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!