Bonnie Spanier
Faculty and curriculum development on international women's issues moved forward this year as a group of IROW Associates and visiting scholars gathered regularly to plan a new women's studies course, "Global Perspective on Women's Issues," which will be offered in Spring 1996. Coordinated by Bonnie Spanier, the group concentrated on learning from ongoing faculty research and sharing resources and expertise. The Dean's Faculty Support Fund and the Center for the Arts and Humanities have provided funding for the effort.
The two aspects of the project-course development and sharing and encouraging faculty research-have coincided fruitfully. While at one meeting, Latvian Fulbright scholar Irina Novikova, Russian historian Nadya Kizenko, and Francine Frank, a recent participant in the University's Bulgarian exchange project, discussed East European women, at other participants shared information on relevant faculty publications and existing courses. Spring meetings featured Eloise Briere (French Studies) and Fan-Pen Chen (Asian Studies) speaking respectively on Francophone West Africa and East Asia.
The group also has timed its meetings to take advantage of internationally oriented talks and performances on campus. They included Cameroonian writer Calixthe Beyala's lecture and reading (see Director's Notes), part of the Department of French Studies' celebration of its new doctoral program, and the mind- and heart-expanding experience of the "Embeleco: Diversity, Collective Creativity, and the Performing Arts" workshop/performance created by Rosa Luisa Marquez and Antonio Martorell. The Latin American and Caribbean Studies Department's Title VI grant project, headed by IROW Associate Chris Bose, sponsored the performance.
The Women's Studies Global Project will continue in 1995-96 with discussions based on presentations at IROW's March Workshop on Global Women's History. Bonnie Spanier also will schedule a seminar series, possibly offered as a minicourse, featuring our faculty and visiting scholars. Their varied interests will enrich participants' appreciation of the opportunities for research and curricular development on gender, race, class, and sexuality from an international perspective.