In advance of the November 2020 election, the WGS Program held a virtual educational event, Voting 101, on October 6, 2020. Over 35 students, staff, and faculty members were in attendance.
Two representatives from the non-partisan League of Women Voters, Detroit chapter President Rhonda Craig and voting rights activist Charles Thomas, Jr., presented information aimed particularly at first-time voters. Information included essential deadlines and locations for registering to vote and casting absentee ballots. Both speakers emphasized the importance of citizens exercising their right—or, as Thomas enthusiastically put it—power to vote.
The presenters also shared with attendees the League of Women Voters’ website, Vote411.org, which citizens can use as a one-stop shop for finding their poll locations and sample ballots. The site also provides information on candidates and ballot proposals.
Both the Political Science department and the Theta Tau chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority co-sponsored the event.
On March 3, 2021, three members of the Women’s and Gender Studies Steering Committee gave a panel presentation via Zoom entitled “Women in Political Leadership: the First Female Vice President in the USA”. Led by Political Science Professor Genevieve Meyers and joined by Associate Librarian Kris McLonis and McNichols Library Head of Circulation/Adjunct Professor of English Megan Novell, the presentation focused not only on the election of Kamala Harris as Vice President in 2020 but also on the benefits of having women serving in government in general.
Meyers began by pointing out how long it took the United States to have a woman elected to the office of Vice President (after unsuccessful attempts by Geraldine Ferraro and Sarah Palin) and gave examples of other nations which had accomplished this as early as the 1930s. McLonis continued with an overview of the history of women serving in the United States Congress and the influence that their presence and service had on legislation. Novell discussed the role that women of color have played in artistic and political change in the United States since the nation’s inception.
Attendees of the presentation were invited to pose questions. Some of the topics addressed included the decades-long effort to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment and the question of whether to include women in the registration for selective service.
The presenters and attendees agreed that a yearly program addressing some aspect of women in politics would be a welcome feature. Keep your eye out for programming for March 2022!
What first attracted me to this minor was Professor Novell’s class Study of Fiction. I always loved the way the course was taught and decided to check out the minor that was advertised in the class. I was involved with another minor at the university but was never drawn to it. With the WGS minor, I felt like I was truly learning more about myself as a person. The WGS minor not only challenges you, it makes you reflect on current issues and helps you empathize different perspectives in life.
What has been most interesting about your experience with the Program so far?
I think the most interesting thing about my experience with the program so far is how much it relates to the real world. With many things going on, I have found that the courses and material is relatable. Many of the course material ranges from the Black Lives Matter movement to acknowledging what other minorities like the Muslim and Asian community have experienced.
Have you found any aspect of your WGS studies surprising?
The thing I found most surprising is how flexible the courses have been. Many of the courses I have taken had different perspective throughout the semester by reflecting on what was happening in the world. Another thing I found surprising was how as students we were also able to control most of the discussions in the course which was very different to my major which is biology.
Has your work as a WGS minor impacted your other course work?
I think my minor has impacted my other course work with my major because of my passion for service learning. I love giving back to the community and this minor allows for me to be more understanding with the issues that are presented in the world nowadays. I’ve been able to be more aware of my surroundings keeping in mind that many people could be going through things.
Have you seen any intersections between your work as a WGS minor and your experiences outside the classroom?
The WGS minor made me even more empathetic to others and definitely gave me a new lens. There were definitely some things I would not have thought to research about but the courses in this minor made me want to learn more. I feel like I am able to analyze cultural practices and understand differences in peoples social and economic lives in not only the United States, but globally. I am very appreciative of the diverse perspectives I am able to apply my new skills to.
In partnership with the Holocaust Memorial Center, the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at Detroit Mercy hosted an event on March 15 with hopes of educating the audience on the many heroines who, to save themselves and others, fought with defiance and dignity during the Holocaust. The discussion was led by Dr. Lori Weintrob, Professor of History and Director of the Wagner College Holocaust Center in Staten Island, New York.
Weintrob opened the discussion by proposing questions imploring the audience to identify the role of women and resistance in Holocaust education. Being informed about these Heroines, she said, will lead to “deepening our understanding of the Holocaust as whole.”
Interrogation (1934) by Friedl Dicker-Brandeis
Focus remained on a few of the many significant women, whom Weintrob referred to as “Rescuers & Resisters.”
One woman, Friedl Dicker-Brandeis, used her talent as an artist to educate people on the tragedies of the Holocaust. Some of her most famous works include “This is How the World is, My Child” from 1933 and “Interrogation” from 1934, which she painted while in captivity for participation in the antifascist movement.
Before being captured and killed by the Gestapo in 1944, Marianne Cohn, another significant woman of the Holocaust, smuggled 200 children in small groups into Switzerland or French farmlands. EIF or French Jewish Scouts assisted in her efforts and altogether rescued over 1800 young adults and children. Cohn was described as never faltering or relenting even through all the interrogation by the Gestapo.
Cohn and another resister, Vitka Kempner, belonged to Zionist Youth Groups. Kempner’s group specifically turned into a resistance group known as the “Avengers.” Led by Abba Kovner, this group became one of the most successful and famous all-Jewish partisan units during the War. Kempner was responsible for one of the first resistance acts of the group, creating and smuggling a bomb out of the ghetto to blow up a Nazi train line.
Another Jewish partisan fighter, Sara Gianaite-Rubinson, served in the resistance as a part of the “Death to the Occupiers” unit. She would return to the ghetto to save individuals and smuggle them out. Later in life she served as a professor lecturing on World War II history and social science at York University.
Finally discussed were the efforts of Zivia Lubetkin, the commander of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943 at just 28 years old. She served a critical role in the uprising as a movement leader and resister.
Weintrob concluded her presentation and discussion by offering that the integration of “Holocaust Heroines” into history education can help us to further understand how the Holocaust happened. The stories of these women in particular can lead to dialogue and reflection. Their leadership and skills, with attention to strategies for human rights, need to be acknowledged and represented in Holocaust education.
Heather Hill, Professor of English, published “From Mrs Noah’s ‘Rok’ to Absalom’s ‘Kultour’: The Trail of the Spinning Woman and the Great Rising of 1381” in Staging History: Essays in Late Medieval and Humanist Drama, Volume 16 (Brill, 2021). (See image on right.)
Hsiao-Lan Hu, Professor of Religious Studies, published “Networking as Equals? Engaged Buddhists’ Egalitarian Ideals and Hierarchical Habits” in Multi-Religious Perspectives on a Global Ethic: In Search of a Common Morality (Routledge, 2021). Ze has been appointed to the Status of Women in the Profession Committee of the American Academy of Religion, invited to serve on the editorial board of Women’s Studies Quarterly, and elected Vice President of Sākyadhitā: International Association of Buddhist Women, the largest organization of Buddhist women in the world. Ze also received a grant from the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion for a collaborative project with Dr. Sharon Suh of Seattle University and Dr. Tamara Ho of University of California, Riverside on “Asian American Feminist Guidebook to Teaching Buddhisms in America.”
Gail Presbey, Professor of Philosophy, published a review of African Philosophy and the Epistemic Marginalization ofWomen(Routledge/ Taylor and Francis) in Hypatia (2021), 1–9, doi:10.1017/hyp.2021.1
Diane Robinson-Dunn, Associate Professor of History, published “Five Victorian women travelers in the Ottoman world, 1840-91” in Christian-Muslim Relations, a Bibliographical History: Britain, the Netherlands and Scandinavia (Brill, 2021).
Mary Liz Valesano, Assistant Professor of Theatre, was awarded a WGS Feminist Teaching Grant in support of the development of a new WGS course “Survey of Theatre History.”
Genevieve Meyers, Associate Professor of Political Science, was awarded a WGS Feminist Teaching Grant in support of the development of a new WGS course “Women, Gender, and Development.”
