Lewis and Clark celebrates 30th annual Gender Symposium

For the pop-academia lovers among us this week presents one of the better college conferences on gender and sexuality. Beginning tomorrow Lewis and Clark will kick off the 30th annual Gender Studies Symposium titled New Directions: Gender in the Future. Organized by a committee of students, with support from faculty and staff, the Gender Studies Symposium brings together representatives from academia, activism, and the arts for three days of workshops, roundtable discussions, lectures, film screenings, readings, performances, academic panels, and other intellectual and creative explorations.

This year doesn’t have as big of names as have some past years (i.e. Dorothy Allison, Leslie Feinberg or Angela Davis) but it has a great program nonetheless.

Julia Serano’s Compulsory Genderqueerness: Transsexuality, Feminism and the “End of Gender” on Thursday afternoon should be particularly fascinating. Author of Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity Serano is an artist, wordsmith, slat poet, and Ph.D. holding science geek.

Young feminist Amy Richards will guide participants from ideas to action, and nighttime homo-cabaret favorites from Homomentum will also take stage. It will be a genderific synthesis of intellect, activism and fun not to be missed. (Now if only they would have invited Tristan Taormino…)

Here’s a video from last year that will give you a good sense of what to expect with a full schedule of events below.

Art Exhibition, Stamm Dining Room

Featuring work by L&C contributors as well as by Portland artists, this exhibit displays a variety of approaches to questions of gender and identity in a wide range of different media.  Curated by L&C student Elly Baldwin. The exhibit is open daily throughout the symposium.

Wednesday, March 9

9:45-11:15 am, Thayer
Roundtable: Queering the Family
Moderator: Kira McGieson, L&C student and symposium co-chair
Taylor and Megan Doren, on challenging gendered norms in identity and childrearing
Ben Anderson-Nathe, Assistant Professor of Social Work, Portland State University, on heteronormativity and notions of the family
Adrian Gebhart, L&C student, on being the grown child of a truly blended family
Liz Stanhope, L&C Assistant Professor of Mathematics, on legal challenges facing gay couples
James Trujillo, on being an adoptive parent

11:30 am-1:00 pm, Stamm
Roundtable: Beyond Housewives and Whores: The Future of Women’s Literature
Liz Prato, L&C ‘89, Instructor, The Attic Writers’ Workshop
Cheryl Strayed, VIDA: Women in Literary Arts
Lidia Yuknavitch, Instructor of Language and Literature, Mt. Hood Community College

11:30 am-1:00 pm, Council Chamber
Are We Getting More Violent? Who Cares?
Traci Boyle-Galestiantz, Women’s Resource Center Coordinator, Portland Community College
Steven Son, PCC student and male advocate at PCC Women’s Resource Center
Keri Wilborn, PCC student and interpersonal violence specialist at PCC Women’s Resource Center

12:00-1:30pm, Thayer
Workshop: Activism in Your Own Voice
Facilitated by symposium featured speaker Amy Richards
Participation limited to 20 Lewis & Clark students.  This session is currently full, but L&C students can add their names to the waiting list by emailing gendsymp@lclark.edu.

1:45-3:15 pm, Stamm
What the F? Gettin’ Down and Dirty with the Feminist Dialectic
Moderator: Linda Isako Angst, L&C Assistant Professor of Anthropology
L&C students Megan Elena Alpine, Natalie Baker, Claire Beatus,
Sarah Burkhardt-Beckley, Maisha Foster-O’Neal, Andrew Janeba,
Jennifer Schmidt, and Arielle White
The Fall 2010 Feminist Theory course presents a film in which L&C community members share their views about feminism.  Followed by reflections from the filmmakers about the experience and a discussion of the relevance and future of feminism.

1:45-3:15 pm, Council Chamber
Expressing Herself: Young Women and Music
Moderator: Nora Beck, L&C James W. Rogers Professor of Music
Jen Moore, graduate student, Portland State University, “Finding the Beat: How Girls Create Self Through Music”
Whitney DeBree, L&C student, “Go Girl!: A Feminist Analysis of the Spice Girls and
the Implications of Girl Power Rhetoric”
Katherine Paul, L&C student, “Brown Voices: Creating Spaces for Women of Color Musicians in the Northwest”

3:30-5:00 pm, Fir Acres Black Box Theatre
Performance: Scenes from Shape of a Girl
Rikki Wynn, L&C student
An exploration of violence between adolescent girls and the power of the bystander.  Directed by Ana Erikson, L&C ’10, with sound design by Emily Gregory, L&C ’10, and lighting by Kaye Blankenship, L&C ’12.

Featured Lecture

3:30 pm, Council Chamber
“Ranting and Raging: Translating Rhetoric into Action”
Amy Richards, feminist activist, writer, and organizer

Introduced by Tehya Wood, L&C ‘11 and symposium co-chair

For the past 15 years, Amy Richards has been a leading voice for young feminist issues, lecturing widely and writing extensively about feminism today.   She is co-founder of Third Wave Foundation, a national organization for feminists between the ages of 15 and 30, and she currently runs the feminist lecture agency Soapbox, Inc: Speakers Who Speak Out.  She is co-author of Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future and Grassroots: A Field Guide for Feminist Activism, as well as author of Opting In: Having a Child Without Losing Yourself.  Her writings have been published in The Nation, Ms., Bust, and numerous anthologies, and she also has written an advice column called Ask Amy at feminist.com since 1995.  She has appeared in a range of media venues including Fox’s The O’Reilly Factor, Oprah, Talk of the Nation, and CNN.  Amy has received numerous accolades, including being profiled in Ms. magazine’s “21 for the 21st: Leaders for the Next Century,” being chosen by the American Association of University Women as a 2004 Woman of Distinction, and being honored by her alma mater, Barnard College, in 2007.  She has been engaged in numerous other projects, including being a consultant for a PBS documentary on the women’s movement in America, working with the Columbia School of Public Health on a project addressing the long-term negative health consequences of welfare reform, and serving as a cultural attaché to the U.S. Embassy in Russia as a consultant on women’s issues in that country.

Keynote Lecture

7:30 pm, Council Chamber
“The Past, Present, and Future of Men’s Anti-Violence Work”
Michael Messner, Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies, University of Southern California

Introduced by Jean Ward, L&C Professor Emerita of Communication

Michael Messner is an award-winning teacher and leading scholar whose examinations of gender and sport have been widely influential, and he has been a pioneer in the study of men and masculinities.  His many books include It’s All For the Kids: Gender, Families, and Youth Sports (2009), Taking the Field: Men, Women, and Sports (2002), and Politics of Masculinities: Men in Movements (1997).  In addition, he has published numerous articles, and he is co-editor of the frequently used anthology Men’s Lives, now in its 8th edition.  Professor Messner’s newest project involves collecting life histories from two generations of men who have worked to address issues of gender-based violence.

Thursday, March 10

9:45-11:15 am, Stamm
Roundtable: Integrating Multiplicity into the Teaching of Gender
Karen A. Foss, Professor of Communication & Journalism, University of New Mexico, “Definition of the Problem: Translating the Multiplicity of Gender in Gender Classrooms”
Sonja K. Foss, Professor of Communication, University of Colorado, Denver, “Incorporating a Multiplicity of Religious-Political Positions into Gender Classrooms”
Mary Domenico, MA candidate in Communication, University of Colorado, Denver, “Incorporating a Multiplicity of Ages into Gender Classrooms”
Katherine Aid, PhD candidate in Comparative Literature, University of Pennsylvania, “Incorporating Queer Identities into Gender Classrooms”
Elizabeth Brunner, MA student in Communication, University of Colorado, Denver, “Integrating Diverse Role Expectations into Gender Classrooms”

9:45-11:15 am, Council Chamber
“Man Up”: Expressing Gendered Nationalism in a Post-Feminist(?) America
Moderator: Linda Isako Angst, L&C Assistant Professor of Anthropology
L&C students Liz Johnson, Elie Lauden, and Sean Weinstein

9:45-11:15 am, Thayer
Roundtable: L&C Athletes Talk About Gender and Sexuality
Moderator:  Judy McMullen, L&C Senior Associate Director of Physical Education & Athletics
L&C students Kayla Ernewein, Christina Herring, Brandis Piper, and Matt Yelin,

11:30 am-1:00 pm, Stamm
Gender in American Religions: Present and Future Prospects
Moderator: Susanna Morrill, L&C Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
Haeli Higgins, L&C student, “Housewife Activism: The Power of Motherhood in the Christian Right”
Susanna Morrill, L&C Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, “The ‘Twilight Saga’: An Example of Mormon and American Perfectionism?”
Lauren Ziegelman, L&C student, “Amish Women: Hidden in Plain Sight”

11:30 am-1:00 pm, Thayer
Workshop:  Assuring a Future for Gender & Women’s Studies Programs
Patricia Bolaños, Associate Professor of Spanish and Director of Gender Studies, and Ozzie Mayers, Professor of English and Gender/Women’s Studies, College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University

11:30 am-1:00 pm, Council Chamber
Messages and Meanings in Advice Literature and Activist Websites
Moderator: Dawn Salgado, L&C Assistant Professor of Psychology

Liam Mina, student, Whitman College, “(De)queering Diversity: Representations of Race and Gender on LGBTQ Political Organization Websites”
Jessica Burchett and Kelsey Domann, L&C students, “Cross-Generational Comparison of Two Christian Dating Manuals: Representation of Sexual Scripts Theory”
Ian Feis, L&C student, “’Hey, Faggot! Let’s Talk About Sex’: How Dan Savage Uses His Advice Column To Broaden Dominant Notions of Sexuality”

1:45-3:15 pm, Stamm
“Women’s Centers” on the University Campus, Past and Present: Is There a Future?
Martha Rampton, Professor of History and Director of Center for Gender Equity, Pacific University
Kayla Johnston, student co-director, Center for Gender Equality, Pacific University
Chris Palmer, student co-director, Center for Gender Equality, Pacific University
Katrina Lungren, projects coordinator, Center for Gender Equality, Pacific University
Alma Victoria Saucedo, design coordinator, Center for Gender Equality, Pacific University

1:45-3:15 pm, Thayer
Workshop: Engendering Understanding: In the absence of trans centered language and the presence of post-modern plasticity, is anyone qualified to teach gender studies?
Diana Courvant Graham, co-founder, Survivor Project

Featured Lecture

3:30 pm, Council Chamber
“Compulsory Genderqueerness: Transsexuality, Feminism and the ‘End of Gender”
Julia Serano, trans activist and spoken word performer

Introduced by Kira McGieson, L&C ‘12 and symposium co-chair

Julia Serano is the author of Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity (2007).  Her other writings have been anthologized widely and printed in magazines and websites such as Bitch, Feministing.com, and AlterNet.org.  She is also a celebrated poetry slam champion and lyricist/guitarist/vocalist for the pop trio Bitesize, and she has organized and hosted GenderEnders, a performance series featuring transgender, intersex, and genderqueer artists and allies.  Julia is also a scientist with a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biophysics, and she uses this training in her day job as a researcher at the University of California at Berkeley in the field of evolutionary and developmental biology.

Keynote Lecture

7:30 pm, Council Chamber, Templeton Campus
“Who Doesn’t Wish To Rescue Poor Third World Women?: Some Suspicious Centerings in Contemporary Feminism”
Uma Narayan, Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities and Chair of Philosophy, Vassar College

Introduced by Cari Coe, L&C Assistant Professor of International Affairs

Uma Narayan is a leading scholar examining transnational and global feminisms.  She is the author of the award-winning Dislocating Cultures: Identities, Traditions, and Third World Feminism, and co-editor of several works, including Reconstructing Political Theory: Feminist Perspectives and Decentering the Center: Postcolonial and Feminist Challenges to Philosophy.  She has published numerous academic articles addressing global economic justice, human rights, cultural relativism, and feminist philosophy.  Her current book project examines feminist politics, globalization, and economic rights.

Friday, March 11

9:45-11:15 am, Stamm
Gender in Cyberspace
Moderator: Daena Goldsmith, L&C Professor of Communication
Monique Halgat, L&C student, “Gendered Discourse in Online Social Networking”
Susan Kirtley, Assistant Professor of English, University of Massachusetts at Lowell, “Females, Feminism, and the Future: Investigating Gender and Technology” This paper has been withdrawn.
Daisy Frearson, L&C student, “Cyborg Sex: Transcending Gender Dichotomies”
Andrew Janeba, L&C student, “G.I.R.L. (Guy in Real Life): Gender Choices in Online Gaming Avatars”

9:45-11:15 am, Thayer
Write the Gender Future: A Creative Writing Workshop
Emily Webb, L&C ’07, and Marianna Hane Wiles, L&C ‘06

11:30 am-1:00 pm, Stamm
Transforming Bodies, Transforming Society
Moderator:  Tim Mechlinski, L&C Assistant Professor of Sociology
Laurie Fuller, Associate Professor of Women’s Studies, Northeastern Illinois University, “Feminists Imagine Gender: Speculative Fiction and Social Change”
Eric Plemons, PhD candidate in Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, “It Is As It Does: Genital Form and Function in Sex Reassignment Surgery”
Additional panelists to be confirmed

11:30 am-1:00 pm, Council Chamber
Nobody loves you. Now what? Queer Youth Homelessness and Creating Chosen Family
Reading and lecture by Sassafras Lowrey, editor of Kicked Out

11:30 am-1:00 pm, Thayer
Workshop: Giving Voice to Body: An Autoethnographic Approach for Healing in a Fat-Phobic Culture
Jessica Grindell, graduate student, L&C Graduate College of Counseling and Education

1:45-3:15 pm, Stamm
Under Pressure: Social Expectations of Caregiving
Moderator: Anna Stevens, L&C student
Sandra Reineke, Assistant Professor of Women’s Studies and Political Science, University of Idaho, “Her Body, My Baby: Gender Expectations, Surrogate Motherhood, and Women on Women Violence”
Shannon Frey, student, Rollins College, “Balancing Work and Family in Academia: A Case Study”
Tehya Wood, L&C student, “From Flowers to Flames: Motherhood, Identity, and Environmental Stewardship in Bhopal”
Judi A. Kloper, student, grandmother, international adoption specialist, former preschool/special education teacher, and L&C parent, “Parenting and Caregiving for Children with Special Needs”

1:45-3:15 pm, Council Chamber
Roundtable: Speaking of Privilege: Trans Women’s Experience of Feminism from the Inside
Diana Courvant Graham, co-founder, Survivor Project
Julia Serano, symposium featured speaker
Elena Rose, aka littlelight

1:45-3:15 pm, Thayer
Roundtable: Gender in the City: Internships in Portland
Moderator: Deborah Heath, L&C Associate Professor of Anthropology and Director of Gender Studies
L&C students Sonja Hakanson, Nicole Pampanin, Rhiannon Troutman, Arielle White, and Ellie Witwer

3:30-5:00 pm, Fir Acres Black Box Theatre
Performance: 348 by Kestryl Cael, L&C ’07
Transgender teenage rebel Cael cannot catch a break.  Her Hot Topic proclivities land him in a lock-down institution that borrows discipline from Guantanamo and staff from the Church of Latter Day Saints.  As Cael realizes why her mother locked him up, she wrestles with retribution, isolation, atonement, and the meaning of madness in America

5:30 pm, Stamm
30th Anniversary Reception
Students, faculty, staff and alumni are invited to join us in celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Gender Studies Symposium.  Refreshments will be served.  RSVP here.

Featured Event

8:00 pm, Trail Room

Homomentum: A Queer Cabaret
Featuring queer dance, drag, burlesque and performance art, with tons of glitter and ridiculousness at every turn.  Homomentum happens every first Friday of the month at Fez Ballroom in downtown Portland.  Join us for a very special “best of” Homomentum as the closing event for this year’s symposium.  With audience participation and MC Max Voltage, Homomentum puts the Gay in Gaymazing!