GWS: Fall 2013

Thanks to the support and enthusiasm of students and faculty, the Gender and Women’s Studies Program had another great semester!

In September, we hosted $tart $mart, an interactive workshop for college-aged women that educates students on the challenges facing women in the workforce. In October, we held our most successful event, the Fatal Promises film showing. After watching this riveting documentary about human trafficking, students participated in a Q&A session with the film director, Kat Rohrer. Students asked some wonderful questions about human trafficking in America, and learned how individuals--particularly college students--can make a difference. Later that month, Aiden Kosciesza visited Villanova and gave his presentation, "Plastic Boy: Transgender Identity Unpacked." Kosciesza told his own story as a transsexual man, and had an interactive conversation with students about topics relating to sexual orientation, sexuality, and gender identity. In November, sports writer Michael Sokolove came to campus and gave his presentation, "Warrior Girls" The Benefits and Perils of Women's Sports." Following Sokolove's presentation,  there was a panel about women and sports, featuring Dr. Rick Eckstein (Dept. of Sociology) and Stacy Coburn-Carone (Assistant Coach at Villanova). Finally, GWS closed the semester with feminist economist Heidi Hartmann’s presentation, “Women and Men: The Recession and Recovery.” Hartmann provided us with a wealth of information on women and the economy, unemployment, workforce participation, and the gender wage gap.

We were also delighted to offer students a variety of new and innovative courses this semester, including "Sports and Society" taught by Rick Eckstein, "Environmental Ethics" taught by Chaone Mallory, and "Gender and Crime" taught by Katie Farina. Jean Lutes, our Academic Director, taught our introductory course, "Gender and the World," and we were fortunate to have almost full enrollment in classes such as "Women in the Bible" and "Philosophy of Women."

GWS would like to thank you for promoting and supporting our program. Please check out our blog again soon to see more information about upcoming spring programs. We especially hope that you will join us for the annual Elizabeth Cady Stanton conference, held on April 4, 2014.

Have a great holiday!

Call For Papers!

Each spring, Villanova University’s Gender and Women’s Studies program hosts the annual Elizabeth Cady Stanton Conference. This year, in honor of its anniversary, GWS is joining forces with the Greater Philadelphia Women’s Studies Consortium to expand the conference and open it to students at area schools including the University of Delaware, Haverford College, Ursinus College, Temple University, and others. This is an exciting opportunity to showcase your work, discuss your interests with fellow students and faculty from the area, and see the broad range of intellectual disciplines that Gender and Women’s Studies encompasses!

Submit your paper to compete for a CASH AWARD in one of the following four categories:

1.      papers or creative works by first year undergraduates (4-10 pages)

2.      papers or creative works by undergraduate students (5-20 pages)

3.      papers by graduate students (12-30 pages)

4.      a fourth award may be given to a paper that demonstrates a commitment to practical applications of feminist theory

Essays and creative work must engage gender, sexuality or feminist theories; a biographical or historical account of women or a woman is not sufficient. For example, a paper might: critically explore actions and reactions caused by gender prejudice or discuss the ways that gender functions in some aspect of society; analyze a text using elements from feminist theory; or report an empirical study that engages gender. All papers must be written during the past calendar year, from Spring or Fall 2013, or written specifically for the conference.

We encourage submission of alternative forms of scholarship, including but not limited to original scripts, poetry or films that engage gender analysis. If the feminist or gender analysis is not overt in the creative work itself, the work should be accompanied by an essay that frames and explains the theory's application.

Submission Guidelines:

·         Essays should be formatted in Word, using 12 pt. Times New Roman font with 1 inch margins, and page numbers

·         Outside sources in a bibliography or reference section are encouraged

·         Include a cover sheet with the following information: student’s name, major and year of graduation, mailing and email addresses, phone number, and the name of the course and professor for which the paper was written (if any)

·         Marks of identification, except for the work’s title, should not appear anywhere else in the paper

·         Please email the paper as a Word document to ecs.villanova@gmail.com by February 14, 2014

All papers will be presented at the conference on April 4, 2014.

Attendance at the conference constitutes an excused absence from classes.

For more information, you can check out our website. Here you can also see the list of past award winners.

Questions? Email us: ecs.villanova@gmail.com or call 610-519-3815