The Women's Center, the Department of Women's Studies, and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Center are pleased to announce that the fourth annual Carol Ortman Perkins Lecture will be "An Evening with Dorothy Allison." Please join us on Tuesday, October 16, 2007, at 7:00 PM in the Centennial Student Union Ballroom at Minnesota State University, Mankato. This event is free and open to the public.
Dorothy Allison first received national recognition with her novel Bastard Out of Carolina, (1992) a finalist for the 1992 National Book Award. The novel won the Ferro Grumley prize, an ALA Award for Lesbian and Gay Writing, and became a best seller and an award-winning movie. It has been translated into more than a dozen languages.
Her second novel Cavedweller (1998) became a national bestseller, NY Times Notable book of the year, finalist for the Lillian Smith prize, and an ALA prizewinner. The expanded edition of her book Trash (2002) included the prize winning short story, "Compassion," selected for both Best American Short Stories 2003 and Best New Stories from the South 2003. Trash also won two Lambda Literary Awards and the American Library Association Prize for Lesbian and Gay Writing. Awarded the 2007 Robert Penn Warren Award for Fiction, Allison is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers.
Allison says that the early feminist movement changed her life. "It was like opening your eyes under water. It hurt, but suddenly everything that had been dark and mysterious became visible and open to change." However, she admits, she would never have begun to publish her stories if she hadn't gotten over her prejudices, and started talking to her mother and sisters again.
Dorothy Allison grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, the first child of a fifteen-year-old unwed mother who worked as a waitress. She describes herself as a feminist, a working class storyteller, a Southern expatriate, a sometime poet and a happily born-again Californian. The first member of her family to graduate from high school, Allison attended Florida Presbyterian College on a National Merit Scholarship and in 1979, studied anthropology at the New School for Social Research.
Her novel She Who is forthcoming from Riverhead.
For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, please contact Nekisha at (507) 389-6146 (V), 800-627-3529 or 711 (MRS/TTY) or nekisha.quinney@mnsu.edu. Another accommodation option is to contact the Disability Services Office at (507) 389-2825 (V/TTY).
This event is sponsored by the Women's Center, the Carol Ortman Perkins Lectureship Fund, the LGBT Center, and the Department of Women's Studies and is supported by Student Activity Fees. The Department of Women's Studies launched the Perkins Lectureship campaign in 2003 to commemorate Dr. Perkins' retirement as Chair of the Department for over a decade. Dr. Perkins' commitment to and enthusiasm for Women's Studies helped make the department an exciting and dynamic place to study systems of oppression both locally and internationally. The aim of this lectureship is to invite a distinguished feminist scholar/activist to campus each year to visit Minnesota State Mankato and deliver an address to our community. We select lecturers based on their contributions to feminist scholarship and their ability to forge connections between theory and practice. The lectureship fulfills the mission of the Department of Women's Studies to promote feminist scholarship and activism and to encourage the exchange of ideas. To make a contribution to the lectureship, or for more information about how to give, please call the Minnesota State Mankato Foundation at (507) 389-1514 or (800) 627-3529.
On Saturday, Oct 13 the Women's Center is hosting a late-night movie in Ostrander. Help us decide what movie to show. Email your choice to Deirdre at rosenfeld@mnsu.edu by Friday 10/5 at noon. We'll announce your decision next week. See you at 10 PM in CSU's Ostrander Auditorium on Saturday, Oct 13 for a free movie!
The Women's Center will host the Classy Crafters every Tuesday night from 5-7PM starting October 9th.
All skill levels are accepted as well as mediums. Knit, crochet, sew, cross-stitch, etc-if you can think it we can create it! Never crafted before that's cool we can get you started.
For more information call or email Erica at 389-2486 or erica.carnes@mnsu.edu
Join us for the next Women's Center student involvement meeting, held every Monday at 4 p.m. in Centennial Student Union 218. Come and learn more about the Women's Center, sign up for events like National Young Women's Day of Action, Love Your Body Day and meet fellow Women's Center volunteers.
If you have an interest in women's issues, gender equity, social justice or you just want to meet a few new people, then the Women's Center is a great place to get involved!
For more information contact Nekisha Quinney at nekisha.quinney@mnsu.edu.
See you there!
Last week's guest presenter Steve Thompson was a hit! The ballroom was filled by 600 eager students who listened to Steve lecture on sexual violence prevention and risk reduction. A diverse crowd and excellent volunteers made for an exciting event. Thanks to all who were able to attend and volunteer.
Go to the Opportunities page for information about a statewide Women's Student Leadership Conference, a local Food Justice Conference, a mental health awareness event and internship opportunities with the YWCA.
Welcome to "Rental Life: The Real Story," a 20-minute "Real Life" type video put together by Minnesota State University, the city of Mankato and Studio 12. The educational DVD is meant to inform would-be renters of what to expect from choosing an apartment to signing a lease to living with roommates in a home or apartment. The idea is to give students something to think about, such as where they want to live and what responsibilities are attached to renting, said Mary Dowd, director of Student Rights and Responsibilities in the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs.
Idaho State University, Pocatello , ID March 6 & 7, 2008
This conference will explore the various ways in which gender is crafted, celebrated, endured, deciphered, expressed or, in short, the art of how it is lived on a daily basis.
Go to the Opportunities page for more details. You can also download the [PDF] Art of Gender Conference (39 KiB) PDF.
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