The Women's Center

Brown Bag Luncheons - Spring 2008

When the World Turns Grey:  Seasonal Affective Disorder
Presenter: Natalie Mitchell, Counseling Services

Description: Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as winter
depression, is a change in mood caused by or aggravated by seasonal
changes, occurring most often during the winter months.  While
seasonal changes in mood are common, different people experience
different degrees of symptoms, from mild to severe.  This brown bag
session, led by Natalie Mitchell, M.A. of the BGSU Counseling
Center, will be used to provide basic information on Seasonal Affective
Disorder and Seasonal Affective symptoms, including the history and
causes.  The session will also include a discussion about the
differing levels of severity, the frequency/prevalence, as well as
some suggestions for treatment.  Come with questions or simply to
listen.  Information about Counseling Center services will also
be provided.

Changing the Course:  Nebraska's Rescission of the Equal Rights Amendment, 1972-1973
Presenter: Elizabeth (Liddy) Schnieder, History

Description: Nebraska’s view of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) changed in the short period of 1972 to 1973 from solid support to serious opposition, but the history of what happened to cause this change has gone unnoticed. Nebraska was the second state to ratify in 1972, but unexpectedly on March 15, 1973, it was the first of five states to rescind their vote. In this presentation, Elizabeth Schnieder will discuss the major players in the Nebraska and National debates, the concerns raised about a national ERA, and the problems with rescission.

The Girls of MySpace:  Identity Construction and Resistance through New Media Composition
Presenter:  Jennifer Almjeld, English

Description:  Jen Almjeld's dissertation project is a historic and theoretical discussion of young women's identity construction and performance taking place on the social networking site MySpace. The pilot study includes a textual analysis of twenty-five, 16- to 18-year-olds' MySpace profiles focusing specifically on the roles MySpace production plays in female adolescence and community building and any codes the new media text may offer for performing feminity and remediating users' identities through existing media (Bolter & Grusin, 2000). The project also traces out the evolution of feminine literacy practices (Glenn, 1997; Foss, Foss, & Griffin, 2004) including commonplace books, scrapbooks, autograph albums, and note passing and situates MySpace and similar social networking practices within the rhetorical tradition. The project aims to establish MySpace and similar social networking sites as a viable literacy practice and to validate not only this sort of new media composition but also the voices of those authoring texts in such spaces.

Moving Expressions:  The Cultural Roles of Women in African Dances
Presenter: Shakira Adams, Human Movement, Sport & Leisure Studies

Description: Step inside Africa to discover the culture, dance and societal customs. Feel the spirit of Africa come to life, as you are engaged through the rhythms of the beating drum and the powerful movements of the dance. Participants will be guided through a sequence of steps exploring the true African surroundings, enhancing their knowledge of the African culture. Forget your morning exercise routine and bring a towel!

In Recognition of Black History Month

February 13th

Turning the Noose that Binds into A Rope to Climb:  How Contemporary Female Rhetors Overcome the Double-Bind 
Presenter:  Dr. Angela Zimmann, General Studies Writing

Description: This presentation introduces three women who have ascended to
the "top" in their professions: Katharine Jefferts Schori, the National Bishop of the Episcopal Church-USA, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Each of these women have used rhetorical manuevers in order to succeed. We will take a look at some of these approaches (many of which
can be used in daily living), and whether or not, from a feminist point of view, these rhetorical acts constitute "selling out." A short PowerPoint will be presented, followed by discussion - please join us!

"Fat Pig:" A Roundtable Discussion about Body Image and Fat Phobia
Presenter: Season Ellison, Theatre and Film, Director of Neil Labute's "Fat Pig."

Description: LaBute's "Fat Pig" is a play that brings to the fore many social issues revolving around pressure: the pressure to be thin, to conform to social expectations, to fit in, and to find [heterosexual] love. LaBute presents a world in which people are judged only by their surface qualities: particularly their appearance and more specifically, their weight. In the end, the pressure to conform to social expectations outweighs the desire to find love. The play's director Season Ellison has gathered members of the cast for the roundtable with the hope that participants can explore, as a group, the many questions Ellison and cast feel the play raises and anticipate discussion will lead to a more nuanced and socially significant production of the play.

Gifts of Diversity:  A History of Women of Color at BGSU
Presenters: Chrishawn Marsh and Tamara Serrano, American Culture Studies

Description: This brown bag discussion will consist of a presentation of qualitative research concerning the experiences of women of color at BGSU across the years. Through a generational analysis, the presenters will touch upon experiences that shaped the academic, social and political lives of their research participants. It will also function as a roundtable discussion about the status of women of color at BGSU and the collective strategies we can propose to make our experiences more successful and positive.

In recognition of Black History Month

Storytelling, Responsibility, Truth: A Look at Women and Bowling Green Newspapers, 1978 - 2008
Presenter:  Rebekah Burchfield, American Culture Studies

Description: Combining ethnographic and archival research, this project explores issues of gender in local newspapers. We will use textual analysis to address how gender is represented in news coverage by the BG News and the Sentinel-Tribune. This textual analysis is supplemented by interviews with BG women journalists. Their observations enrich the project, adding a personal spin to our interpretations of the news texts and providing valuable insights about the interconnectedness of local media institutions, texts, and the values and personal experiences of media gatekeepers.

In recognition of Women’s History Month

Shining the Light on Women Leaders of BGSU’s History
Presenters: Evelyn Ashley, College of Education –  Administration, Jackie Andrzejczyk, School of HMSLS, and Leilani Kupo, Leadership and Policy Studies

Description: Limited information is available about women's experiences in the Army Reserved Officer Training Corps (AROTC) at BGSU. This presentation will provide an opportunity to better understand the AROTC experience from three women's perspectives and provide a better understanding of how AROTC has influenced and impacted their lives at BGSU and beyond.

In recognition of Women’s History Month

10th Annual Bring Your Favorite Professor to Lunch
In recognition of Women’s History Month

April 2nd

Female Leadership Styles in Non-profit Organizations:  A Study of Rotary Clubs in Taiwan and the United States
Presenter:  Chin-Chung (Joy) Chao, School of Communication Studies

Description: The proposed cross-cultural study will apply leadership framework developed by Bass and Avolio and modify the cultural dimensions proposed by Hofstede to explore and compare the relationships between cultural values and their preference of female leadership styles in a non-profit organization in Taiwan and the United States of America. 550 Rotarians in Taiwan and 550 Rotarians in the United States of America will be invited to complete a questionnaire to reveal the relationships between Rotarians’ cultural values and their preferred female leadership styles. In addition, with a deeper concern of female leadership in non-profit settings, the method of semi-structured interview will be used as well to raise participants’ as well as the researcher’s consciousness and critical reflections upon our society practices of female leadership. Using surveys and semi-structured interviewing will “triangulate” the data and offer greater breadth in description, depth in detail, and validity to the findings. The results of the study should not only build an understanding of cultural values and preferred female leadership styles but also contribute to the knowledge of organizational communication and cross-cultural leadership.

Hair Donate-a-thon to “Locks of Love”
Area Hairdressers will provide a new summer look when you donate to “Locks of Love”!