New Gender and Ethnic Studies Program Debuts
As the students, faculty and staff continue to examine what diversity means at California Lutheran University, an organization that started out as the Gender and Women’s Studies Program has broadened its focus and has become the Gender and Ethnic Studies (GES ) Program.
“By initiating discussion of GES–related issues in academic study and everyday life, we hope to cultivate intellectual curiosity among our students and cross–disciplinary conversation among our colleagues,” says Dr. Nandra Perry, a member of the English faculty.
The group plans to support a wide variety of research, teaching and co–curricular initiatives on topics that are in keeping with CLU’s commitment to service and justice. Perry and several other faculty members have been working to make the program an integral part of the academics and extracurricular activities at CLU.
During the fall semester, several events have been planned on campus. In December, the program will sponsor a series of events in connection with World AIDS Day. All events are free and open to the public. For more information about the Gender and Ethnic Studies Program, please contact Dr. Nandra Perry at (805) 493–3243 or via e–mail at perry@clunet.edu.
Schedule of fall events:
Dr. Deborah Sills, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2 p.m., NY 6
Stories from Abroad: Women and American Autobiography
Dr. Nandra Perry, Thursday, Sept. 29, noon. SBET Studio 128
Linking Global Studies to Faculty Research: Interest Meeting for Faculty Writing Groups
Dr. Charles Maxey, Dr. Pam Brubaker, Dr. Guy Erwin
Monday, Oct. 3, 10 a.m., HUM 119
On Faith and Fair Pay: Do Christian Institutions Have Special Obligations to Workers?
Lynn Creighton, Monday, Oct. 17, 10 a.m., HUM 119
Reclaiming the Sacred Source: Celebrating Female Sexuality Through Art
CLU Housekeepers and Students, Monday, Oct. 24, 10:10 a.m., Overton Hall
Trading Spaces: A Student Forum on Working Conditions for CLU Housekeepers
Co–sponsored with Campus Ministries
Dr. Greg Freeland, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 3 p.m., NY 2
Obedient Service or Radical Engagement? Lutherans and the Southern Civil Rights Movement
CAUSE, Friday, Dec. 2, 9 a.m.–noon, Preus–Brandt Forum
Coastal Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy will sponsor a community forum on the Children’s Health Initiative currently under consideration in Ventura County.
Human Rights Watch Film Festival
In partnership with our student chapter of Human Rights Watch, Gender and Ethnic Studies is proud to offer this series of films focused on human rights issues. Admission to all films is free to faculty and students.
Living Rights, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 7 p.m., NY 1
Living Rights (2004) follows the lives of three young people on three different continents, each of whom is coping with a dilemma related to one of the issues addressed by the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Darfur Documentary and Hotel Rwanda, Thursday, Sept. 22, 7 p.m., NY 1
Last year’s box office success is preceded by a 15–minute clip from "60 Minutes" on the situation in Darfur.
Gandhi, Thursday, Sept. 29, 7 p.m., NY 1
The Academy Award winning dramatization of the life of Mohandas "Mahatma" Gandhi, from his beginnings as a South African–educated lawyer through his historic struggle to free India from British Colonial rule.
No More Tears Sister, Thursday, Oct. 6, 7 p.m., NY 1
No More Tears Sister (2004) documents the life of Dr. Rajani Thiranagama. Wartime mother, professor and human rights activist, Thiranagama was assassinated in 1989 at the age of 35. Fifteen years later, her older sister, a former Tamil militant and political prisoner, journeys back to Sri Lanka to tell the story.
Born Into Brothels: Calcutta’s Red–Light Kids, Thursday, Oct. 13, 7 p.m., NY 1
Two documentary filmmakers chronicle the lives of the children of prostitutes who work in Calcutta’s notorious red light district (2004).
Mardi Gras: Made in China, Thursday, Oct. 20, 7 p.m., NY 1
Mardi Gras (2004) tracks the “bead trail” from a factory in China to Bourbon Street. This film follows the stories of four Chinese women working and living in the largest Mardi Gras bead factory in the world.
The Agronomist, Thursday, Oct. 27, 7 p.m., NY 1
The latest film from Academy Award winning filmmaker, Jonathan Demme, The Agronomist (2003) tells the story of Haitian national hero, Jean L. Dominique. As owner and operator of his nation’s oldest and only free radio station, Dominique fought tirelessly for freedom of speech.
Rabbit–Proof Fence, Thursday, Nov. 3, 7 p.m., NY 1
The true story of Molly Craig, an Aboriginal girl who, in 1931, led her younger sister and cousin over 1,500 miles in an escape from a government camp, established as part of a policy to separate Aboriginal children from their families and train them as domestic workers (2002).
Boys Don’t Cry, Thursday, Nov. 10, 7 p.m., NY 1
The Academy Award winning film based on the true story of Teena Brandon, a cross–dressing teenager who was murdered for living as a boy (1999).
Stolen Childhoods, Thursday, Nov. 17, 7 p.m., NY 1
Stolen Childhoods counts the costs of globalization for children all over the world, including the United States (2005).
The Education of Shelby Knox, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 7 p.m., Preus–Brandt Forum
Shown in conjunction with the Gender and Ethnic Studies Program’s Second Annual World AIDS Day Observance. A documentary about 15–year–old Shelby Knox of Lubbock, Texas, a self–described “good Southern Baptist girl” who has pledged abstinence until marriage. However, when she finds that Lubbock has some of the highest rates of teen pregnancy and STDs in the nation, she becomes an unlikely advocate for comprehensive sex education (2004).