in Casa Artom. It was a true pleasure to have her there. With parents, students and friends, we watched the population in the area of Dorsoduro almost glitter in gold and black, as a good number of Wake Foresters walked around its calli or narrow streets. It was great fun. In the picture above we are standing on Casa Artom’s own dock, on a very cold morning, next to the Guggenheim museum (on the left).

It would not have been possible for me to go to Casa Artom, were it not for the willingness of Professor Mary DeShazer to act as Women’s and Gender Studies Director during my absence. Both on my behalf and on behalf of the program, I thank her for her generosity and for her expert leadership. Professor DeShazer hosted Sheila Kohler’s reading from her novel, Bluebird, or the Invention of Happiness, as well as a dialogue on breast-cancer experiences between prize-winning Israeli composer Ella Milch-Sheriff and Winston-Salem physician Annette Pashayan. “Songs From the Edge” was also performed; these are Dr. Pashayan’s poems on her personal battle with cancer, set to music and played by composer Milch-Sheriff.

During the fall we were all saddened by news of the sudden death of woodwork artist and philanthropist Sylva Billue, a long-time friend of Women’s and Gender Studies.

Sylva Billue devoted a great deal of her work and time to champion the cause of emancipation of women and girls; she worked especially hard in those areas where there was a lack of opportunities. She generously contributed to several organizations (including the Women’s Fund of WinstonSalem and Lillian’s List of North Carolina) and also to our program. I still remember her excitement at Eve Ensler’s presentation “The Good Body,” which she had attended with her friend Nancy Cotton—a former English Professor at WFU, to whom the Women’s and Gender Studies Program is

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also indebted. On that occasion, as in many others previously, she wrote to me offering to pay for all the minors who would attend Ensler’s performance. She was that kind of an activist—always in action, always working hard and large-heartedly behind many projects. She also endowed the Phyllis Trible Lecture Series at the Divinity School and, in honor of her mother, she established the Syvenna Foundation, which paid for a writer’s colony for women writers in Linden, Texas. Sylva Billue’s other passion was woodworking. She had decided to make a table and other pieces of furniture for our lounge in Tribble Hall, and she had been working on a conference table at the time of her death. Her artist friend, Wayne Raab, generously offered to finish the table for us. Included in this issue we feature Professor DeShazer’s remarks at the memorial service for Sylva Billue. We will greatly miss Sylva, with her buoyant personality, her generous spirit and distinctive sense of humor. In the fall we will host a gathering to rename the Women’s and Gender Studies lounge in her honor.

When I came back from Venice, in the spring semester, the job search for a new program director was underway.

Thanks to Dean Deborah Best, a permanent director was to be named after a national search for the position had been conducted. The search committee, led by Professor Mary Foskett (Religion), worked with much alacrity and professionalism, conducting a number of interviews. In the end, I was selected to be the permanent Women’s and Gender Studies Director. Of course I am delighted with the outcome and wish to thank Dean Deborah Best and Provost Jill Tiefenthaler for making this position a permanent one that will give strength to our program.

In the spring we also had with us our new Visiting Professor, Associate Professor Penny Weiss. She came to our program from the Political Science Department of Purdue University. Professor Weiss is a very accomplished scholar and is the author of several important publications in the field of women’s and gender studies. Her books range from Gendered Community: Rousseau, Sex, and Politics (New York University Press, 1993) to Feminism and Community, edited with Marilyn Friedman (Temple University Press, 1995); from Conversations with Feminism: Political Theory and Practice (Rowman & Littlefield, 1998) to Feminist Interpretations of Emma Goldman, recently edited with Loretta Kensinger (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2007).

Her seminar on the “History of Feminist Theory” had a particularly high enrollment and was also very successful.

We enjoyed attending her colloquium in May, where she talked about “The Canon Gatekeepers and Gatecrushers,” an account of women political thinkers’ relationship with the canon, which is going to appear soon in book form.

There were also so many other stimulating events in the spring: from the poetry reading with Pulitzer Prize Winner Natasha Tretheway to the colloquium on “Literature after Feminism” with Rita Felski (Professor of English and Chair of Comparative Literature at the University of Virginia); from the Phyllis Trible Lecture Series on Interfaith Feminisms to Dr. Mary Lou Voytko’s colloquium on “Monkey Models of Menopause;” from the 16th Annual American Men’s Studies Association Conference on “Masculinities and Institutions” at WFU (featuring Dr. Raewyn Connell as its main speaker) to the Southeastern Women’s Studies Association conference at UNCCharlotte; from the WGS Senior Colloquium and Director (Continued on page 8)

Faculty (Continued from page 3) Sports," in The Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education (Vol 1, Issue 3). They also published "Incarceration: A Tool for Racial Segregation and Labor Exploitation," in Race, Gender and Class in May 2008 and "Cultural Contradictions in the Southern Mode of Segregation: Black Tits, Whites Only Water Fountains, Bad Blood and the Transmission of Semen," in Mississippi Quarterly. Along with David Embrick (Loyola University), Professors Smith and Hattery published Globalization and America: Race, Human Rights, and Inequality (Rowman & Littlefield, May 2008).

Linda Nielsen (Education/WGS) was named President of the American Coalition for Fathers and Children, the nation's oldest and largest organization working on behalf of shared parenting legislation. She also testified before the West Virginia State Legislature's judicial committee on behalf of shared parenting bills. Her fifth book, Between Fathers and Daughters: Enriching and Rebuilding Your Adult Relationship, will be published in August of 2008.

Wanda Balzano (WGS) with Moynagh Sullivan (National University of Ireland, Maynooth) co-edited and wrote an introduction for the special issue of the Irish Review entitled Irish Feminisms (Summer 2007, no.35), published by Cork University Press. She also wrote “Biancheria in the Shadow of Vesuvius” for EnterText (vol.7, No.3, Winter 2007, pp.163-191). In collaboration with Jefferson Holdridge (English), she translated Nobel Prize winner Eugenio Montale’s poems, which appeared in Italian Poetry Review: A Plurilingual Journal of Creativity and Criticism (no.2, 2007, pp. 182-191). In November, while in Italy, she was invited to deliver a lecture on Joyce’s female figures at the University of Rome and to participate in a public forum on the future of feminism, entitled “Voci E Luoghi Del Femminile,” at the University of Venice, Ca’ Foscari.

She traveled to Ireland to take part in the conference “Challenging Cultures of Death,” organized by the Institute of Feminism and Religion, and the Center for Gender and Women’s Studies at Trinity College Dublin. In the spring, with a co-hort of WFU faculty and students she participated in a panel discussion on the “Subversion on the Big Screen: On the Intersection of Gender and Film,” at the conference organized by the Southeastern Women’s Studies Association (SEWSA) at UNCCharlotte.

WGS Senior Colloquium and Celebration of Minors On Wednesday, April 23, 2008, faculty, friends, and family gathered in the Autumn Room of Reynolda Hall for the annual WGS Senior Colloquium and Celebration of Minors. Six of the ten graduating miPictured L to R: Wanda Balzano nors shared their (WGS), Samantha Spaeth, Kayla work and experiLanders, Emily Mathews, Lizzy Bell, ences in WGS. PreJoe Lazazzero, Devin Kidner, Ashley senters were Emily Graham, and Linda Mecum (WGS) Mathews (How the Issue of Domestic Violence and Violence Against Women Became So Important to Me), Elizabeth “Lizzy” Bell (Gender Differences in Emotional Development in Young Children), Ashley Graham (Development of Women in the Military of the Republic of Turkey), Kayla Landers (Conflicts of Interest in Goal Attainment: A Case Study of Education in Ghana), Joe Lazazzero (Defending the Right to Marriage), and Devin Kidner (Menstruation and Advertising in Seventeen and Your Magazine, 1970-2004). This is a favorite event of many faculty and staff because it spotlights just how bright, talented, committed, and generous these students are.

WGS seniors unable to participate were Kelly Curran, Elizabeth “Liz” Iversen, Elizabeth ”Betsy” Rives, and Samantha Spaeth.

Penny Weiss (Continued from page 1) Dr. Weiss received her B.A. from the University of South Florida, her M.A. from the University of Notre Dame, and her Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. Her academic focus is on political theory, judicial politics, women’s studies, and women and the law.

There is more to Professor Weiss than her impressive education, however. During our interview I was given the opportunity to get to know her as a person. For example, her favorite book is Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy. It is fitting that such a book would be the favorite of such a reputable educator. She has published and presented widely.

Her most recent book, Canon Fodder: Women Political Thinkers, is to be released soon.

A class with Penny Weiss is one that will not be forgotten. She has taught classes on Women and the Law and Historical Feminist Political Theory. This spring at Wake Forest she taught WGS 377/POL 277: History of Feminist Theory, a class I happily took. Her teaching style is unique, with the first day of class involving the class countering the stereotypes of feminism with an exercise she called, “I’m not a feminist, but.” In a class with Dr. Weiss, students find themselves on a journey of women theorists from Mary Astell to Christine De Pizan. They learn lessons of marriage, equal education, and the sarcasm and wit of political theory. Students find themselves engaged in enthralling group projects where the worry of grades is not present. A learning experience with her is like no other.

However, her aspirations do not stop at making an innovative class experience. She also strives to meet other goals. Women political theory helps her meet her goals. She believes that, “The world looks different in the eyes of dominated people and from that we can see that it is actually a more hopeful world.”

Certainly she is working toward making people realize it is a more hopeful world. Her next project is on childhood approaches to feminism. As a previous elementary educator she knows that, “Kids see the difference between gender roles, yet they are excited to have ways to resist them.”

The Women’s and Gender Studies program, as well as Wake Forest as a whole, are fortunate to have such a person within our reach. We can learn a lot from Dr. Penny Weiss and after my interview with her I hope everyone will take time to gain from the myriad of things she has to offer. I believe I surely did and as a result I have been educated for the better.

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Library Liaison (Continued from page 1) degree at UNC-G. She has published several essays on the subject of academic librarianship and electronic communication, and she has also presented numerous papers at conferences and workshops, among which there features one entitled “gender talk.”

Lauren’s leadership and national service are impressive; she is among 124 young librarians from across the nation selected for the American Library Association’s 2008 Emerging Leaders program. She also serves on the ALA’s Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship, and is the Core Books Editor in Feminist Pedagogy for the Women’s Studies Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries. For this association she has researched software and created women’s studies instruction wiki for women’s studies librarians and she has also created a database guide for GLBT life. Her training in Gendered Communication and Feminist Philosophy make her the ideal liaison for our program, and we are working together with her in order to develop a portal for WGS resources in the library, a range of online education resources, and also to create research guides for different women’s and gender studies issues.

Lauren’s primary responsibilities include instruction, technology, and reference, but her creative energy has already set her in motion to expand on existing resources while exploring new opportunities for collaboration. In Women’s and Gender Studies we are very pleased to have Lauren Pressley as our library liaison.

Please let Lauren know if you would like the library to acquire any books in the area of women’s and gender studies, or if you have research questions.

Contact information: Lauren Pressley Instructional Design Librarian Z. Smith Reynolds Library, Wake Forest University 336-758-5538 pressllm@wfu.edu AIM/Skype/Yahoo: laurenpressley http://users.wfu.edu/pressllm/ (with reference hours, chat box, etc.)

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WGS Welcomes New Courses and New Affiliated Faculty This year we welcome and thank the following for teaching these courses in our minor: Alessandra Beasley – Assistant Professor, Communication, COM 370: Politics of Difference Mary Gerardy – Associate Vice-President of Student Life, WGS 101: Window on Women’s and Gender Studies Rhon Manigault – Assistant Professor, Religion, REL 390: Womanist Religious Thought Grant McAllister – Associate Professor, German, WGS 101: Window on Women’s and Gender Studies, and GES 390: German Women Writers Charles Wilkins – Assistant Professor, History, HST 388: Nation, Faith, and Gender in the Middle East

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Director (Continued from page 6) Celebration of our minors to a series of co-sponsored gender talks with the Medieval Studies Program at WFU. It has decidedly been a roller coaster year, full of highs and lows. At this time, as we are going into print, I am particularly saddened by yet another irreparable loss: Professor Emerita Elizabeth Phillips, who taught in the English Department at WFU and also served as WGS Acting Director in 1990-91, died on June 24, 2008. Her many accomplishments have been, and still are, an encouragement to many people. In May 2007 Women’s and Gender Studies hosted a luncheon to celebrate Dr. Phillips’ life-long accomplishments. It was a remarkable occasion, where many former students came to express their gratitude for an extraordinary teacher who had made an indelible mark on their lives.

On that occasion, our program established a prize in her name, the Elizabeth Phillips Award for the Best Essay Written in Women’s and Gender Studies, given to the best undergraduate or graduate student essay in the interdisciplinary subject of women’s and gender studies throughout the academic year. In honor of her mother, Professor Phillips recently established the Vera Loven Phillips Fund to support meaningful research through our program. We are all saddened by Professor Phillips’ departure. She was a mother to us all. We will always remember her sharp wit, her passion for books and for the well crafted phrases, the sound of her voice reading poetry and the unmistakable sound of her laughter. She was so present in the life of Wake Forest, always there, with her friend and former WFU Professor of French Eva Rodtwitt, at every concert, play, lecture, reading, and cultural event that was hosted on the grounds of Wake Forest University. We will miss her greatly. Yet, it will not be hard to imagine, in attending future cultural events at Wake, that she is still there, sitting in the front rows, with her cane, and her warm smile, waiving to us as she recognizes us in the crowd. This is how I like to remember her. (A memorial service will be held in Brendle Recital Hall at 4:00 p.m., on Wednesday, September 3, 2008.)

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Elizabeth Phillips Award for the Best Essay Written in Women’s and Gender Studies This award pays tribute to Elizabeth Phillips, Professor Emerita of English, for her exceptional scholarly commitment to the advancement of women’s and gender studies.

2008 Award Recipients

Perry Patterson, Emily Rubino, and Elizabeth Phillips

Dianne Lipsett, Lin Bunce, and Wanda Balzano

(Undergraduate) Emily Teresa Rubino ’08 “Feminist Perspectives on Neoclassical Child Support Models” Nominated by Perry Patterson Economics (Graduate) Lin Cohen Bunce ’08 “The Masculinized Female: Does the Masculinization of the Spirit Eclipse the Woman’s Femininity?”

Nominated by Dianne Lipsett Divinity

Give Me A Moment That Moves Us All Velvet Bryant (’09)

The United States Social Forum (USSF), held in Atlanta, GA, June 27-July 1, 2007, was more than an event or conference. It was a movement that empowered individuals, activists, and organizations to make the change they wish to see in their community. Its environment fostered unity, solidarity, and strategy by breaking down barriers that divide us all, and challenging us to reintroduce words such as forgiveness, peace, love, oneness into our daily vocabulary. As the “spirit of unity” overtook the USSF through multilingual chants and expressions, I experienced the collective strength that is needed to manifest the vision and the beauty of activists and justice.

The goal of the FIRST DAY of the USSF was to raise consciousness of social issues that plague our communities and society. It is important to tell others about the inequalities we have experienced in the past, are currently experiencing, and are subject to experience in the future. In telling and sharing our stories, we should not only focus on our individual or even corporate struggles and oppressions, but also share of the triumphs that have advanced our communities, and future opportunities for more triumphs. As my level of consciousness about social issues increased throughout the course of the USSF, I realized that it initially seems easy to separate yourself from social issues by picking issues that seem to directly relate to you. But social issues are interconnected, and should not be addressed as isolated agendas.

The SECOND DAY of the USSF challenged delegates to assess what our communities, country, and world look like at the present moment. Through conversation, discussions, and brainstorming we drew from a diverse collection of wisdom. The global vision of the forum is to fulfill sustainability of the planet. We must be global-minded not just when expanding capitalism and seeking cheaper labor, but when we discuss water, violence, and other social injustices. The vision of the USSF was reflected in the motto: Another world is possible, Another U.S. is necessary. One panelist said “Another U.S. is possible, another us is necessary”. We must be willing to turn against pillars Velvet Bryant (’09) and Dr. Willis at the USSF and barriers that purposely hinder and blind our vision or hinder the manifestation of our vision. I Patricia Women’s Reception believe people need to see, and would like to see, a movement that empowers the community and our nation. The word “movement” calls for and causes a shift in our communities, homes, lifestyles, government, and injustices that have become the social norm.

The THIRD DAY of the USSF was focused on developing strategies that will help manifest the visions that were discussed the previous day. While it’s enlightening to have strategies and plans that foster a utopian-like ideology and society, the key to having a successful social forum is giving delegates practical strategies they can implement immediately in their local communities. The presence of high school and college students from around the country was uplifting to me because I was able to see that I am not the only young person who believes and wants to see young people make positive contributions to our society. I was challenged to take a proactive role in my community.

Throughout the course of the USSF, I also had the pleasure to attend the tribunal gathering of the Court of Women coordinated by Dr. Patricia Willis (WGS Visiting Professor, Spring 2007, and Activist in Residence, Fall 2008) and meet social activists including Pictured left to right: Velvet Bryant (’09), Theresa El-Amin from Durham, NC, Loretta Ross, and poet and activist Dennis Brutus Social Activist Theresa El-Amin, and from South Africa. I am truly grateful for this experience.

Jaymi Thomas (’10)

Female Genius in the Venetian Settecento: Rosalba Carriera

Last fall (September 1 - October 28, 2007), on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of her death, the Institute of Art History at the “Giorgio Cini” Foundation in Venice for the first time dedicated an important monographic exhibition to the Venetian-born Rosalba Carriera (1673-1757), one of the most successful women artists of any era and one of the highest representatives of the Rococo period. Carriera was a member of the academies of painting in Rome and Paris, the only woman who could compete with the genius of Watteau. Organized by and made possible thanks to the collaboration of important museums as well as private and public collections, the exhibition offered an interesting selection of pastels, miniatures and drawings, mainly focusing on the subject for which the artist became famous: portraiture, through which she offered an unrivalled picture of the society of her time.

In fact Rosalba spent most of her long life fulfilling commissions for distinguished patrons th Students led to Rosalba Carriera across 18 century Europe (the main one was Augustus III of Poland, who sat for her in 1713 and acquired a large collection of more than 150 pastels by the artist, which now belong to exhibition by Professor Agnese the Dresden Gemäldegalerie). For almost half a century sophisticated English lords (among Chiari Moretto Wiel one of the best pieces in the exhibition was the Portrait of the Duke of Newcastle) and Imperial princes, together with the Venetian traditional aristocracy and members of the Church (another masterpiece on display was the Portrait of Dionisio Le Blond from the Venetian Accademia Galleries), sought the services of this extraordinary woman, who, apart from some important trips abroad (to Paris, Dresden, Vienna), where she was in relationship with great masters and rich and influential patrons, spent most of her life in Venice. All the European nobles passing through the city of the lagoons, young sons of the nobility on the Grand Tour and diplomats, wished to have a portrait by her or bought some of her miniatures, mostly portraits and allegorical subjects.

Rosalba Carriera (Continued on page 12)

Maria Agnese Chiari Moretto Wiel (Adjunct Professor of Art , WFU)

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2008 Senior Orations

Seniors Dorian Cowan, Jae Haley and Joseph Lazazzero presented their winning orations at the Honors and Awards Ceremony on May 18, 2008. Their orations were selected from seven others presented at the 2008 Senior Colloquium at the home of President and Mrs. Nathan Hatch on the evening of April 8, 2008. Among the presenters were WGS minors Ashley Graham, Joe Lazazzero, and Liz Iversen.

Learning from Orphanage #105 Senior Oration by Joseph Lazazzero There are few things that can match the experience one gains on an international service trip.

Fortunately for me, I was lucky enough to attend two of these to Orphanage #105 in Moscow, Russia, during my four years here at Wake Forest University, first the summer of my freshman year and then again as the trip leader the summer of my junior year. It has been a combination of these two experiences that has come not only to define my time here at Wake Forest, but also myself as I look to the future.

Spending two weeks living in a Russian orphanage is an experience that is truly beyond words. Upon first arrival, the orphanage is relatively clean, and has had tremendous support from both Wake Forest University over the past five years as well as other outside groups. Each child sprints to greet their new guests, with smiles and curiosity from the moment we step off the bus from the airport. All the children are well-fed, clothed and attend classes daily. The condition of the orphanage and its children is certainly different from the poor, decrepit stereotype that one thinks of when they first hear the words "Russian orphanage."

The real fate of these children however, lay beyond these first impressions. It took a few days, but as we began to learn more about these children's stories the severity of their condition is seen. For instance, one child, Andre, who had become a favorite of many in the group because of his outgoing and playful nature, was found abandoned in a trash can only a few months before our visit. While most people have heard such heartbreaking stories before, it was something different when it was a child that you have been holding, playing with and falling in love with over the past two weeks. A young boy, who despite the language difference, is by all accounts just like any other toddler from the United States. He liked coloring and was especially obsessed with dinosaur stickers.

Yet Andre was found in the trash can of a busy Moscow metro station and soon after, most likely because of years of either abuse or neglect, Andre was diagnosed with a mental disorder. Which, in combination with a Russian state that simply cannot afford to send abandoned children to school, Andre's life education will be focused nearly entirely on vocational trade skills without any proper medical attention on his mental disorder.

Comprehending the future that waits for many of the children in the orphanage is most painful. Members of the group began to notice that some boys actually had cell phones despite having a yearly supply of only a few t-shirts and a pair of pants. Asking our translator, it became obvious that these boys had most likely gotten their cell phones from local drug dealers, who serve as that missing father figure, but instead of love and support, they give them cell phones in order to contact them for drug shipments. Even sadder is the fate of many of the young girls. At age 18, they must leave the orphanage, often with few career paths outside of being seamstresses. For some, prostitution has become the other viable option.

Naturally, after going on two service trips to the same orphanage, people often ask me about my experiences. Some will even ask how these trips have helped me understand the concept of Pro Humanitate. And while I do not know if I will ever be able to answer these questions fully, I do think of one particular event that happened to me as I left the orphanage last year.

It was 10 p.m. in Moscow and I had a familiar sense of dread in my stomach. It was the group's last night in the orphanage, and the moment each one of us had feared since being selected for this trip over six months ago was upon us; saying goodbye to the children.

Now, as it was two years before, I must say goodbye, but this time the fear of this being our final conversation fills my entire body.

As we finish loading our luggage, our suitcases lighter after leaving behind clothes for them, each of us exchanged final hugs, secret handshakes and little mementos. Finally, the orphanage workers lead the children back inside and our bus pulls away.

This final image is what replays in my mind when people ask me how this trip has defined my attitudes and insight on Pro Humanitate, because despite going to work there for two years, I know that I really did very little to improve these children's lives in the grand scheme of things. So when people ask me what I did in Russia, I do not talk about the cafeteria we repainted or the holes in the classroom walls we plastered shut. Instead I talk about coloring with Andre or that one afternoon I got to play basketball with Sergei and Sasha. Because I think that when people say Pro Humanitate, or "for humanity," they think of actions that specifically help others. But my experiences with these trips have shown me the impact that those in need can have on you.

I could do little for those children other than giving them a few weeks out of my life, yet those few weeks have had such a tremendous inspiration on it. I think of the children in Orphanage #105 every day. I think of them every time I wake up, they are a driving force of motivation every time I sit down to take a test or write a paper. I want to succeed and take advantage of the opportunities that I have been given to fulfill a promise I made to myself, and more importantly those children, that I will return to Orphanage #105 and I will see those faces again. In a sense it was I, the well-educated volunteer that came to help those in need, who was given the biggest gift from children who had so little.

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Second American Indian Women’s Conference February 29-March 1, 2008 UNC-Pembroke

Vanity Sizing: How the Fashion Industry Fuels the Obsession with Body Image

Ulrike Wiethaus (Humanities) “A Gathering: Strengthening the Circle” (www.uncp.edu/aiwc) I was privileged to organize a panel for the second AIWC conference in NC, which took place at UNC-Pembroke this spring.

The panel discussed the findings of a recent Amnesty International report entitled “Maze of Injustice: The Failure to Protect Indigenous Women from Sexual Violence in the U.S.” (2007, www.amnestyusa.org). The panelists included Amnesty International field organizer Adiyah Ali, Margaret Crites, Director of the Rape Crisis Center of Robeson County, and Crystal Kay, a volunteer at the Rape Crisis Center of Robeson County. American Indian women, especially on reservations, have to cope with additional challenges relating to sexual violence when it comes to the legal system. These challenges can be directly traced to a legacy of injustice and conquest of American Indian nations. The U.S. assault on First Peoples nations destroyed functioning societies without providing a sufficient commitment to rebuild economic, legal, and social structures. The results today are that American Indian survivors of sexual violence have shockingly insufficient recourse to medical assistance, to police protection, to legal processes that would bring justice and a sense of closure to the women and their families. The local Rape Crisis Center Director and Volunteer confirmed many of the issues raised by the Amnesty International report for local American Indian communities. The conference participants and planning committee are committed to continuing work on this issue locally and regionally. For more information, please contact Conference Planning Chairperson, Ms. Rosa Winfree, at frankandrosa@msn.com, or Ulrike Wiethaus at wiethaus@wfu.edu.

The first AIWC was held at WFU in January of 2007, and enjoyed the strong support of WGS, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Dean’s Office, and numerous other campus organizations and departments.

Adiyah Ali, Amnesty International field organizer

During the months of December and January, the lobby of Tribble Hall was the site for an interesting independent study project of Frenchie Slade, a student in the Master of Arts and Liberal Studies (MALS) Program at Wake Forest.

Frenchie set up an eye-catching display of three mannequin torsos dressed in blue jeans to show how vanity sizing—the practice of placing a smaller sized label on a larger garment—is used by the garment industry. Originally an idea used by American designers to sell their pricier labels, now the readyto-wear industry has assumed the practice, thus abandoning the standard sizing adhered to by the North American Pattern Companies and by the rest of the world. Taking advantage of the knowledge that most women are obsessed with body image, the garment industry launched a silent campaign to exploit their image issues. Translation? Although it varies from designer to designer, a modern size 6 equals a vintage size 12.

The purpose of the exhibit was to educate the consumer by exposing the practice of vanity sizing as a clever marketing tool. The message was a As waistlines grow, women’s clothing sizes shrink incredibly. Inside the dressing room at Ann Taylor, Wendy Chao found herself at a loss. “I tried on a size 0 skirt and it was too big,” said Chao, a 30year-old graduate student of molecular biology at Harvard University. “To me, a size 0 is antimatter; it’s something devoid of any physical reality.” (Kate M. Jackson—The Boston Globe)

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Want to Get Involved in a Student Group That Can Make a Difference to You and to Others? Check Out WISE WISE (Women’s Initiative for Support and Education) is a student organization, the purpose of which is to educate individuals about where gender and sex play a role in our day-to-day lives. We strive to promote awareness, education, and action about issues involving gender and sex in an environment of intellectual curiosity, through projects such as lectures, films, concerts, poetry readings, Take Back the Night candlelight vigil for victims of sexual violence, the Clothesline Project, etc. For more information, contact Kenneth Strickland (’11) strike7@wfu.edu or Angelique Nolan (’11) nolaan7@wfu.edu, WISE co-chairs.

Special Award Presented to WGS Minor Wanda Balzano, Director of WGS, presents Ashley Graham (’08) with an award for outstanding service to the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, through demonstrated qualities of leadership, service, and professionalism.

According to Balzano, “This award recognizes Ashley’s initiative, motivation, and highly exemplary work throughout her tenure as a work-study intern and WGS minor. She has excelled in a variety of special projects, and her formidable commitment to WGS has consistently gone beyond the call of duty. Ashley has exhibited original thinking and has carried out a variety of tasks with integrity and passion.”

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Career Development Seminar for Emerging Women Leaders 2008

I was very fortunate to be chosen to participate in the inaugural Career Development Seminar for Emerging Women Leaders this spring. The program is sponsored by the Women’s Health Center of Excellence for Research, Leadership, and Education (WFU School of Medicine), and is supported by the Reynolda Provost, the Deans’ Offices on both campuses, and Department Chairs. Sonia Crandall, Ph.D., M.S., the Leadership Program Director, designed the inaugural two-semester, five daylong sessions for the twelve participants from both Wake Forest campuses. This year’s participants include four Reynolda campus faculty: Christy Buchanan (Psychology), Nina Lucas (Theatre/Dance), Shannon Mihalko (Health & Exercise Science), and myself. I would like to thank Women’s and Gender Studies for helping to support my registration for this seminar.

Session One took place at the Hanes Building at the Children’s Home. Our group engaged in energetic and fun leaderSitting L to R: Dr. Cheryl Bushnell-Neurology, Dr. Nina Lucas-Theatre, Dr. Christy Buchanan-Psychology, Dr. Annette Johnson-Radiology ship and team building exercises led by Tim Browder (a proud Standing L to R: Dr. Linda McPhail-Biochemistry, Dr. Janice WagnerWFU alumn!) and Josh Burcham from Triad Team Adventures.

Pathology, Dr. Shannon Mihalko-Health and Exercise Science, Dr. Ulrike Session Two covered in great depth finance basics with WFU/ Wiethaus– Humanities, Dr. Brenda Latham-Sadler-Family Medicine/ WFUHS finance officers Terry Hales and Brandon Gilliland.

Dean, Dr. Amy McMichael-Dermatology, Dr. Katherine PoehlingSally Shumaker (WFUBMC Senior Associate Dean for Research) Pediatrics, Dr. Mara Vitolins-PHS Epidemiology, and Claudine Legault (Biostatistical Sciences) led a powerful (Photo courtesy of Louis Davis, Creative session on conflict management, mediation, and principled Communications, WFU Health Sciences) negotiation. Our last session for the spring semester focused on creating and sustaining diversity, the power of language, and increasing awareness of implicit bias, led by internationally recognized social psychologist and President of Executive Diversity Services, Donna Stringer. Judith Katz will return to our university in the fall to conduct a seminar on career planning and self-presentation.

Our group has bonded very quickly as we identified shared experiences, values, and career expectations across our disciplines. Sonia Crandall brought together a truly remarkable group of facilitators, who gently pushed all of us into accelerated growth mode. The sessions have been so empowering and eye-opening that I wish the seminar could be made available to all our campus—both women and men!

Perhaps the most unexpected insight for me was that, through very gentle and seemingly minute shifts in perception, choice of words, timing, and awareness, our workplace can be transformed into a more enjoyable, creative, and energetic environment for all of us.

Speaking for our inaugural class of 2008, I wish to thank Sonia for her extraordinary vision and commitment to the well being of women on our campuses, and the Career Development Program Planning and Selection Committee (Mary Lou Voytko, Steve Block, Sally Shumaker, Alison Brashear, Susan Hutson, Claudine Legault, Michele Gillespie, Lynn Sutton), and Wanda Balzano, Debbie Best, and Jill Tiefenthaler for their faith in the project and their efforts on behalf of women faculty. I hope that this initiative will continue for many years to come.

Rosalba Carriera (Continued from page 9) From the beginning of her career, Rosalba quickly established her reputation within the artistic establishment through miniatures on ivory (a beautiful selection of which was offered to the visitors). Based on such early works, she was welcomed as an accademica di merito by the Accademia di San Luca in Rome, in 1705. Her elegant and sweet morceau de reception, depicting a Girl with a Dove (Innocence), introduced the exhibition, together with another celebrated work, the early Self-Portrait from the Uffizi Galleries (1709-1710) – the first of many - in which Rosalba, wrapped in her painter coat embellished with some pieces of lace, and with a white rose in her hair (a rosa alba in Latin, in a subtle allusion to her own name), proudly shows the pastel portrait of her beloved sister and assistant, Giovanna.

Pastel is actually the medium for which Rosalba is best known to the wider public and is a medium she used in an innovative way, so that her portraits could be rapidly completed, without long and boring sittings. In perfect accordance with the Rococo taste, her pastels speak a refined, airy pictorial language, enlivened by characteristically bright colors. But the greatest quality of the works by Rosalba is that they are never merely encomiastic portraits or examples of documentary; rather they represent her capability of rendering the reality of each individual: not only the truth of his/her likeness but also the psychology of his/her mind. From this point of view, other pastel portraits by her, which are permanently kept in Venetian museums, offer a precious opportunity for deeper analysis: they are the portraits of three famous Venetian women: Suor Maria Caterina, a nun, Faustina Bordoni Hasse, a famous contralto (both at Ca’ Rezzonico), and Rosalba herself (at the Accademia Galleries). In the portrait of the nun, who died with a reputation for sanctity in 1734, Rosalba emphasizes the deep spirituality of the sitter, while the portrait of the singer clearly reveals the lively, self-confident, overwhelming personality of the elegant woman. But the highest masterpiece in the group is certainly the third one, in which Rosalba dramatically portrays herself at the end of her life, proudly wearing the laurel crown showing her position of Academic painter, but rendering at the same time the sad condition of her old face and

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Creating Change (Continued from page 1) the conference. Dolores Huerta is the President of Dolores Huerta Foundation and an advocator for the rights of farmers. Eleanor Smeal is the President of Feminist Majority Foundation. Yvonne Johnson is a phenomenal woman in the Greensboro community, for she is the first Black woman to be elected Mayor of Greensboro.

I also attended a workshop that discussed the portrayal of women of color in the media. It is undeniable that the media actively shapes our perceptions of social groups within our society. Women are objectified to “surgically enhanced number pencils.” Women of color are often depicted as animalistic and over sexualized beings, not just in hip-hop/rap songs, but in movies, advertisements, and literature. These illegitimate messages are projected across the airwaves and negatively affect the self image of women and girls.

The Women of Color Conference encompassed a spirit of unity among women from various backgrounds and ethnicities who all share the common desire to empower women and improve our communities. I would like to encourage each of you to learn more about these organizations by visiting their websites. “Your decisions drive outcome; you create your future with your actions in the present. The key to change is a personal change of heart and mind.”

Vera Loven Phillips Fund

(from left to right) Eleanor Smeal, President of Feminist Majority, Dr. Marilyn Sanders Mobley, Provost of Bennett College, Carol Braum, Former Senator and Ambassador, and Dr. Julianne Malveaux, President of Bennett College.

Many feminists and social activists would agree that our government must work to minimize and ultimately eliminate the lack of female presence in governmental positions. Former Senator and Ambassador Carol Braum has broken through many barriers during her career. She has served at all levels of government, including local, national, and international. During her keynote address she profoundly declared that “justice denied to any of us, is diminished justice for all of us.”

One of the workshops I attended was entitled: “The Global Struggle for Reproductive Rights.” This workshop effectively depicted the initiatives that are being made to further reproductive rights for women and children across the world, as well as the difficulties initiators experience when trying to implement rights that go against ancient custom beliefs and rituals of the people they are trying to help. One of the presenters filmed an objective documentary about the practice of female cutting in an African village. The presenter’s goal was to inform practitioners that many women experience great difficulties in development and child birth as a result of the cutting, without attacking their cultural beliefs. I liked that the documentary vocalized diverse opinions about this ancient practice. Within one village, I heard the opinions of grandparents, men, women, and children regarding female circumcision. I believe activists who work to bring global social justice must be sensitive to cultural beliefs and practices of all people. Social injustices and other -isms occur in every country, but are manifested differently. Therefore, as we push for social change that extends worldwide, we must also become literate to the culture of others. Simultaneously, we must not become so focused on global needs that we are blinded to and neglect the concerns of our local communities. We are accountable to our community, and are in a position to be a positive influence in our environment, starting with the people in our individual lives.

We are extremely grateful to Professor Emerita Elizabeth Phillips for endowing our program with a fund in memory of her late mother. This is an extraordinary gift, which not only acknowledges the meaningful place that Professor Phillips’ mother played in her education as a role model (as many mothers do), but which also perceptively points the way to a successful future for the program, or, as Professor Phillips herself put it, “in honor of its future as a program, minor, major or department as an integral part of the academic life of Wake Forest.” This fund will play a fundamental role in caring for many bright students who will be meaningfully supported in their research through our program. We thank Professor Phillips for her openhanded donation and for her continuous encouragement—through the example of her outstanding career—to sustain excellence and leadership. We will miss her greatly!

WGS Receives Curricular Innovations Award In March of this year, Women’s and Gender Studies was awarded $5,000 to study the best practices of highly successful major and graduate programs. We are grateful to Provost Jill Tiefenthaler for this strategic initiative funding in the development of our curriculum.

 Michaelle Browers (Continued from page 1) University Press). With Charles Kurzman she edited An Islamic Reformation? (Rowman & Littlefield, 2004). She is currently working on a new book, Arabic Thought in the Modern Age, which will be published by Cambridge University Press.

(The WGS core faculty is comprised of six rotating faculty members, from across six disciplines, who are strongly committed to WGS, with a portion of their time dedicated to Women’s and Gender Studies for a period of three years. During the course of these years, each core faculty member teaches three courses: the regularly scheduled cross-listed course, the team-taught WGS 221: Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies, and WGS 321 and/or 377, a special topics course that will reflect individual scholarship in the field.)

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News from and about our Minors Lizzy Bell (’08) graduated Magna cum Laude with honors and a B.A. in Psychology, as well as minors in WGS and Spanish. She was co-recipient of The Leadership Award for Outstanding Senior in Women’s and Gender Studies. Lizzy is from Panama City, FL, and will be attending the University of Miami in their Ph.D. program in Child Development Psychology. While at Wake Forest, Lizzy was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority and Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology. She was an active member in the DESK Project, which creates desks for local children. She was also a PREPARE Advocate.

Velvet Bryant (‘09) will be participating in the Mission of Good Hope Service Trip in South Africa during this summer. She will travel to Kayamandi, South Africa with 10 other Wake Forest students and teach computer literacy skills.

She also serves as the student representative for the Women’s and Gender Studies Research Committee. Velvet worked this spring in Dr. Christy Buchanan’s research lab where she assessed the effect of civic efficacy in adolescent development.

Kelly Curran (’08) graduated with a B.A. in Psychology and minors in WGS and Sociology. Kelly is from West Hartford, CT. In the fall of 2006 she studied at the University of Westminister in London. Kelly wrote the bi-weekly column “She Said” in the Old Gold and Black student newspaper, offering a female perspective on sex and relationships. She also wrote a blog for Old Gold and Black, commenting on health issues and current events.

Ashley Graham (’08) graduated with a B.A. in Political Science and minors in WGS and International Studies. She received a special award for outstanding service as a WGS student assistant for the previous three years. Ashley is from Salisbury, NC, and is returning to Wake Forest to pursue an M.A. degree in Management.

Liz Iversen (’08) graduated with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in WGS. Liz is from Raleigh, NC. Devin Kidner (’08) graduated Magna cum Laude with honors and a B.A. in Sociology, as well as minors in Communication and WGS. Devin is from Ashburn, VA, and will be attending Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Chicago in January to pursue a Masters degree in Broadcast Journalism. Devin is the Director’s Assistant on Rick Bieber’s film The 5th Quarter, which is set for theatrical release in 2009. During her time at Wake Forest, Devin was involved in Wake Radio and Wake Forest Television. She produced, directed, and hosted “Pearls, Polos, and Popped Collars,” which took a look at the culture and controversy on the Wake Forest campus .

Kayla Landers(’08) graduated with Honors and a B.A. in Sociology, as well as a minor in WGS. Kayla is from Hanover, MA, and recently moved to Washington, DC, where she will be working in the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University’s Medical College. In one or two years, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Sociology.

Joe Lazazzero (’08) graduated Magna cum Laude this spring with a B.A. in Political Science and minors in WGS and History.

He was co-recipient of The Leadership Award for Outstanding Senior in Women’s and Gender Studies, and a member of the Mortar Board and Omicron Delta Kappa. His senior oration, “Learning from Orphanage #105,” was chosen as a finalist for the Honors and Awards Graduation Ceremony. Joe is from Marlborough, MA, and will be attending law school in the fall at Suffolk Law School in Boston.

Emily Mathews (’08) graduated Summa cum Laude with a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in WGS. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa and received The Academic Award for Outstanding Senior in Women’s and Gender Studies. Emily is from Williamsburg, VA, and will be attending the University of Virginia Law School. She was a PREPARE advocate, a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and Alpha Kappa Delta Sociology Honor Society. Emily was vice-president of the Golden Key Honor Society. Last spring she was awarded honorable mention for the Elizabeth Phillips Award.

Betsy Rives (’08) graduated with Honors and a B.A. in Studio Art, and minors in WGS and Art History. Betsy plans to move to Washington, D.C., where she hopes to be a gallery assistant. During her four years at Wake Forest, Betsy assisted with the Beethoven Student Art Gallery where she helped plan, design and install shows. Some of her artwork has been displayed in the gallery. She has served as a Student Academic Adviser to freshmen students, and has been an advocate for PREPARE. Betsy is co-founder and co-director of the Fourth Dimension Gallery in Winston-Salem, where she has created shows of student art work from all colleges in Winston-Salem. Her artwork has been published in Three to Four Ounces literary magazine and sold at the John P. Anderson Student Art Collection on the Wake Forest campus.

Samantha Spaeth (’08) graduated Cum Laude with a B.A. in English and a minor in WGS. Samantha is from Allenwood, NJ, While at Wake Forest, she was involved in Vagina Monologues as a cast member. The performance proceeds are used to fund projects to end the violence against women and girls. As a member of Kappa Delta Sorority, she helped organize Stand Up, Stand Out! , to empower college-aged women to meet their goals. During her senior year, Samantha was a part of the Senior Class Campaign, where she helped raise funds for Wake Forest University. Samantha interned at The Children’s Home in the fall of 2007, where she worked to build relationships with adolescent girls, many of whom have suffered physical, sexual, or mental abuse.

Kenneth Strickland (’11) is co-chair of WISE and a member of Gay Straight Student Alliance. He is the founder of Sean’s Last Wish Foundation, which is an organization that works to raise awareness that within the State of South Carolina there is no hate crime legislation to protect all human beings—law enforcement officials are unable to investigate crimes of violence and intimidation that are motivated by bias against race, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity of the victim. In addition, Kenneth is the founder of COPE. In his spare time, Kenneth volunteers at numerous organizations, including Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

Kelly Jo Stroud (’09) is the outgoing president of Pi Beta Phi sorority and a member of PREPARE. As an elementary education minor, Kelly did her spring 2008 student teaching at Meadowlark Elementary, where she taught a third grade class. She also volunteered each week at the Winston-Salem library where she provided elementary tutoring.

Matt Triplett (‘09) was elected to the Legislative Branch of Wake Forest Student Government. He is co-chair of the Committee on Academics.

Corrine Sweeney (’09) is a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority and Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology. She is an active member of PREPARE, where she serves on the executive board and as an advocate, which requires her to carry a pager.

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Sylva Billue (Continued from page 1) Forest University, to other University initiatives for empowering women and supporting gay and lesbian rights, and to collaborative feminist activism in the Winston-Salem community.

As founding director of Wake Forest’s Women’s Studies Program from 1987 to 1996, I worked closely with Sylva as she donated both welcome dollars and brilliant ideas to help develop an interdisciplinary program dedicated to academic recognition of women’s achievements in the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences across centuries and national boundaries. From the time I first met Sylva through Nancy Cotton, I was amazed at Sylva’s determination to foster feminist reclamation projects of the sort that Virginia Woolf endorsed in her classic treatise A Room of One’s Own. Among the many Women’s Studies initiatives that Sylva’s gifts made possible at Wake Forest were the sponsorship of more than thirty young women (and a few good men!) to attend political conferences organized

by NOW and Emily’s List as well as academic conferences in feminist philosophy and theology and in women’s leadership; the endowment of funds to support visiting professors in Women’s and Gender Studies, the first of whom was the Jewish lesbian poet Irena Klepfisz in 1994; and the development of a gay, lesbian, and bisexual student and faculty awareness group in the early 1990s, known today as the Gay Straight Student Alliance. Without Sylva’s contributions of time, money, and energy these accomplishments would have been difficult to achieve.

In addition to fostering an education in women’s and gender studies for the young, Sylva sought this knowledge for herself by auditing classes at Wake Forest in women and world religions, feminist interpretations of the Bible, women’s political and social activism, women writers in society, women in the Middle Ages, origins of difference, and gay and lesbian literature and cultures. In class she expressed her views vociferously, even when they challenged the mindsets of her junior colleagues or her professors; intellectual debate brought vitality to the classroom, she believed, and Sylva was above all a vibrant thinker. In addition, she served for several years on the Wake Forest Board of Visitors, where she lobbied tirelessly for policies of gender, racial, and sexual equity; and she endowed an annual lecture series in feminist theology to honor her beloved teacher Phyllis Trible, an event hosted each March by the Divinity School. Yet Sylva’s service on behalf of women extended beyond the borders of Wake Forest. Her philanthropic work with the Women’s Fund of Winston-Salem, Lillian’s List of North Carolina, and the Women’s Resource Center empowered a generation of women leaders to undertake pro-choice, anti-violence, anti-poverty, and pro-gay rights initiatives in the Piedmont Triad and across the state. And in Virginia Woolf’s emphasis on women artists’ need for their own rooms in which to create, Sylva found the inspiration to establish in honor of her mother, Syvenna Rogstad Billue, the Syvenna Foundation for Women Writers, an artist colony on family property in Linden, Texas which enabled many of its residents to publish what Woolf called “all kinds of books about women.”

Two weeks ago I spent a lovely evening with Sylva at her serene, wooded home, surrounded by beautiful furniture she had made by hand, distinctive pottery and paintings she had collected, and photos of the family she loved so much: her parents; her sisters, Gayna Veltman and Cathi Billue; and their adult children and grandchildren, Sylva’s nieces and nephews. After we caught up on our own lives and those of our mutual friends, we discussed the future of Women’s and Gender Studies at Wake Forest and Sylva’s

t profound hope, which I share, that our twenty-year-old pror gram will soon offer a major and a graduate concentration. a Sylva told me her exciting plans for a conference table that she o was to begin making this fall as a gift for the Women’s and r Gender Studies library/lounge; she wished to honor women dfaculty who had influenced her by naming them at the center i of the table in gorgeous ceramic tiles designed by artist Cynn thia Bringle. Although the table will sadly never take shape a precisely as Sylva envisioned it, I pledge to carry out her pror ject in a manner that will honor her artistic vision. y As her friend and feminist ally I will miss Sylva’s raucous laughter, her generous spirit, and her colorfully expressed pop litical opinions; I can hear her now, having read some article o about a conservative politician trying to roll back women’s w rights, proclaiming loudly “that damn fool!” Her legacy will e endure in the women’s and GLBT organizations she endowed r and in the hearts of all of us who loved her. In the words of , poet Adrienne Rich, Sylva will live on as a woman who “cast [her] lot with those who, age after age, perversely, with no exr e Fall 2008 Courses Offered for c Women’s and Gender Studies Interdisciplinary Minor o Women’s and Gender Studies provides an opportunity for study and n dialogue on a broad range of topics related not only to feminist cons t tributions to the fundamental fields of human knowledge and i achievement, but also to interdisciplinary studies of feminisms, t masculinity, sex, gender and sexuality. The interdisciplinary minor u in WGS must include WGS 221 and WGS 321, and a minimum of t 12 additional hours, for a total of 18 hours. Visit our website at e

www.wfu.edu/wgs for complete minor requirements.

t WGS Courses Window on Women’s and Gender Studies (1 hr) h WGS 101 Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies (3 hr) e WGS 221 WGS 321A* ResSem: Women and Reproduction (3 hr) w WGS 321B* ResSem: BEFORE STONEWALL – Gay & Lesbian Film and Culture pre-1969 (3 hr) o Fathers and Daughters (3 hr) r WGS 359 l WGS 377A* SpTp: Irish Women in Writing and Film (3 hr) d WGS 377B SpTp: Teaching Feminist Activism and Creating Feminist Activists (3 hr) . ” WGS 396* Independent Study (1-3 hr) WGS 397A Internships: Non-PREPARE only (1.5-3 hr) WGS 100 RAD: Rape Aggression Defense for Women (1 hr) A 9/1-10/13, Mon B 10/20-12/1, Mon C 9/2-10/14, Tue D 10/21-12/2, Tue E 8/27-10/8, Wed F 10/22-12/3, Wed G 8/28-10/9, Thu H 10/23-12/4, Thu Courses Offered for WGS Credit AES 151 Race and Ethnic Diversity in America (3 hr) COM 340* American Rhetorical Movements to 1900 (3 hr) ECN 273 Economics for a Multicultural Future (3 hr) Worrell House ENG 165 Studying Gender in British Literature (3 hr) ENG 340* Studies in Women and Literature: The Woman Writer in Society Rediscovered – Black Women Writers and Trajectory of Tradition (3 hr) ENG 357* Studies in Chicano/a Literature (3 hr) ENG 393 Multicultural Drama: African American Playwrights (3 hr) GES 390 German Women Writers (3 hr) HST 338* Gender in Modern America (3 hr) HMN 290 Innovation and Inclusivity (3 hr) LAS 210 Introduction to Latin American Studies (3 hr) PHI 385* Seminar: Feminist Philosophy (3 hr) PSY 265 Human Sexuality (3 hr) PSY 364 Prejudice, Discrimination, Racism, and Heterosexism (3 hr) REL 388 South Asian Women: Religion, Culture, and Politics (3 hr) SOC 153 Sociology of Contemporary Families (3 hr) SOC 305 Gender in Society (3 hr) SOC 359 Race and Ethnic Relations (3 hr) THE 376 Multicultural Drama: African American Playwrights (3 hr) *Also offered as a graduate course -15-

Non-Profit Organization US Postage PAID Winston-Salem, NC Permit No. 69

Women’s and Gender Studies PO Box 7365 Winston Salem, NC 27109

Open House

Please join us for lemonade and cookies Monday, August 25, 2008 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

A106A Tribble Hall

Attention Graduate Students: We welcome you to take WGS graduate level courses.

GRAVEYARD BLUES It rained the whole time we were laying her down; Rained from church to grave when we put her down.

The suck of mud at our feet was a hollow sound.

When the preacher called out I held up my hand; When he called for a witness I raised my hand— Death stops the body’s work, the soul’s a journeyman.

The sun came out when I turned to walk away, Glared down on me as I turned and walked away— My back to my mother, leaving her where she lay.

The road going home was pocked with holes, That home-going road’s always full of holes; Though we slow down, time’s wheel still rolls.

I wander now among names of the dead: My mother’s name, stone pillow for my head.

Written by: Natasha Trethewey On February 27, 2008, Pulitzer Prize Winner Natasha Trethewey read her poetry in Hanes Gallery of Scales Fine Arts Center. This event was part of the Dillon Johnston Writers Reading Series.

Other sponsors were EE Folk Fund, Office of Multicultural Affairs, and Women’s and Gender Studies.

Thanks to WGS Alumnae/i Who Completed Our Survey We wish to thank all of the Women’s and Gender Studies alumnae/alumni who participated in the survey that we sent out last summer. With your help, we have gathered important data that will serve us well in improving our program. We look forward to reviewing your ideas and incorporating your suggestions as we study the best practices of highly successful major and graduate Women’s and Gender Studies programs.

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WOMEN’S FORUM SAVE THE DATE! Wednesday, September 10, 2008 Women in Leadership: Creating Professional Visibility

Become a Friend of Women’s and Gender Studies Your contribution to WGS will help us strengthen the important work in which Women’s and Gender Studies is involved.

We would be very grateful for any contributions you might make, so that the program can build on its considerable teaching and research strengths and maintain its academic excellence and community programming.

To make a tax-deductible contribution, go to http:// www.wfu.edu/alumni/giving, then select “Make A Gift Online”; complete the form; in Section 3 select “other” and, in the comments field, enter Women’s and Gender Studies. If you prefer to mail your gift, our address is: Women’s and Gender Studies, Wake Forest University, PO Box 7365, Winston-Salem, NC 27109.

News and Notes is published twice each year to

report on Women’s and Gender Studies developments, including the next semester's course offerings, WGS student, alumnae/i and faculty activities, and short feature news articles. We welcome comments, suggestions, and address changes from all our readers. We particularly value our alumnae/i and encourage you to send news and/or articles. Please send your information to wgs@wfu.edu.

For news of upcoming events, visit our Women’s and Gender Studies website at http://www.wfu.edu/wgs/news/calendar.htm