Women Entrepreneurs as Peacemakers

2009-10-14T12:42:01Z

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562

2009-10-14T12:42:01Z

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Published Panel Discussion

On October 20, 2009, Women and Gender Studies welcomes Dorothy Tuma, President of the Women's Center for Job Creation (WCFJC), Marga Fripp, President of Entrepreneurship Academy for Artists and Empowered Women International, and Barbara Moller, President of Voices for Global Change and founder of Paper to Pearls. They will participate in a roundtable discussion about their experience as peace makers promoting self sustainability for women in Uganda and in the United States. Women and Gender Studies has been collaborating with the Women's Center for Job Creation since November 2008 with the Bulondo Goat Project. The program sponsored 38 goats for women heads of households in Uganda.

Women Entrepreneurs as Peacemakers

2009-10-14T12:52:16Z

http://wmst.gmu.edu/events/125

Mason Gazette

2009-06-18T17:16:13Z

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true

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true

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521

2009-06-18T17:16:13Z

false

Published

Eleven undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in WMST 411 or 611 Gender Research Project, chose their own research topics, and used various methodologies to answer their sociological queries. On May 7, those researchers presented their findings and received feedback from professors, students and community members at the Second Annual Gender Research Conference.

From the Inside-Out: Gender Issues Examined at Mason

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8530

From the Inside-Out: Gender Issues Examined at Mason

2009-09-16T19:13:42Z

http://gazette.gmu.edu/articles/13648

CHSS

2009-06-15T13:33:42Z

false

true

false

true

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514

2009-06-15T13:33:42Z

false

true

false

Published Mason professors and students engage in roundtable podcast

Leading up to the 2008 presidential election, Mason students and professors mixed it up in a series of podcasts at Masonvotes.gmu.edu, including this one that asked the panel to examine several "women issues."

Roundtable Podcast Explores "Women Issues"

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Roundtable Podcast Explores "Women Issues"

2009-06-15T13:33:42Z

http://masonvotes.gmu.edu/blog/?p=680

Compiled from Reports

2009-06-11T19:33:36Z

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true

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true

A <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG4tjBNAeI4">video project</a> featuring Earth Day 2009 at Mason includes some footage of the Bulondo Goat project. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG4tjBNAeI4">Watch the video >></a> <h4>HOW TO PARTICIPATE</h4> Contribute whatever you can to the Goat Project. Send a check or cash to George Mason, Women and Gender Studies, 4400 University Drive, MS 5B6, Fairfax, VA 22030. (Please make your check out to WCFJC) Sponsor a goat for $50 and you can name the goat if you want. Give a goat sponsorship as a gift. Sponsor a goat for $50 and we will send a personalized goat gift certificate to the honored recipient.

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Beginning in October 2008, the Women and Gender Studies Program partnered with the Women's Center for Job Creation (WCFJC), an NGO based in Minnesota and Uganda, to empower low-income women in Uganda. The Women and Gender Studies Program started collecting donations for the Bulondo Goat Project, a project that provides goats for women in Uganda so that they can have sustenance for their families as well as develop small businesses. "Giving a goat may feel like a very small thing to many of our local participants, but the impact that this goat individually and as part of a collective effort is huge," said Vicki Kirsch, Associate Director for Women and Gender Studies. "It helps bridge the local and the global in a concrete way." Thus far, Women and Gender Studies has sponsored 38 goats for this project. While the women utilize the goat milk for themselves, their families, and their businesses, the program requires that they give a baby goat back to the organization within eighteen months as a way to keep the project vital and expanding. Before they are eligible to receive a goat they must: build two gardens; one is a kitchen garden for their family and the other is a garden for the goat. <object width="560" height="340"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FG4tjBNAeI4&hl=en&fs=1&" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="340" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FG4tjBNAeI4&hl=en&fs=1&" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed> </object> They must build a latrine for their family, and they must build a house, pen, eating area for the goat according to specifications outlined by WCFJC. They take a course in goat keeping/care and they must work with the vet to keep their goats healthy and inoculated. During Earth Day 2009 at Mason, Women and Gender Studies invited several local goat breeders to come and present their goats as a way to raise awareness about goats and sustainable income for families here in Virginia. Kirsch says that this fall Women and Gender Studies will invite Dorothy Tuma, President of WCFJC, to Mason to speak about her experiences as a social entrepreneur and about Uganda now. This will be part of a larger event that will be focus on Women and Peacemaking - and will include at least two organizations based in Alexandria - one is called "Paper to Pearls" which takes beads created by women in Ugandan refugee camps and sells them as jewelry in the United States and the other is Empowered Women International: Sustainable Livelihoods for Women Artists. Having the goats also provides an opportunity to educate Mason faculty, staff and students and the Fairfax community about violence and its' aftermath in Uganda and other African countries, and Women and Gender Studies' fundraising project. "The program empowers students, staff and faculty to help women and families in a war-torn part of the world in a very direct way," said Kirsch.

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118507

2009-06-11T19:33:36Z

The program empowers students, staff and faculty to help women and families in a war-torn part of the world in a very direct way.

Vicki Kirsch, Associate Director for Women and Gender Studies

true

Published Goat Project helps women in Uganda

Beginning in October 2008, the Women and Gender Studies Program partnered with the Women’s Center for Job Creation (WCFJC), an NGO based in Minnesota and Uganda, to empower low-income women in Uganda. WGS started collecting donations for the Bulondo Goat Project, a project that provides goats for women in Uganda so that they can have sustenance for their families as well as develop small businesses.

Goat Project: Women and Gender Studies Connects Local and Global

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12880

Goat Project: Women and Gender Studies Connects Local and Global

2009-09-16T19:14:00Z

B.J. Koubaroulis

2009-05-22T14:39:32Z

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During convocation ceremonies on May 14 and May 15, thousands of graduating students and onlookers applauded as Debra Bergoffen’s named was announced. The College of Humanities and Social Sciences’ Assistant Dean of Research Matt Zingraff announced Bergoffen as the winner of this year’s David J. King Faculty Teaching Award. Bergoffen, who has received many awards in her 40 years of academic excellence at George Mason, retires as one of the university’s most decorated professors; one who saw the university change in many ways since arriving at Mason in 1971. “Like many women, I did not have the possibility of moving around the country to find the right place for me as my interests changed, for my family was rooted here,” said Bergoffen. “But I did not have to. As I became more interested in teaching innovations, interdisciplinary work and serious research, so did Mason. You might say we grew up together professionally.” A professor of philosophy and former director of Mason’s Women’s Research and Resource Center, Bergoffen has worked within the context of the continental philosophical and multidisciplinary feminist traditions, exploring issues at the intersections of epistemology, ethics and politics. Bergoffen has edited several books and many articles in her area of expertise. Her book, The Philosophy of Simone de Beauvoir: Gendered Phenomenologies, Erotic Generosities details the significance of Beauvoir’s singular philosophical voice and examines the impact of her thinking on contemporary philosophical theory and current feminist thought. She has taught courses in existentialism, phenomenology, and feminist theory, including seminars on various figures in these traditions. “I've known Debra Bergoffen my entire career at George Mason. She has been, through all that time, ever helpful and ever thoughtful,” College of Humanities and Social Sciences Dean Jack Censer said. “On academic matters, she has listened to my rather theoretically-challenged ideas and brought the reason of a philosopher to help me through my muddle. As far as academic politics goes, she's been a sure guide both ethically and strategically. George Mason will not be the same without Debra Bergoffen.” Bergoffen chaired the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies from 1980-1987, was Director of the Women’s Studies Research and Resource Center from1998-2002. “Whether it's about Simone de Beauvoir or human rights, the fine points of theoretical argument or the give and take of global campaigns for social justice - when Debra talks, people listen,” said Dr. Nancy Weiss Hanrahan, Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the Women and Gender Studies program. “And hers is always a thoughtful, powerful and deeply compassionate voice.” Bergoffen received George Mason's Distinguished Faculty Award in 1989 and Teaching Excellence Award in 1993. She was CHSS’s Award for Scholarship winner in 2004. Recently, a symposium was held in her honor. The April 16 symposium entitled “Vulnerable Bodies” welcomed speakers from Mason, American University, Aarhus University and George Washington University and examined the vulnerabilities of aging, disabled, intersexed, harmed and raped bodies. “By bringing people together who deal with each of these issues, the symposium will challenge us to think about the body as an issue in itself,” said Bergoffen. “It will, I hope, be the beginning of getting us to think about developing an ethics of the body.”

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45608

2009-05-22T14:39:32Z

I've known Debra Bergoffen my entire career at George Mason. She has been, through all that time, ever helpful and ever thoughtful. On academic matters, she has listened to my rather theoretically-challenged ideas and brought the reason of a philosopher to help me through my muddle. As far as academic politics goes, she's been a sure guide both ethically and strategically. George Mason will not be the same without Debra Bergoffen.

Jack Censer, Dean College of Humanities and Social Sciences

false

Published Bergoffen Honored at Convocation

During convocation ceremonies on May 14 and May 15, thousands of graduating students and onlookers applauded as Debra Bergoffen’s named was announced. The College of Humanities and Social Sciences’ Assistant Dean of Research Matt Zingraff announced Bergoffen as the winner of this year’s David J. King Faculty Teaching Award. Bergoffen, who has received many awards in her 40 years of academic excellence at George Mason, retires as one of the university’s most decorated professors; one who saw the university change in many ways since arriving at Mason in 1971.

Bergoffen Retires After 40 years of Impact at Mason

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DebraBergoffen_small.jpg

5820

Bergoffen Retires After 40 years of Impact at Mason

2009-05-22T14:44:54Z