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Please read Kristina's interview and stop by the center to get to know our new fellow!

The news is filled with accounts of women and children from Central America arriving at the U.S. border and seeking asylum. While we are learning a great deal about their struggles once they arrive at the southern border, far less is known about their journey from Central America to the United States. Government statistics show that many women are migrating with their children, and the number of families apprehended at the border has increased in recent years. Many of these women rely on human smugglers to transport them and their children across Mexico to the U.S. border. This report reveals the reality of human smuggling from the perspective of migrant women from Central America. Their testimony and experiences can teach us about the trauma they face during migration and how it continues to impact them when they arrive in the United States.

The Bonner Leader program affords college students an opportunity to use their energy, talents, and leadership skills to engage in community service while providing developmental and financial support.

Women and Gender Studies Program Faculty win first ever “Sustaining Mentor Award” from the Office of Undergraduate Research (OSCAR).Professors Shannon Davis (Sociology and Women & Gender Studies) and Danielle Rudes (Criminology, Law and Society and Women & Gender Studies) were honored at the Celebration of Student Scholarship and Impact event on May 7, 2019.

David Powers Corwin has joined our faculty and we are thrilled to have added one more core faculty member to our team. In this role, David will teach courses in LGBTQ Studies, feminist theory, and media studies. They will also serve as the undergrad advisor and the associate director for academic affairs. Please see their interview below.

Please read L'Erin's interview and stop by the center to get to know our newest professional staff member!

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Shannon Davis for her new role as the Chair of the Faculty Senate.

Please join us in WGST as we welcome our newest staff member, Sierra Scott. She will be serving in a variety of capacities in our space. Please read her interview to get to know her more.

You can hear and congratulate award winner Angela Hattery at the DC Sociological Society Annual Banquet this Thursday, May 23, 6 pm, at Busboys & Poets (14th & V). She’ll be a panelist discussing Sociology and the #MeToo Movement. For more info and to register, go to https://www.dcsociologicalsociety.org/events.html. But please act fast!

In continuation of Mason’s commitment to diversity, the Women and Gender Studies program will launch a minor in LGBTQ Studies starting Fall 2019.

Dr. Earl Smith will be the featured speaker at a symposium on race and policing at CUNY on Thursday, April 11, 2019 at 6:30.

Screening and Q&A March 18 7:30pm. The short documentary Mother, Daughter, Sister exposes the Burmese military’s practice of using rape as a weapon of war and gives voice to Kachin and Rohingya women activists calling for justice for these crimes.

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor and Robin M. Boylorn spoke to the importance of studying and exploring the lives of black women in history.

Women and Gender Studies Director and Professor, Dr. Angela J. Hattery and Sociologist Dr. Earl Smith – set to deliver the plenary session at the 2019 NASPA Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Conference: A NASPA Strategies Conference. The title of their talk, “I Was Attacked by My Classmate, But it was My College that did the Most Harm: The Role of Institutions in Perpetuating Gender Based Violence” is based on the research they conducted and compiled for the newest book, Gender, Power and Violence: Responding to Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence in Society Today.

This new report notes that in 2018, none of the American winners were foreign-born individuals who immigrated permanently to the United States. But the United States did play an important role in their formation; nine of the twelve 2018 Nobel Laureates were either students, teachers, or research fellows at U.S. institutions of higher education at some point in their lives.

Jayna Tavarez, a graduate certificate student of Women and Gender Studies is one of the recipients of the 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award from CHSS.

The abolitionist and iconic face of the Underground Railroad would be the first African American and first woman on a U.S. currency bill.

Dr. Jhumka Gupta, CHHS assistant professor of global and community health, with Courtney S. Harris, a Master of Public Health alumna, and colleagues, conducted the study that qualitatively examined teens’ perceptions of endometriosis and how girls’ social environment may affect their experience of endometriosis symptoms.

Immigrants in our communities thrive when they are given the opportunity to participate in the decisions that affect their lives. In this free webinar, learn what local leaders can do to include immigrants' interests, safeguard their families, and ensure they can contribute to their fullest potential.

WGST Affiliate Faculty, Dr. Diana D'amico was featured on a panel discussion entitled: "American Women on Campus: Past and Present" with the National Women's History Museum on August 30, 2018. She shared the stage with other panelists who work in the field of women and gender studies.

The Matrix, its title was inspired by black feminist scholars, features our story and accomplishments for the 2017-18 academic year.

Rugile Butkeviciute comes to Women and Gender Studies (WGST) from Lithuania, where she grew up appreciating cozy streets of historical old town in a geographical center of Europe. Rugile is a lawyer and a feminist for more than 10 years working on issues of gender equality in the Women’s Issues Information Centre.

Earl Smith, PhD was awarded the Lifetime Research Award from the College Sports Research Institute (CSRI) at their annual meetings in Columbia, SC, in April 2018.

At its degree celebrations, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences sends off its doctors, masters, and bachelors with an enthusiastic salute.

Women and Gender Studies staff, Fareshta Jan, a biology major received an OSCAR grant to work with Women and Gender Studies affiliate faculty, Dr. Lisa Lindley on a research project looking at stress, violence and discrimination at the intersection of gender, identity and race/ethnicity.

"I felt that each class had important discussions and I loved evaluating what can be done for problems faced today in regards to gender and sexuality. At the time it was one of my more challenging classes as I wrote a small paper almost every class, but it was the easiest work to get done. I realized that I loved this subject and work and I enjoyed putting hard work into my research. After this class I kept taking WMST courses, declared the minor, and never looked back!"

Angela Hattery, director of Mason’s Women and Gender Studies Program, is the 2018 recipient of the United Bank Presidential Medal for Faculty Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion. The college is grateful to her work on behalf of all of Mason’s students.

"The courses in Women and Gender Studies I have taken helped me understand how to incorporate and elevate the voices of historically marginalized identities in art. I have learned how to acknowledge my own intersectional identities while respecting and honoring people who possess other identities. All of the Women and Gender Studies professors I have learned from have been excellent examples of how to teach effectively too. I plan to take all of these experiences with me when I graduate."

Women and Gender Studies certificate student, Shannyn Snyder received the Adjunct Teaching Excellence Award. She was recognized at the 2018 Celebration of Teaching Excellence last week on April 16, 2018, for her commitment to providing students with meaningful and significant learning experiences.

Women and Gender Studies major student, Bennett Shoop has been chosen as a recipient of the Dean’s Challenge Award for the 2018/2019 academic year. The Dean’s Challenge Award is given to select undergraduate and graduate students who demonstrate exceptional academic achievement. Those who are chosen for the award are also given a stipend to support them in covering academic expenses.

Jen Stevens is a WGST subject librarian at Mason, where she has been for the past 12 years. Throughout her time here she has taken classes, balancing both work and student roles. Jen was recently admitted into the Writing and Rhetoric PhD program at Mason.

"I think that as a white, cis-gender, able-bodied woman being exposed to any other perspective beyond my privilege has been invaluable to my growth as a human being. I think the biggest transformation was when I took WMST 330 with Rachel Lewis and was exposed to disability theory, which I was never exposed to before. That was definitely a moment I was challenged to re-evaluate how I considered certain spaces and rampant ableist discourse in our society. "

"Women and Gender Studies' courses have given me the tools and vocabulary that I need in order to be a feminist scholar. Feminist Theory with Dr. Rachel Lewis helped expose me to the foundational tools of feminist scholarship and Feminist Research Methods with Dr. Angela Hattery has allowed me to learn how to apply theory into practice."

Meet one of our affiliated faculty member and former director, Professor Suzanne Scott Constantine. She is a Term Professor at George Mason University in the School of Integrative Studies. She's also an artist where she uses a variety of contemporary art forms as well as popular culture to explore injustices related to race, gender, sexual orientation, and the planet. She is currently teaching a course on representations of race. 

Angela Hattery, director of the women and gender studies program, and sociology professor Earl Smith are taking part in the Virginia Festival of the Book, which takes place from March 21-25, 2018. They will be discussing their book, Policing Black Bodies, at two events in Charlottesville, Va.

We would like you to meet Jessica Smith of the Women's Business Center of Northern Virginia where she connects women, minorities and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals with the resources they need to build sustainable businesses. She has also presented her work at the Women and Gender Studies Annual Gender Research Conference in the past.

One of my first graduate level women’s studies courses was Gender and Racial Ideologies of Early Jim Crow America. It was exactly as mind-blowing and unfortunately depressing as the title suggests. In that course, taught by the genius Dr. Yevette Richards Jordan, I learned about the truly systemic nature of racism in America post-Reconstruction era and the role, to my privileged surprise, white women played in the disenfranchisement of black men to amplify their own marginalized voices. It was a bit of another wake up call for me.

Curriculum impact grants, designed to encourage innovative programs with interdisciplinary, cross-unit curriculum, offer students new ways to consider some of the most critical issues facing our society. College faculty are involved with eleven of the newly funded programs.

March is Women's History Month and we have a fun-filled month of events and activities at Mason.

This one-day conference, hosted by Women and Gender Studies at George Mason University, brings together scholars, students (both graduate and undergraduate), policymakers, artists, and activists to wrestle with ideas and strategies to move forward toward a just world in theory and practice.

Meet one of our teaching faculty, Professor Leah Adams who is an Assistant Professor at George Mason University in the departments of Psychology and Women & Gender Studies. Professor Adams is also a licensed clinical psychologist.

An engaged audience of students, faculty, and staff joined faculty members Angela Hattery, Devon Johnson, and Earl Smith as they offered a book talk on their recent work, which touches on the timely topics of race, policing, and justice in the United States.

I had left my previous career. While it was certainly a valuable experience for me, it no longer supported my interests or ethical perspectives. I’d thought I’d re-tool my skill set and was taking courses for a very different profession. I took one course in Women and Gender Studies (my first) as I needed 3 elective credits to meet the full-time requirements for my GI Bill, and I’ve always been interested (albeit a bit ignorant) in Women and Gender Studies. By the third week of the course, I fell in love with the discipline and knew in my heart that I had found a home and a discipline that I wanted to devote my life to studying.

Women and Gender Studies Affiliate Faculty member, Toni-Michelle Travis of the Schar School of Policy and Government at GMU, was mentioned in a recent article by The Washington Post.

Devon Johnson, Angela Hattery and Earl Smith will speak about their books: Deadly Injustice: Trayvon Martin, Race and the Criminal Justice System (Johnson) and Policing Black Bodies: How Black Lives are Surveilled and How to Work for Change (Hattery and Smith).

George Mason University's Women and Gender Studies and African and African American Studies programs proudly presented the 2018 Sojourner Truth Lecture featuring Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, on Monday, February 19. The event, held during Black History Month, drew attention to racial justice as Ms. Fulton discussed key themes from her book Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin.

Marzia will graduate this week with a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Women and Gender Studies. This is her story.

Dr. Rita Chi-Ying Chung, a WGST affiliated faculty and executive committee member taught the Counseling and Social Justice course this fall semester in the Counseling and Development program at Mason. As a final project, four of her students created a powerful video to raise awareness of domestic violence.

Shannyn Snyder, a certificate student of Women and Gender Studies finishes her final capstone this semester. Here is her story.

Carol L. Campbell, a student of the Master of Art in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Women and Gender Studies will be walking across the stage next week to finish off her journey. Here's her story.  

This year’s annual Scholar’s Lecture took place on Wednesday, November 29, 2017. The event gives the Mason community a chance to see some of the amazing work that is being done here on campus by Women and Gender Studies faculty. 

The annual Mary Roper Award reception took place Tuesday, honoring a staff member within the College of Humanities and Social Sciences who exemplifies excellence and dedication to the college and university.

On Wednesday, November 8, 2017, survivors from the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC) International came to Mason to share their stories and to advocate for worldwide abolition of torture. The event was co-sponsored by Women and Gender Studies and the Counseling and Development honor society Gamma Mu Upsilon of Chi Sigma Iota.

On Friday, November 3rd, the George Mason University Honors College, Women and Gender Studies, the LEAD Office, and Roosevelt at Mason hosted the GMU Women’s Leadership Conference at the MIX at Fenwick. The conference went from 10-2:30 and included speakers, activities, and small group discussions.

The most recent Faculty Brown Bag took place on Wednesday, October 18th which included sharing the highly inspiring work from Dr. Earle Reybold and Dr. Erin Peters Burton.

On October 12, 2017, Fall for the Book, Women and Gender Studies, African/African American Studies, and LGBTQ Resources joined hands together in bringing Janet Mock, a trans activist and New York Times best-selling author of Redefining Realness, to speak about her newly published memoir, Surpassing Certainty: What My Twenties Taught Me. The interview took place at the Harris Teeter as interviewer Dr. Wendi N. Manuel-Scott conversed with Mock on stage. The nature of the event was extremely intimate and friendly.

On October 11th, the Mason community took part in the Red Sand Project, an international art project to raise awareness about human trafficking.

Take Back the Night is an international event aimed at raising awareness around sexual assault, domestic violence, and IPV. It is an event that began in 1976 and is held in 30 different countries. This year Mason’s Take Back the Night event included bringing awareness to police brutality, deportation, other forms of state violence, and the violence of racism and oppression.

Fear 2 Freedom is an annual event that has become a catalyst for social change within the Mason community. In partnering with hospitals and community organizations, there is a sense of family, and everyone present truly takes the time to care with an open heart and open mind.

10/19 7:30pm Johnson Center Cinema. Road Through War is a road trip along both sides of the frontline in Ukraine. Screening followed by Q&A with filmmaker Louie Palu

This summer, six Mason undergraduate students conducted research in three prisons as members of the Together Alone: Solitary Confinement Project, led by Professor Danielle Rudes of the Department of Criminology, Law and Society.

9/11 6pm: Almost Sunrise follows two Iraq veterans, tormented by depression for years after they returned home, as they embark on an extraordinary journey, a 2,700 mile walk across the country from Wisconsin to California, in order to reflect on their haunting experiences of war and to save themselves.

Three departments have added or updated their program offerings to better serve our students in the college.

For Pride Week, a screening and discussion of Moonlight. April 13, 4:30pm Johnson Center Cinema. The film presents a mental odyssey about the youth, adolescence, and adulthood of Chiron, who is growing up gay and black in Miami.

The mood in EagleBank Arena was lively on May 18 and 19, as the College of Humanities and Social Sciences held its degree celebration ceremonies. Congratulations again to all of our graduates! We are pleased to welcome you to an impressive community of alumni, made only stronger by the class of 2017.

Some of the students, staff, faculty, and affiliated faculty of Mason's Women and Gender Studies program -- including philosophy Professor Rose Cherubin -- shared their stories with the Dear World project when it was on campus during International Week.

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences is pleased to announce the May 2017 degree celebrations will be led by two outstanding alumni: chief historian for the White House Historical Association, Edward Lengel, and Lt. Col. Suzanne Devlin, a former acting chief of police for the Fairfax County Police Department and the current supervisor of safety and security for Loudoun County Public Schools.

Dr. O’Neill, a Senior Scientist for the Center for the Advancement of Well-Being (CWB) and Assistant Professor of Management in the George Mason University School of Business, along with faculty in the Industrial-Organizational (I-O) Psychology program - ranked 10th in North America - contribute to this unique body of knowledge. Dr. O’Neill’s work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, as well as numerous prestigious academic journals.

Film screening and discussion: Rescued from the streets of San Pedro Sula, Honduras, orphaned girls find their voices in poetry, as they heal traumas of their past and look toward an uncertain future.

Please consider submitting a proposal and coming to our 4th annual Gender Research Conference here at Mason.

Ava DuVernay's Oscar-nominated documentary, 13th, traces the history of the 13th amendment to the US Constitution, from the horrors of mass criminalization to the sprawling American prison industry.

Panelists Dr. Toni-Michelle Travis, Dr. Peter Stearns, and Mr. Abdallah Hendawy will discuss the implications of the inauguration on international students and the world on Thursday, February 2, 2017 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in Dewberry Hall.

IIR co-hosts discussion with Middle East Institute about the contributions made by immigrant artists to the United States

Women and Gender Studies in collaboration with the LEAD office, with support from the Student Support and Advocacy Center and University Life, held its third annual Fear 2 Freedom Celebration Evening on Tuesday, September 20th, 2016.

Professor Jacquelyn Williamson has published a book with Brill about a new cult complex at Tell el-Amarna in Egypt.

Fall for the Book brings writers, readers, and scholars together like no other event in the region. In its eighteenth year, Fall for the Book is a weeklong literary festival with events taking place on Mason's Fairfax campus and at other venues across the region between September 25 and September 30.

In a Washington Post article, Robinson Professor of Public Affairs Steven Pearlstein describes the challenge of convincing incoming students' parents of the value of liberal arts education. The college's senior associate dean Robert Matz contributes, leading the effort to promote humanities and social sciences degrees.

Mason's Office of Graduate Admissions cordially invites you to attend our largest annual event for prospective graduate students. Learn about graduate degree programs, graduate certificates, and professional degrees. Come see the excitement of our campus, meet our faculty, and speak with admissions representatives.

Imagine an ocean without fish. Imagine your meals without seafood. Imagine the global consequences. This is the future if we do not stop, think and act, brought on by overfishing.

Educational inequality. Social innovation. Public relations. Human rights. These courses, offered in fall 2016, will expand your view on real issues that affect the world around us. No matter what your major, your awareness of any of these big issues will bring new perspective to your education. Learn more!

Courses include Bollywood and Beyond, Film and Video Forms, Global Horror Film, History of World Cinema, International Mysteries, Intro Documentary, Intro Film, Japanese Cinema, Music Video Experimentation, and War and International Film.

Internship available for aspiring film reviewer at PopMatters. This is a chance to gain experience in writing reviews of film, television, and internet programming for a respected daily cultural studies magazine.

Find new ways to see your world with FAMS Summer courses. Titles include Conflict, Terrorism, Human Rights; Film and Video Forms; Film and Video Screenwriting; Intro to Film; Samurai On Screen; Women in Media.

On April 5 and 6, photographer and filmmaker Khalik Allah visited George Mason University to present his film, Field Niggas. Two weeks later, his work was featured in Beyonce's Lemonade.

George Mason University screened the documentary “Kandahar Journals,” an unconventional documentary that accomplishes just that by capturing a photojournalist’s first-hand experience of the war in Afghanistan.

“Field Niggas” makes a powerful claim for the dignity and visibility of its subjects, even as it travels to precincts far outside their purview. What could have been an example of “ethnographic” documentary at its most patronizing instead becomes an opportunity for radical engagement.

“I don’t know I would say there’s one particular message the film has,” Steger said. “I think when you make a film it should be something that people in the audience … reflect and connect to it in different levels … and all pull something different from it.”

In the documentary, Stage Four: A Love Story, Mary Jo and George and their adult children face the difficult decisions following her diagnosis of stage IV breast cancer. The film reveals that a cancer diagnosis isn't a death sentence, but a chance to live life to the fullest.

ArtSpace Herndon and Film and Video Studies present Best of FAVS, a collection of films that represents some of the great work of students in GMU's Film and Video Studies program.

The Institute for Immigration Research (IIR) hosted Tom Gjelten, correspondent for National Public Radio and author of A Nation of Nations: A Great American Immigration Story, at the April colloquium. Mr. Gjelten shared his insights on how the landscape of America has changed over the past fifty years with the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, as told through the experiences of families in one suburban county in Virginia.

Last Monday, photojournalist Louie Palu screened his film “Kandahar Journals” in the Johnson Center Cinema as part of the Visiting Filmmakers Series sponsored by GMU's Film and Media Studies. The film focuses on Palu’s experiences as an embedded photojournalist in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan from 2006 to 2010.

CHSS scholars Lisa Breglia (Global Affairs), Shannon Davis (Sociology) and Angie Hattery (Women and Gender Studies) presented their posters at the Provost’s annual multidisciplinary research symposium on Friday, February 12th.

Back on Board reveals Greg Louganis’ evolution from childhood diving prodigy to Olympic champion to pioneering openly gay athlete.

It is with GREAT pleasure that I invite you to view the 2014-2015 Matrix. We had a terrific year in Women and Gender Studies largely because of all of the handwork and dedication you all shared with us.

Mason Nation is invited to take action to support sexual assault and domestic abuse victims at the second annual Fear 2 Freedom event, September 22, 2015. The event will be held from 4:00 - 6:30 pm in Dewberry Hall in the Johnson Center, Fairfax Campus.

MaryAnn Vega, a graduate student in the MAIS program, was recently awarded a fellowship from Futures Without Violence as a part of their Campus Leadership Program.

Former WGST director Suzanne Scott Constantine has been awarded a 2015-2016 CHSS Term Faculty Development Award. The award was created to recognize and support scholarship and creative activities by term faculty to enrich their teaching at Mason

MAIS student David Corwin will be presenting research at two conferences this year. Along with being a graduate student, David is also the Graduate Assistant for Women and Gender Studies and LGBTQ Resources.

Citing a lack of positive role models for young girls, George Mason University students and alumni stepped up to inspire hundreds of middle and high school students in the first Virginia Girls Summit on Nov. 15.

Citing a lack of positive role models for young girls, George Mason University students and alumni stepped up to inspire hundreds of middle and high school students in the first Virginia Girls Summit on Nov. 15.

Women and gender studies minor Abby Picard recently published a piece on sexual assault and disability in the Columbia Spectator.

On November 11, New Century College Professor Suzanne Scott Constantine will co-present “Epistemologies of the Studio: Artists Re-Imagining the World,” with Lynne Scott Constantine as part of the 2014 Scholar’s Lecture Series coordinated by the Women and Gender Studies program. The lecture will include a small display of both artists’ visual art to demonstrate their research. The talk will begin at noon in George’s -- room 321 of the Johnson Center.

We would like to welcome our new Program Coordinator, Nancy Xiong, to Women and Gender Studies.

Come join us to take back the night at Mason with powerful narratives of empowerment and reclamation!

With the recent attention to Ebola in the news, Fairfax resident Gary Cook discusses his role in ending the Ebola crisis in the 1970s.

Graduate students David Corwin and AJ Jones will both present papers at the 23rd Annual Women & Society conference at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Both David and AJ are students in the MAIS in Women and Gender Studies program.

Artist behind Stop Telling Women to Smile,Tatyana Fazlalizadeh comes to Mason.

Turn off the Violence Week is October 6-10, 2014. George Mason University will present programs to step up its ongoing initiatives to address the serious and violent crimes of sexual assault and intimate partner violence. Dean Deborah Boehm-Davis and the Women and Gender Studies program will play a role in the week's events.

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences rolled out a red carpet for its alumni over the course of two evenings during the university's Alumni Weekend. The Distinguished Alumni Reception recognized some of the contributions made by college alumni, and a social event, open to all college alumni, combined scholarship and relaxing fun.

AIS Alumna Karen Wolf won the CHSS Distinguished Alumn award this year. Karen L. Wolf graduated from the MAIS program with a concentration in Women and Gender Studies in 2010.

Graduate Student Staff Member David Corwin is the newest social media intern for Stop Street Harassment, a local organization committed to advocating against gender-based violence in the DC Area.

Women and Gender Studies director Angela Hattery was interviewed by the Washington Post

We would like to take the time to recognize our faculty for their accomplishments. Even when students are writing papers and taking tests, faculty are researching, writing and presenting their work to colleagues.

Angela Hattery, director of Mason's Women and Gender Studies program, wrote in the Huffington Post about how the publication of opinion pieces on women's violence issues is driven by and reinforces the male privilege of defining the narrative on these issues.

WGST Director Angela Hattery discussed her viewpoints on campus rape for ABC News.

Karen Sherman, our keynote speaker for the Gender Research Conference in May, published an article on Post-genocide women in Rwanda.

On May 13th, 2014, Women and Gender Studies hosted our annual graduation ceremony in Johnson Center Meeting Room C. The ceremony was attended by faculty, staff, and students, from across campus.

Holly Kearl is an expert on gender-based violence and is the founder of the non-profit Stop Street Harassment and a consulate for the United Nations and the State Department. This summer Holly Kearl is teaching the course called Representations of Women.

http://chss.gmu.edu/articles/6861

Since 2010, the LGBTQ Lambda Alumni Chapter of Mason has recognized an alumnus at the Celebration of Distinction from the Mason LGBTQ community for their achievements and service to the LGBTQ community. This year, the Lambda Alumni Chapter is recognizing Karen Wolf.

On Wednesday, March 19th, Women and Gender Studies, Wellness, Alcohol, and Violence Education and Services, NHPC Sororities, and Pan Hellenic members held the first part of a dialogue series centered on sex.

On Thursday, March 20th, the Feminist Student Organization screened “After Tiller”: a documentary which discusses reproductive rights and ideologies behind abortion providers.

One of our 2013 graduates, Mabinty Quarshie has been accepted to graduate school at Georgetown University.

On March 5th, 2014, African and African American Studies and Women and Gender Studies held the annual Sojourner Truth Lecture in the Meese Room. The Sojourner Truth Lecture is held every year to bridge Black Heritage Month and Women’s History Month. This year’s lecturer was Dr. Crystal Leigh Endsley, Assistant Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Along with being an educator, Endsley is an internationally recognized spoken word artist, activist, and actress.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014, students packed the Hub ballroom to hear Orange Is the New Black star Laverne Cox deliver her speech, "Ain't I A Woman?"

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), which went into effect on January 1, 2014, will be very beneficial to women. Women will no longer be charged a higher premium just for being a woman.

The Women and Gender Studies staff send our thanks to Sandy Lawrence and other members of AAUW-Virginia for donating to our ongoing toiletry drive this week. All donations go to help families at a local women’s shelter. If you have any unused toiletries of your own, please bring them by our office!

As the fall semester comes to an end, the staff of the Women and Gender Studies Center is proud of the progress that has been made throughout the semester. We would like to take the opportunity to share the exciting changes that will take place in our office in the Spring.

The annual Scholar’s Lecture was held by Women and Gender Studies on November 11th, 2013. Thirty faculty members and students joined together to listen to a lecture by PhD. Jane Censer from the History Department. Censer has written on topics such as white Southern womanhood, Southern women novelists, and Southern families throughout various periods of war. The lecture was titled “Caught Between Two Centuries: Virginia Female Authors”.

The Departments of Philosophy and Women and Gender Studies are pleased to announce that Professor Johanna Oksala (University of Helsinki & New School for Social Research, NY) will be leading a Workshop: 'The Uses of Experience in Feminist Theory', Wednesday 20th November, 4.30-6.00pm, Sub I Meeting Room 3A.

Women and Gender Studies Director, Angie Hattery, was elected to serve as the secretary for Sociologists for Women in Society (SWS).

Women and Gender Studies Affiliate Paul Gorski was featured recently in the Washington Post as part of a discussion about stereotype of poverty. The piece featured excerpts from his book Reaching and Teaching Students in Poverty: Strategies for Erasing the Opportunity Gap.

Prof. Ricardo F. Vivancos Pérez will be reading and discussing excerpts from his new book: Radical Chicana Poetics The event is free and open to the public, at 1pm in Room 3334, SUB 1.

Karen Wolfe was presented the Outstanding Achievement Award by GMU. She was acknowledged on October 16 for all of her hard work. Congratulations Karen!

October 21 - 22, 2013 Noted author, poet, photographer and activist, Margaret Randall, will visit George Mason University this fall to deliver several free public lecture and share her most recent works of poetry and non-fiction.

On Wednesday, August 28th, Women and Gender Studies partnered with the LGBTQ Resources office in hosting a Welcome Week pizza party. Angela Hattery, Director of Women and Gender Studies, said that the more than sixty students who attended had the office “packed to the gills!”

We take the voices of the students and create classes that not only solidify a stable foundation to grow from, how the students grow and express things they want to learn, the staff creates classes revolving around their academic disciplines that are in tune with the student’s wants and needs as growing academics

Marisa Allison, a sociology Ph.D. candidate at George Mason University, is struggling with the scattered nature of the adjunct work force in her efforts to help them.

Several Students were honored at the WGST Graduation Reception for their Academic Dedication, Activism, and Achievement

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences hosts a symposium each Spring highlighting undergraduate research. Two of our students, Mabinty Quarshie and Leslie Temple, were selected to present their work during the April 30th event.

MAIS alumna Danielle Blunt has founded Girls Inspired and Ready to Lead, Inc. (GIRL), which empowers middle and high school girls to navigate educational and social challenges.

March 28, 2013 Women and Gender Studies, in collaboration with WAVES and several local chapters as well as the national office of AAUW (The American Association of University Women) hosted a screening of the Oscar Nominated documentary The Invisible War followed by a panel discussion.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013 was the annual Sojourner Truth lecture. This year’s lecturer was Judge Helen Shores Lee.

At the Evening of Reflection, the Spirit of King award is given to a student and/or faculty member who has embodied Dr. King’s legacy of building a multicultural campus. A-Jay Sorrell, a WGST minor and student assistant, was one of the nominees for the award this year.

On March 9th, 2013, G.I.R.L. will be holding a Career and Empowerment Conference for middle and high school girls

There is no greater testament of Sandell’s exemplary contributions to the field of visual arts education than being chosen for this prestigious award.

WGST faculty named a finalist for three consecutive years.

In an effort to hit the ground running this semester, we have reenergized and added to our web presence not only through our College of Humanities and Social Science Department (CHSS) website, but also through Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr in order to increase visibility on as well as off campus.

A class challenge incites Joy Tharrington, a Mason women's basketball team member, to kick off a donation campaign for a women's shelter in partnership with the Women and Gender Studies Center.

If you have come into our office recently, you have probably seen the “Warning: Program Coordinator in Training” signs posted around the center.

On November 29 at 6pm “The Well” at the Mason Inn Conference Center and Hotel inducted Women and Gender Studies faculty members, Dr. Paula Ruth Gilbert and Dr. Angela Hattery, along with a member of our affiliated faculty, Dr. Susan Tichy.

On November 13, 2012 more than 30 people filled the Meese Conference Room in Mason Hall for the Women and Gender Studies’ Annual Scholar’s Lecture with featured guest speaker Ricardo Vivancos-Perez, PhD, from Modern and Classical Languages.

"Nearly two and a half years after University of Virginia senior Yeardley Love was murdered in her off-campus apartment by her former boyfriend, her mother and sister are speaking out in support of efforts to raise young women’s awareness of relationship violence." A new smart-phone app targeting women 16-26 has been designed to help assess the risk of relationship violence

Angie Hattery, associate director of the Women and Gender Studies Program, was quoted extensively in a Christian Science Monitor story exploring the domestic violence implications of the Oct. 21 spa shootings in Brookfield, Wis.

Two Mason faculty members from different Mason colleges have developed an innovative collaborative project for their students. Suzanne Scott, Director of Women and Gender Studies, and Lynne Constantine, School of Art, decided to replicate Yoko Ono’s Wish Tree Project on the Mason campus and to involve the students from their two classes.

WMST Features Jen Stevens, Librarian for Office Hours The Women and Gender Studies Center is proud to feature the Humanities Liaison Librarian for George Mason, Jen Stevens. She is currently holding office hours in the center twice a week to assist students working on papers or projects involving women or gender issues, or on anything else you might bring her way.

George Mason University's annual Fall for the Book Festival was in full swimg, bringing many acclaimed authors to the campus and surrounding area. In case you were busy studying, in class, or just missed the event, here are some of the highlights from the festival from Connect2Mason's page!

With the 100th anniversary of the women’s right to vote march in DC as well as the presidential election coming up, we are encouraging you to register to vote! There are many hot topics on the table for this election concerning women and women’s rights, so make sure you make your voice heard.

GMU's own Angela Hattery, Associate Director of Women and Gender Studies, interviewed on FOX News last week. The interview, which tied to the current conviction of George Huguely, the former UVA student sentenced in the beating death of his girlfriend, discusses a few early warning signs of possible dangerous relationships. Her new book "Social Dynamics of Family Violence" illustrates these early warning signs and explores more in-depth about intimate violence.

The Hattery Family Foundation—Franki Rutherford Memorial Scholarship is to recognize a student who has a demonstrated interest in the study of inequalities, especially gender, race, class and sexuality. It will be available for the Spring 2013 semester. It may be awarded as a full scholarship (covering tuition, room and board) or it may be awarded in partial scholarships to more than one student.

Angela Hattery, Associate Director of WGST, publishes an op-ed in USA Today. In this piece she argues that though Title IX has helped give women equal opportunity in education, including sports, the law has "no requirement to address other forms of inequality." Though we should celebrate what Title IX has done, we should remember the work that still needs to be accomplished.

Affiliates Shannon Portillo and Eden King Awarded The Track C Collaborative Project Affiliates of the Women and Gender Studies Program, Shannon Portillo and Eden King, along with Joya Crear and Jamie Lester, all members of the Diversity Research Group (DRG) were awarded a Track C Collaborative Project which will support interdisciplinary and co-curricular projects that have a substantial undergraduate student scholarship component.

“Ideas Worth Spreading” is the stated mission of the nonprofit organization, TED, who sponsored the TEDx George Mason conference on May 6th 2012. One of the highlights of the conference came from the impassioned ideas spread by our very own Dr. Paula Ruth Gilbert on women’s narratives of human rights.

Congratulations to our affiliate faculty, Shannon Davis, Department of Sociology, who received tenure during the 2011-2012 academic year.

Congratulations to our affiliate faculty, Paul Gorski, New Century College, who received tenure during the 2011-2012.

Christine Hernandez, program coordinator of women and gender studies, is the 2012 recipient of the William Leftwich Award for Outstanding New Professional in NASPA Region III. This award was named to honor William “Bill” Leftwich and his remarkable career in higher education and is given to one new professional each year in the southern region.

The George Mason University Vision Awards, sponsored by University Life’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Multicultural Education, is a celebration held annually for historically underrepresented Mason students, faculty and staff, and their allies, in higher education. The event recognizes and honors excellence in the following categories: academics, leadership, and social justice/community building. The Vision Award is the highest award of recognition given to a student for overall exceptional academic achievement, leadership, and outstanding contribution to social justice.

Mabinty Quarshie and Sara Mallick, two Women and Gender Studies minor students, were honored on April 25 as recipients of Distinguished Quill Awards. The awards program is hosted through the Office of Student Involvement and celebrates the achievements of student organizations and leaders.

Intercollegiate Athletics and Women and Gender Studies is hosting a 40th anniversary celebration of Title IX, a portion of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. A formal program will take place from 11:30 am until 12:30 pm in the Women and Gender Studies Center.

The Women and Gender Studies Program is currently seeking nominations for two undergraduate awards. The Outstanding Achievement in Women and Gender Studies Award and the Tracy McLoone Feminist Leadership Award are open for nominations from the university community. The deadline to turn in a nominations packet is May 1, 2012.

The Philosophy and the Science of Happiness Conference takes place Saturday, April 14, 2012 on the third floor of the Johnson Center at George Mason University. The day of expert presentations will be capped off by a keynote lecture delivered by Erik Angner, Department of Philosophy.

“Let’s talk about domestic violence,” shouted Angie Hattery, Associate Director of the Women and Gender Studies, outside Fenwick library on the quad on March 28. For 15 minutes, Hattery spoke on the affects that domestic violence has on families. The talk was given as part of a Flash Lecture series organized by Student Government this semester. In the same spot, Dr. Cortney Hughes, associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, gave her own flash lecture on Tuesday, April 3. Hughes discussed her field work in Morocco, looking at the relationship between Islam and its views on contraception and technology.

Lauren Heath first heard of Women and Gender studies while looking for a way to fulfill her Global Perspectives requirement. She said, “I had always felt very strongly about women’s rights but I didn’t really know much about it. After one class, I was hooked. I registered for more classes and applied to work at the Center, where I was happily employed for two years. Along with working at the Center, I was a Women and Gender Studies minor and spent as much time as possible at the Center and immersing myself in feminism."

Lauren Heath first heard of Women and Gender studies while looking for a way to fulfill her Global Perspectives requirement. She said, “I had always felt very strongly about women’s rights but I didn’t really know much about it. After one class, I was hooked. I registered for more classes and applied to work at the Center, where I was happily employed for two years. Along with working at the Center, I was a Women and Gender Studies minor and spent as much time as possible at the Center and immersing myself in feminism."

The "I'm a Feminist Project" was designed as an educational campaign initiative for women's history month and to demystify the image of feminism. The program invited campus administrators, faculty, and students to answer the prompt, "I'm a feminist because..." Through these responses, videos and posters have been generated to promote awareness of the feminist identity.

Peggy Oki is an artist, surfer, and activist currently living in California. While she was growing up in the 1970s, Peggy was the only female member of the Zephyr Skateboard team, featured in the award-winning 2001 documentary "Dogtown and Z-Boys."

University of Cincinnati professor Amy Lind discusses how various political actors have addressed the rights of women in the context of Ecuador’s shift to the Left (2007-present). March 29, 2012, Innovation Hall Room 132 12:00-1:15PM

Angela Hattery, Associate Director of Women and Gender Studies, was invited to speak at the University of Mary Washington as part of the university's Women's History Month programming. Hosted by the university's Women's and Gender Studies program and delivered on March 21, Hattery's lecture focused on the social dynamics of family violence.

Angela Hattery, Associate Director of Women and Gender Studies, is the co-author of the recently published text The Social Dynamics of Family Violence. A major text, Angela was finishing up after she joined the Women and Gender Studies program in her current position last year. The book is co-written with her long-time collaborator Earl Smith, Professor of Sociology and Director of American Ethnic Studies at Wakeforest University.

Judy Richardson and Betty Robinson, former members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), delivered the annual Sojourner Truth Lecture on March 1, 2012. Richardson and Robinson discussed their co-edited book, Hands On The Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts by Women in SNCC.

Professor Keith Clark of the Mason English Department will be giving one of this year's George Mason Vision Series Lectures, entitled "Before Toni Morrison and Alice Walker: The Forgotten Fiction of Ann Petry." The lecture is Monday, February 27, 2012 at 7 p.m.

Jo-Marie Burt, faculty member in the Department of Public and International Affairs and director of the Latin American Studies program, spent much of the last semester in Peru, where she earned an award for her human rights work.

Scholar, artist and photographer Deborah Willis, who earned a PhD in cultural studies at George Mason University in 2002, will have her work on display at a Mason exhibit throughout February. The showcase, called "Progeny," features the work of Willis and her son, Hank Willis Thomas.

Mason English Professor Tamara Harvey is the guest editor of the most recent issue of Legacy: A Journal of American Women Writers (Vol. 28, No. 2 (2011)), a special issue, “Women and Early America.”

New Century College professor and recent author encourages students to find a passion to help others.

The Gender, Power, and Violence course will focus on gender based violence in several institutions in the United States. Specifically, the course will explore the military, fraternities, sports, the Catholic church, and prisons- highly masculinized and sex segregated institutions. The class explores the ways in which structures create an environment that ripe for gender violence.

Danny Collier, director of IT and web development in the college, nominated Hernandez for the outstanding web support award. The two work together to discuss the program's web site. "The staff person to whom we are giving this award to has done a wonderful job not only of keeping her site accurate and up-to-date," Collier said. "She has worked to make the site truly convey the energy of her very active program."

The course will focus on a redefinition and an expansion of the traditional view of human rights which has long focused on public actions (state-sponsored terrorism, for example) so that women's rights in both the public and private spheres can be included--rights that protect the female body from being an object of punishment and violation; universal, fundamental, and inalienable rights that go beyond cultural and religious traditions.

Flyers on the Women and Gender Studies Center door are nothing out of the ordinary. However, over the past several months, visitors may have noticed a number of service projects and donation drives advertised. The collaboration between the Muslim Student Association and Women and Gender Studies has helped to raise awareness and service the local community. One noted leader in these service projects is student leader Sidra Kalsoom.

Christine Hernandez was an invited panelist at the "Multi-Racial and Multi-Ethnic Identity" panel discussion event. The event, in celebration of Native American Heritage Month, was inspired by the multi-racial and multi-ethnic identities of the members of the Native American & Indigenous Nations Alliance.

Debra Bergoffen's recently published a book entitled,""Contesting the Politics of Genocidal Rape: Affirming the Dignity of the Vulnerable Body."

Faculty Affiliate Lisa Lindley directs the PhotoVOICE Project with LGBTQ students at George Mason University. The PhotoVOICE project will involve students taking photographs of their experiences and a discussion of both large and small groups.

Marisa Allison and Christine Hernandez presented at the National Women’s Studies Association Conference in Atlanta, GA on November 12. The poster presentations originated from research done during the Gender Research Project course in previous academic years.

Faculty, students, and staff associated with the program came together on the evening of November 8, 2011 to hear the 2011-2012 Scholar's Lecture. Devon Hodges, Professor of English and faculty affiliate, delivered the lecture entitled, "Sharing and Owning: Getrude Stein's Collaborative Writing." The program also included dinner, a presentation of the Rising Scholar Award, and a celebration of scholarship completed by faculty.

The Scholars Lecture is an annual tradition that celebrates the achievements and innovative scholarship of core and affiliate faculty in women and gender studies. This year's event seeks to further highlight the scholarship, teaching, and service completed by graduate students through the newly established Rising Scholars Award. Learn more about the three final nominees.

Pat Griffin, a National Collegiate Athletic Association recognized speaker and Professor Emerita in the Social Justice Education program at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, met with faculty, staff, and students to discuss heterosexism and homophobia in sports.

Women and Gender Studies affiliate Cher Weixa Chen has recently published a new book, Compliance and Compromise: The Jurisprudence of Gender Pay Equity

Nobel Peace Prize winner Tawakkul Karman, the Yemeni civil, human, and women’s rights activist, spoke to a standing room only crowd at George Mason University on Wednesday, Oct. 26.

Women and Gender Studies and Athletics begins a new partnership on campus. A women's soccer pep rally kicked-off the partnership on October 28, 2011. Click to watch a video from the pep rally.

Alumna Ana Kay Yaghoubian returns to campus this year to host a series of career workshops for undergraduate students in Women and Gender Studies. The workshops include how to translate classes into job skills, gender in the workplace, and internship opportunities.

Tawakkul Karman, Nobel Peace Prize winner and civil, human and women’s rights activist in Yemen, will speak to the George Mason University on Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 6 p.m. in Mason Hall, room D3.

The George Mason University Vision Series lectures continue on Monday, Nov. 7, with a lecture by Mason professor Sandra Cheldelin titled “Women Waging War and Peace: A Gendered Challenge to Structural Violence.” Cheldelin, the Vernon M. and Minnie I. Lynch Professor of Conflict Resolution in the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, will give her talk at 7 p.m. in the Founders Hall Auditorium on the Arlington Campus. The event is free and does not require tickets.

Associate Director Angie Hattery was recently quoted in an article on trends in interracial dating and marriage for College Magazine.

Professor Yevette Richards Jordan presented "Gender Politics: The AFL-CIO’s Underhanded Practices against the ICFTU’s Women’s Committee" on October 7 at an international workshop hosted by the Amsab-Institute of Social History. The workshop entitled, "The AFL-CIO and the International Cold War: Problems, Paradigms, and Pragmatic Responses," explored the Cold War international history of US labor's relations with worldwide organized labor. The workshop aimed to offer a global approach to the phenomenon of an “activist” American trade union movement.

Yevette Richards Jordan, PhD,was recently  awarded a Mason Faculty Research Development Award to support her book project, "Kampala Labor College: A History of Conflict between Pan-Africanism and International Labor During the Cold War."

Women and Gender Studies hosted its first-ever Alumni Weekend reception on Thursday, September 29, in the Women and Gender Studies Center. Past and present students of the program were invited to attend, as well as faculty and staff associated with Women and Gender Studies. The reception was a chance for members of the community to connect and catch-up.

Women and Gender Studies is now accepting nominations for the 2011 Rising Scholars Award. A new tradition, the program seeks to highlight rising scholars in Women and Gender Studies who have done exemplary research and/or teaching in their graduate study. University faculty and staff may nominate an individual student associated with the graduate programs.

Frances (Franki) P. Rutherford, graduate student at Mason, died on September 7, 2011. Franki was studying in the master of arts in interdisciplinary studies (MAIS) programs with a concentration in Women and Gender Studies. Franki was beloved member of the Mason community. During her year the year at the university, Franki researched the experiences of women professors.

Angela (Angie) Hattery, new Associate Director of Women and Gender Studies, comes to the program with a wealth of experience and expertise.

Every year Women and Gender Studies produces the report, The Matrix, which highlights events and programs offered as well as the achievements of students, faculty, staff, and alumni. This year's report includes information about the upcoming Mason-hosted SEWSA conference, newest faculty publications, and alumni updates.

Professor Nancy Hanrahan spent the spring semester, 2011, as a Fulbright scholar in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She taught a graduate seminar in feminist theory in the Department of Sociology and Politics of Pontificia Universidade Catolica, and worked with colleagues at the university to develop curriculum in Women and Gender Studies. She received many invitations to speak about her current research (on cultural criticism in the age of the Internet), and on the history and future prospects of women’s studies academic programs in the US.

Women and Gender Studies began the new academic year with a welcome week reception on Tuesday, August 30, from 4 to 6pm. The LGBTQ Resources co-hosted event was a success, with over 60 Mason students, faculty, and staff in attendance.

The documentary Not Just a Game and the book The John Carlos Story look at the relationship of sports and politics. The documentary traces how American sports have glamorized militarism, racism, sexism, and homophobia, and showcases rebel athletes who fought for social justice beyond the field of play. The book tells the story of one of these athletes, John Carlos.

Women and Gender Studies is proud to offer courses this fall that cover a wide range of topics on gender, sexuality, and identity.

Sandy Cheldelin, Vernon M. and Minnie I. Lynch Professor in the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution and Women and Gender Studies faculty affiliate, celebrates the recent publication of "Women Waging War and Peace: International Perspectives on Women's Roles in Conflict and Post-Conflict Reconstruction"

This year's festival features Amy Tan, Stephen King, and Claudia Rankine. Events take place at George Mason University's Fairfax, Virginia Campus and at locations throughout Northern Virginia, D.C. and Maryland. All events are free and open to the public.

Looking for that one fresh course to invigorate your mind and complete your schedule this semester? Look no further than the dynamic selection of courses offered by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences this fall.

Maryam Sodeifi, a sociology major and women and gender studies minor, delivered a speech at the Lavender Graduation on May 17 sponsored by LGBTQ Resources and the Lambda Alumni Association. Sodeifi is a student staff member in the Women and Gender Studies Center. Click to watch video of the speech.

Women and Gender Studies celebrated the publication of "Confronting Global Gender Justice: Women’s Lives, Human Rights" with a book signing and reception on Thursday, April 21.

The Women and Gender Studies program at George Mason University hosted the fourth annual Gender Research Conference Monday, May 9.

Poster Girl, a nominee for this year's Academy Award for Best Documentary, Short Subject, premieres April 27 at George Mason University. The showing, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Johnson Center Cinema, will be followed by a discussion with Sara Nesson, the film's director, and Robynn Murray, who is featured in the film.

Toby Jenkins recently won a Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education award for her hybrid classroom-experiential course, NCLC 375-005: Cultural Leadership.

Human rights writer and activist Marjorie Agosín, professor of Spanish at Wellesley College, will headline a symposium on Monday, March 28. Agosin will talk about the role of art in human rights activism in Latin America. Panelists include: Michele Greet, Art History; Jo-Marie Burt, Public and International Affairs; Debra Shutika, English; and Margaret Yocom, English.

Yevette Richards Jordan, professor in Women and Gender Studies, was recently interviewed in a video by Voice of America's Mariam Kurtz. The video, part of Voice of America's TV to Africa operation, covered the perceptions of beauty in Africa.

Do African women see themselves as beautiful?

The book, Transatlantic Passages, discusses literary and cultural relations between Quebec and Francophone Europe.

Six professional women will speak about their career experiences during the Women in Technology college-to-career panel discussion on Thursday, Nov. 11, from 3–5 p.m. in the Edwin Meese III Conference Room in Mason Hall.

Professors Brian Platt of History and Art History and Jeffrey Mantz of Sociology and Anthropology address prospective students and families at the Mason Fall Premiere on Saturday, Nov. 13. The admissions open house features faculty mini-lectures as a way for prospective applicants to take a closer look at studying at Mason.

Mason's Film and Media Studies Program will host film director Chico Colvard to meet and discuss his award-winning documentary Family Affair. The director's talk and question and answer session will follow a screening for the Mason Community in the Johnson Center Cinema.

Transatlantic Passages: Literary and Cultural Relations Between Quebec and Francophone Europe by Paula Ruth Gilbert and Milena Santoro can be preordered now at Amazon.

In less than one month, about 2,600 freshmen and 2,300 transfer students will call George Mason University their new home. Hundreds will join the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Women and Gender Studies had a presence at the second annual Lavender Graduation sponsored by LGBTQ Resources on the Tuesday, May 11. The purpose of this graduation ceremony is to honor and celebrate the accomplishments of graduating LGBTQ and Ally students and alumni.

During Mason’s Earth Day celebration, Women and Gender Studies hosted four Nokesville goats from Arcadia Meadows Farm. The local farmer family -- Melanie Thatcher, Dave Keller and their daughter Marjorie – brought the goats to Mason’s North Plaza

On May 5, 2010, George Mason University will remember Lorraine Brown, professor emeritus of English who passed away in February after 42 years of service to the university.

Women and Gender Studies graduate student Karen Wolf has received the MAIS Outstanding Thesis Award for her work Our Bodies, Our (Virtual) Selves. Karen’s thesis, an ethnography of Second Life, asks what happens to gender, body, and identity.

Professor Amal Amireh, the 2008-2009 Fenwick Fellow, will give the annual Fenwick Fellow Lecture on April 7, 2010 in the Johnson Center, Room A, at 2 - 4 pm. Her lecture is entitled "Between Nationalism and Globalization: Representations of Arab Masculinity in Arab Popular Culture."

Mason professor Toby Jenkins will speak and perform at the 2010 Sojourner Truth Lecture entitled “Recipes of Resistance” on March 23 at 1:30 p.m. in Research 1, Room 163.

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences is proud to announce the speakers for this year’s convocation ceremonies. Warren Brown, the founder and owner of successful bakery CakeLove and Love Café’, and poet and author Robert Pinsky are the speakers for this year’s convocation ceremonies.

What shapes did feminism take before modern feminist movements? This is the question that American literature specialist Tamara Harvey explores in her newly published book Figuring Modesty in Feminist Discourse Across the Americas, 1633-1700.

Harry Markopolos is a former securities industry executive who rose to prominence as an early and unheeded whistle-blower of the securities fraud committed by Bernie Madoff. His lecture “Moments of Truth” at George Mason University on Oct. 15 is free and open to the public.

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.

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."

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.

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.

The Department of Philosophy honors professor Debra Bergoffen with a symposium called “Vulnerable Bodies” – an April 16, 2009 event that examines the vulnerabilities of aging, disabled, intersexed, harmed and raped bodies. Dr. Bergoffen, who is retiring after nearly 40 years at Mason, has spent much of her career in academia exploring the concept of vulnerable bodies. Her research has focused on the dignity of the body and how it informs us and dictates the ways in which we formulate medical practice and social justice policies.