SIROW : newsletter of the Southwest Institute for Research on Women

              SIROW Newsletter #61 November 2000
Click here for a printable version of this page. Women's Studies, SIROW and WOSAC Celebrate the Past and Look to the Future This fall, three events honor the 25th, 20th and 15th anniversaries of women's studies, SIROW, and WOSAC respectively. On September 22, Generations of Women, a celebration attended by more than 100 people, offered memories and highlighted hopes for the future. Lovely panels represented the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and the 2000s. Audience members also contributed reminiscences and tributes. Speaking of the founding years, Myra Dinnerstein and Eliana Rivero recounted the program's humble beginnings, from a filing box, rotating desk and a few yellow pads, to establishment of a small office in the mathematics building where the big issue became access to a bathroom for women. Emerita Professor, Billie Jo Inman, told of the challenges of getting colleagues in the English department to approve a women's literature course, and their surprise that more than one might be offered. All celebrated that Women's Studies had not fulfilled prophesies that is was a temporary fad, but rather that it had thrived to develop into a department, a major, and a graduate program. Speaking for the 1980s, Jan Monk noted the far-sightedness of SIROW's founders in establishing a regional network and agenda. She saw this as having opened the way to an early emphasis on diversity among women; she also highlighted the value of the sustained commitment of reaching out to the community. Ruth Dickstein's comments centered on the personnel rewards of her work as Women's Studies librarian and appreciation for the program's collegiality in integrating her, an uncommon experience for a librarian. Jo Ann Troutman celebrated the staff contributions. She noted the awards and accomplishments of the Women's Studies staff, and documented the great expansion of faculty programs, and financial resources, which, however remain supported by the same number of staff today as in the early 1980s. Marilyn Heins concluded the story of the decade by telling how a chance encounter led the founding of WOSAC as a key organization of community women support ing Women's Studies. Reflecting on the 1990s, Judy Temple spoke of the importance of women's studies as a means for women to "repossess" ourselves; she reminded us the be ever wary nevertheless, and mentioned some the difficult issues Women's Studies had faced in Arizona. Rosi Andrade noted the opportunities SIROW had opened up for her to pursue feminist work in the community in culturally relevant ways, especially through her work with literature study groups with Mexican origin women. Graduate student Mary Speidel testified that her undergraduate and master's studies had offered her a lens to look at the realities of life and to pursue the realities of her life and to pursue her interests in women in religion. Looking to the future, new faculty member Theresa Delgadillo reported that the Department's commitment to diversity, the University's engaged faculty and graduate students, and its interdisciplinary strengths had attracted her to the campus. Undergraduate Joy Wilcox expressed her excitement at discovering women's studies, and her anger that such knowledge is so often denied to students, She advocated for the inclusion of women's studies in K-12 education. The second major fall event, the conference, The Future of Women's Studies was held on October 20-21, 2000. It explored the nature of the field, issues of interdisciplinarity, and the relationships between women's studies and activism. See details at: http://w3.arizona.edu/~ws/conference.

The culminating celebration is the concert by the internationally recognized McDermott Trio who will perform a program of works by women composers. They will appear at the Leo Rich Concert Hall, Tucson, November 19, 2000 at 3pm. Tickets ($12 adults, $5 students) are available from SIROW (520-621-7338). This event is co-sponsored by the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music and partially supported by the Women's Foundation of Southern Arizona and the Stocker Foundation.

Mixed Reports on the Status of Women in Arizona and Colorado On November 15, major reports will be issued by the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) in Washington DC on the current status of women in Arizona and Colorado. The reports are part of a national series on the status of women in the US. Each report covers issues of politics, economics, health and demography. States receive a score on an array of measures that places each state in relation to others and the District of Columbia. Eight states are being addressed in detailed reports in 2000. The news for Arizona is very mixed. In some aspects, the state scores high by national standards. Representation of women in state legislature is the 4th highest in the nation and Arizona is 3rd in the representations of women among business owned. But in other ways, Arizona fares very badly. It ranks near the bottom - 49th - when in the extent to which women aged 18-64 have health insurance coverage, and 43rd in he relation to percentage of women living in poverty. Arizona also does badly (47th) in incidence of suicide by women. In Colorado, women's economic situation appears considerably better by national standards than it is in Arizona (10th on the poverty scale, for example), but again, there are serious health issues. In health insurance coverage, women rank 30th in the US, and the incidence of suicide by women also places Colorado high (46th by national standards). These rankings compare women across the states but even a "good" ranking does not mean the situation is desirable fir women. Men's status, especially economically, is considerably better than women's throughout. What the rankings highlight is the unevenness of conditions for women across the country. They show us that in some states, better conditions for women have been achieved and they point to urgent issues to address at the state level. Focus boxes in each report highlight important differences within states. Both the Arizona and Colorado reports point out differences among rural and urban women, the Arizona report reveals marked contrasts in the status of women in border countries and on the Indian reservations from those in the metropolitan centers. The studies are co-sponsored in Arizona by SIROW and the Women's Foundation of Southern Arizona and in Colorado by the Colorado Women's Foundation. In both states, an array of community organizations have supported preparation and distribution of the reports and women leaders reviewed the draft content. To preview the Arizona report, the Women's Foundation of Southern Arizona organized a Community Forum on October 24th attended by over 500 people. Noted economist, Heidi Hartmann, Executive Director of IWPR, served as a keynote, followed by a panel of Arizona women and audience participation. Discussion brought personal experience to the situation of women and focused on what actions are needed to bring about change. All state legislators and the state's congressional delegations will receive copies of the report and media contacts are being developed to bring the findings to public attention. Further actions are being developed for 2001. The Colorado Women's Foundation is planning a two-year follow-up educational and action campaign, including displays in 12 cities and local symposia, as well as an incentive grant program. They have identified several themes for this effort, among them concerns about technology

and the economic security of older women. To order individual copies of either report ($15.00), contact Institute for Women's Policy Research, 1707 L. St. NW, Suite 750, Washington DC, 20036 (202-785-5100) www.iwpr.org or contact SIROW at 520-6217338 or email Lisa Bernal at: lbernal@u.arizona.edu

Upcoming Conferences and Events April 20, 2001- The 17th annual All University Conference on the Advancement of Women in Higher Education, "Breaking Boundaries: What Culture, Contexts, and Sports Tell Us" will be held at Texas Tech University. The keynote address will be given by Donna Lopiana, Ph.D. Director of the Women's Sports Foundation. Contact the Office of Women's Studies at TTU at 806-742-2404 ext. 278 Or Esther Lichti at elichti@hs.ttu.edu March 1-3, 2001- The 6th annual College and University Work/Family Association (CUWFA) Conference, "Balancing Professional and Personal Lives in Higher Education" will be held at the University of Arizona, Tucson. For information or to submit a presentation proposal: http://www.cuwfa.org or contact Sandy Cobb, CUWFA Conference Chair, 410-516-6605; scobb@jhu.edu.

Announcements MANA, a National Latina Organization and SOLOELLA.com. Connecting Latinas online, together help Latinas obtain the information and resources needed to connect on-line and acquire the computer technology to compete in today's market. Their website is located at the address: http://www.soloella.com/ community/mana/index.html Wanted - Readers, writers, and help spreading the word for a new Chicano publication tentatively called chicanismo Magazine. Organizers hope to include sections for activists news, events, opinions, guest editorials, poetry and literature. Express your potential interest in subscribing by sending a message to: hectirchavanajr@aol.com (there is NO obligation to subscribe). NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund (NOWLDEF) launches women's Enews: www.womensenews. org. NOWLDEF wants your press releases and to add you to their experts databases. Contact Rita Henley Jensen, Editor-in-chief pr Kathy Rodgers, President at: editors@womensenews.org; 212-925-6635 VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) grants totaling 1.7 million American Indian tribes and agencies in New Mexico will help stop violence against American Indian women and children. For details, visit the White House Women's Office website at the address: http://www.whitehouse.gov/women. Pembroke Center Post Doctoral Fellowships, Brown University-Open to scholars from all disciplines. Preference will go to projects with a focus on technology and representation. Term of appointment: September 1, 2001 - May 31, 2002. Stipend $29,000. Contact Elizabeth Barboza: 401-863-2643; EkizabethBarboza@brown.edu. Box 1958, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912. Deadline: December 11, 2000. Applications and proposals for the $16,000 Charlotte Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship will be accepted up to December 4, 2000. Applicants must be candidates for Ph.D. or Th.D. degrees in the U.S.

Contact Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, Charlotte W. Newcombe Dissertation Fellowships, CN 5281, Princeton, NJ 08543-5281. Phone: 609-452-7007. Fax 609-452-0066; Email: charlotte@woodrow.org http://www.woodrow.org/newcombe/ Applications for the 2001 CCWH-Prelinger Scholarship Award were available in September, 2000. Contact Dr. Marguerite Renner Award Committee, Glendale College, 1500 North Verdugo Road, Glendale, CA 91208; 818-240-1000, ext. 5461; prenner@boisestate.edu. Call for Papers - The Women's Studies Section of the Western Social Science Association will hold it's Annual Conference April 18-21, 2001 in Reno, NV. Contact Dr. Patricia Dorman, Department of Sociology, Boise, ID 83725. Phone: 208-426-3409. Email; pdorman@boisestate.edu. Call for Proposals - Emory University will host a working Conference in October 2001, "The Ph.D. In Women's Studies: Implications and Articulations." For further information about the Conference, see the website at the address of www.dept.drew.edu/wmst/ws_phd/index.html Career Development Grants - Women holding a bachelor's degree who seek additional credentials for career development are invited to apply for grants of $2,000 to $8,000 from the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Education Foundation. Grant year: July 1, 2001 to June 30, 2002. Deadline: December 15, 2000. For applications: www.aauw.org click on fellowships, grants, awards. Or contact: AAUW Education Foundation c/o Customer Service Center, Dept. 144, 2201 Dodge St., Iowa City, IA 52243-4030; 319-337-1716 ext. 144 Eva Johnson, Associate Director of the Consortium for Research and Action on Gender and Reproductive Health at the Mexico- U.S. Border, passed away on April 26, 2000. She is remembered as a tireless advocate and worker for the suffering and oppressed. After receiving her MA at the University of Arizona, she worked in Kenya at a refugee hospital. As Associate Director of the Consortium, Eva brought great dedication, creativity, and laughter to her work at SIROW. She excelled in reaching out beyond the University. The Trans-Border Consortium has named its mini grant program in her honor. Carol E, Merrill, Women's Studies, Weber State University, is the coordinator of Services for Women, a program that helps non-traditional women (25-years or older or single parent) further their education by providing scholarship opportunities to women. Chosen by Phi Beta Kappa for its Visiting Scholar Program, Eliana Rivero (Spanish, UA) will visit eight institutions during the 2000-01 academic year. This Visiting Scholars program sends fourteen scholars each year to colleges and universities located outside of major metropolitan centers or that lack access to resources for similar programs. Scholars make two-day visits that include one public lecture and class and seminar meetings arranged by department members in the scholar's field of interest. Janice Monk (SIROW) was elected Vice President of the Association of American Geographers (20002001) and also received its 2000 Lifetime Acheivement Honors Award. Donna Guy (History, UA) recently published The Hidden Histories of Gender and the State in Latin America (Duke University Press, 2000). Harmony Hammond (Art, UA) recently published Lesbian Art in America: A Contemporary History (Rizzoli, 2000). This in-depth history of lesbian art and artists in the U.S. discusses three decades of artworks,

exhibitions, and projects by over 300 artists. Antigone Books of Tucson hosted a booksigning for Hammond in October. Spike Peterson (Political Science, UA) won the SWIPE (Society for Women in International Political Economy) Annual Mentor Award this year. Marjean Purinton (English TTU) has two recent Publications about women in Romantic period and 19th century drama: "Polysexualities and romantic Generations in Mary Shelley's Mythological Dramas Midas and Prosperpine", in Women's Writing, 6.3 (1999) and "Representations of the Irish romantic Drama" in Prism(s): Essays in Romanticism, 7 (1999). River Writing Journeys for Women. Cataract Canyon, Colorado River, Canyonlands national park. August 7-11 or August 14-18, 2001. 5-day trips, rafting and writing with best-selling author Page Lambert and professional outfitter Sheri Griffith Expeditions, Moab, Utah; 435-259-8229 or www.GriffithExp.com, classriver@aol.com.

Research News Maureen E. Reed (American Studies, UT-Austin) will complete her doctoral dissertation " Homesickness: Women and the Dilemmas of Multiculturalism in New Mexico, 1930-1965" in April 2001. Reed analyzes the life and work of New Mexico Activists and autobiographers Mary Austin, Kay Bennett, Fabiola Cabeza de Baca, Cleofas Jaramillo, Mabel Dodge Luthan, and Pablita Velarde. Tracy Fessenden (Religious Studies, ASU) received a $30,000 research grant from the national Endowment for the Humanities to research "Veiled Power: The Sisters of the Holy Family and the Black Presence in American Catholicism." Mary L. Rothschild (History/Women's studies, ASU), recently named as one of AAUW's Scholars-inresidence, will collaborate with Kathryn Kish Sklar, distinguished professor of history at the State University of New York at Binghamton, on a study titled "The Emergence of U.S. Women's History, 1972-1997: A model for Advancing the Gender Equity Movement." Kore Press, Tucson received a $1,500 grant to publish Anatomy of desire: The Daughter/Mother sessions, With a reading, colloquium, and gallery showing of paintings that accompany the text. Lisa Bowden is directing the project.

Sex, Race and Globalization: Rockefeller Humanities Residency Fellowships The Committee on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Studies at the University of Arizona is offering two Rockefeller Humanities Residency Fellowships in each of the 2001-01, 2002-03, 2003-04 academic years on the theme "Sex, Race, and Globalization." Applications are invited from interdisciplinary scholars or scholars trained in any discipline interested in pursuing interdisciplinary work. Recognizing that "globalization" is a transformation of prior systems of global economic and political interaction, we welcome applications from scholars working in or across various historical periods. While the project sustains the commitment of lesbian/gay studies to recognizing the significance of sexuality, we seek to develop alliances among identity and area studies fields and therefore, welcome applications from scholars who have not worked in the context of lesbian/gay studies. Fellows will receive a stipend of $35,000, travel/research funds, a moving allowance, an office, and full access to University libraries, computer systems, recreational facilities and the many scholarly and

cultural programs offered across the university. Application Deadline: December 1. For more information and guidelines, please contact Miranda Joseph, SRG Director, at lgbs@u.arizona.edu; Phone 520-6263431; or go to: www.arizona.edu/~lgbcon Joyce Munsch, Lydia Cruz and Jeffrey Elias (TTU) recently presented a poster entitled "The influence of Natural Mentors on the Education Attainment of Hispanic College Women" at a meeting of the Society of Research on Adolescence. SIROW received a $5,189 grant from the Arizona Humanities Council for Sowing the Seeds; a project that includes lectures with locally and nationally recognized writers and reading/discussion groups dealing with Hispanic/Latina history and heritage. It will culminate with a community-wide book festival and a panel at the 2001 Arizona Book Festival. Rosi Andrade is directing the project. NAU, Flagstaff received a $2947 grant to publish Women's Basketball on the Navajo nation, a collection of oral histories from women who played on winning basketball teams from 1954-1978, followed by two storytelling sessions. Ann Cummins (English) is directing the project.

Recent Events The Recent all University Conference at TTU featured keynote speaker, Sara Deutsch (UA), who reminded participants of the importance of searching out the hidden aspects and actors of our history. Panel discussions on topics ranging from women in the academy to grassroots feminist activism in Lubbock drew larger audiences that ever before. September 2000-The Utah Humanities Council presented the Great Salt Lake Book Festival at Westminster College. Panel participants, JoAnn Levy, Harriet Rochlin, and Jane Kirkpatrick discussed Women Writing the West. March 2000: Weber State University Women's Studies sponsored a panel discussion featuring international women and differently-abled women followed by "March for Justice on Women." February to April 2000 Texas Woman's University, Denton Campus sponsored a lecture series on "Black Feminist Theorizing Across disciplines". Eight visiting scholars examined and discussed the foundations, concerns, and implications of black feminist theory and practice across the last two hundred years. September 2000: The Women's Studies program at Weber State University sponsored a Women's Fair 2000" which allowed student and community member networks to learn of resources available to women. October 2000: "The Way Up Conference 2000", a professional development program sponsored by educational institutions throughout Arizona was held in Tucson, centering on the theme "Pathways: Bridging the Past to Future for Women in Higher Education." September 2000: Historic Sahuaro Ranch opened its fall exhibit, "The Ladies Who Led, Significant Pioneer Women in Arizona 1860-1917." The exhibit is supported by the Arizona Humanities Council. Location: 9802 N. 59th Avenue in Glendale. For information: 623-939-5782. October 2000: Tucson author Patricia Preciado Martin was honored as a Distinguished Public Scholar at the tenth annual Lorraine W. Frank Lecture in the Humanities at NAU. The Lecture was delivered by

historian Vicki Ruiz (History/Chair of Chicana/o studies, ASU), who was named Latina of the Year by Latina magazine.

Publications American Indian Women: The Island of Lost Luggage, by Janet McAdams, The University of Arizona Press. In this new collection of poems, McAdams makes connections between the personnel and the political by drawing lines in the conflict between the new and old worlds. The Roads of My relations by Devon A. Mihesuah, The University of Arizona Press. A chronicle of several generations of a Choctaw Family as they are forced from their homeland in nineteenth -century Mississippi and endure their journey before settling in southeastern Oklahoma. Night Sky, Morning Star by Evelina Zuni Lucero, The University of Arizona Press. Lucero discloses the diverse American Indian traditions, life on a BIA Indian Agency compound, and the making of an Indian activist. Listening to Our Grandmother's Stories: The Bloomfield Academy for Chicasaw Females, 1852-1949 represented a rare instance in the nineteenth century of a Native community seizing control of its children's formal education. Mexicana/o, Chicana/o, and Latina/o: Lives on the Line: Dispatched from the U.S. - Mexico Border by Miriam Davidson, the University of Arizona Press. Featuring five stories from the twin border cities of Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora, including a look at the effects the maquiladora boom and the law enforcement crackdown have had on the people of "Ambos (both) Nogales." When Living was a Labor Camp by Diana Garcia, The University of Arizona Press. Garcia takes a look back at the migrant labor camps of California by portraying the lives of the campesinos with their daily joys and sorrows. Hecho a mano: The Traditional Arts of Tucson's Mexicana American Community by James Griffith, The university of Arizona Press. Featuring a foreword by Tucson author Patricia Preciado Martin and a gallery of photographs, this book offers a close-up view of community rich with tradition and diverse artistic expression. Stitching Rites: Colcha Embroidery along the Northern Rio Grande by Suzanne P. MacAulay, The University of Arizona Press. MacAulay shows how colcha embroidery, a traditional Spanish colonial style of textile, interweaves a web by recording how a stitcher's memories of her life are intertwined with the history of her community. White Slavery and Mothers Alive and Dead: The Troubled Meeting of Sex, Gender, Public Health, and Progress in Latina America by Donna J. Guy (UA), University of Nebraska Press. This set of essays examines a gendered connection to work, family, and the rise of increasingly interventionist nation-states in

Latin America, particularly in Argentina. Gender and Power in Pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica by Rosemary A. Joyce, The University of Texas Press. Joyce offers an analysis of gender and power relations in prehispanic Mesoamerica from the formative period Olmec world (ca. 1500-500 BC) through the Postclassic Maya and Aztec societies of the sixteenth century AD. Women and Alcohol in a Highland Maya Town: Water of Hope, Water of Sorrow by Christine Eber, The university of Texas Press. This ethnography looks at women and drinking in the highland chiapas, Mexico, community of San Pedro Chenalho to address the issues of women's identities, roles, relationships, and sources of power.

Other Publications Cynthia Ann Parker: The Life and the Legend by Margaret Schmidt Hacker, Texas Western Press. Hacker describes Parker's abduction by Comanches of the Texas Frontier at age nine and her reluctant return to white society when she was 24-years-old. The Western Women's Reader edited by Lillian Schlissel and Catherine Lavender, Harper Pernnial. Spanning over 300 years, this anthology offers a range of writing, photography, and art from women of the American West. Some authors include: Gloria Anzaldu, Paula Gunn Allen, Calamity Jane, Willa Cather, Sandra Cisneros, Mary Crow Dog, Barbara Kingslover, Mari Sandoz, Leslie Marmon Silko, Terry Tempest Williams, among many others. Covered Wagon Women, Volume II: Diaries and Letters from the Western Trails, 1879-1903 Edited by Kenneth L. Holmes, University of Nebraska Press. Women's Letters and diaries in these volumes explicate the settling and community-building of the American West from the perspective. Carr, O'keefe, Kahlo: Places of Their Own, by Sharyn Rohlfsen Udall, Yale University Press. A comparison of the art, lives, and achievements of three artists of the Americas: Emily Carr of Canada, Georgia O'keefe of the U.S., and Frida Kahlo of Mexico. A Mine of Her Own: Women Prospectors in the American West, 1850-1950 by Sally Zanjani University of Nebraska Press. This story of America's women prospectors reveals that a special breed of women played an integral and heretofore unrecognized part in some of the adventures if the pioneer experience. Apache Voices: Their Stories of Survival as Told to Eve Ball by Sherry Robinson, University of New Mexico Press. Before historians were fully accepting oral tradition as a source, Eve ball (1890-1984) was documenting the lives of Apache Indians.

Videotapes Getting Where We've Got to Be: Women in the Texas Legislature (36 minutes), University of Texas Press. Based on interviews and archival research, this video shows how women campaigned for office in Texas. Drumbeat for Mother Earth (56 minutes), Bullfrog Films. Produced by the indigenous Environmental Network. This film explores how persistent toxic chemicals contaminate the traditional food web, violate treaty rites, travel long distances, and are passed form one generation to the next during pregnancy, causing cancer, learning disabilities, and other serious health problems.