"One Billion Rising" Flash Mob

GWS would like to thank all students, staff, and faculty who participated in the One Billion Rising second annual flash mob on February 21, 2014. We had an enthusiastic group of dancers! The One Billion Rising campaign even shared our video on their official Facebook page. You can see it here.

ECS Deadline Extension

ATTENTION Students: Due to the bad weather and many missed school days, GWS has decided to extend the ECS paper submission deadline. Papers are now due February 18th, 2014. This means that you still have time to submit!

Please send submissions to ecs.villanova@gmail.com. You can see specific guidelines here. We look forward to receiving your papers! 

One Billion Rising: "Break The Chain"

Last year, GWS participated in One Billion Rising, a worldwide campaign that seeks to raise awareness about gender violence. As part of this campaign, we hosted a flashmob on Villanova campus. Students, faculty, and staff came together to dance, protest, and speak out against the tragedy that is gender violence. 

On February 21, 2014, GWS is once again participating in One Billion Rising. We will host another flash mob on 2/13 at 12:45 p.m. near the Oreo on campus. Like last year, the flashmob will consist of the above choreographed dance to the song, "Break The Chain." The dance and song was created specifically for this campaign. Tutorials are available on their website. It is a relatively simple and short routine; all members of the Villanova community are invited to participate!

We hope that you will RISE with us!

Why You Should Submit a Paper to ECS!

Have you written a paper that engages topics related to gender, women's issues, and/or feminist theories? Submit it to ECS! Last year, close to 60 Villanova undergraduate and graduate students presented their research at the Elizabeth Cady Stanton student research conference. Below are some of their comments on the experience and why they encourage YOU to be involved in the conference!

 

"The Elizabeth Cady Stanton Conference gave me the incredible opportunity to observe and engage in discussions about a variety of Gender and Women Studies topics and issues. Experiencing this during my freshman year at Villanova will continue to shape my academic inquiry and my perspective on issues in and far beyond the field of Gender and Women Studies."
-Tatum Murray (2016), presented, "Judith: Strong, Invincible, Woman"

"The ECS conference gave me the chance to network and dialogue with my peers about something that affects all of humanity each day of our lives. Gender--and what it means to be male and female-- comes up in every facet of life from literature to sports, and it is so important that we take the time to come together to discuss it! This conference gives the opportunity for that, as well as the opportunity to ask critical questions about society in both a historical and modern context."
-Jessica Flynn (2015), presented, "To Be or Not to Be (Official): A Question of Commitment and Labeling in College Dating Practices"

 

We hope that you will join your fellow peers in this amazing experience and submit a paper to ECS!  To find out more information and see official submission guidelines, click here. Paper submissions are due on February 14, 2014. Students are expected to present their papers at the conference on April 4, 2014. Presenting at the conference counts as an excused absence from classes. Hope to see you there!

Welcome Back Lunch and Faculty Talk

GWS invites you to help us kick off the new spring semester with a "Welcome Back" lunch and faculty talk. The event will be held on Wednesday, January 29th at 12:00 p.m. in the Radnor St. David's Room. Travis Foster will be giving his presentation, "Darwin, Jewett, Freud, and the Ecology of Queer Life."

Travis Foster is Assistant Professor of English at Villanova University, where he specializes in pre-1900 American Literature. He is finishing a manuscript on literary culture and affective belonging in the wake of the Civil War, a piece of which is forthcoming in American Literary History. His articles have also appeared in American Literature, ESQ, and the Edith Wharton Review, and his chapter on nineteenth-century queer texts is forthcoming in The Cambridge Companion to Gay and Lesbian American Literature.

His talk for GWS comes from a new project on literature, botany, and the conceptualization of sexuality before sexology.

 

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