March 16, 2009

MEDIA CONTACT: Nick Massella
(202) 994-3087; massella@gwu.edu 

WOMEN'S STUDIES YULEE LECTURE TO EXPLORE FEMINIST RESEARCH AND PRAXIS
MARCH 25, 2009

EVENT: 

Faculty scholars from The George Washington University will discuss feminist research at a roundtable with Diana Pearce, founder and director of the Women and Poverty Project, and Mia Bay, associate director of the Center for Race and Ethnicity and associate professor of history at Rutgers. Dr. Bay also will give the lecture, "'If Iola Were a Man': Gender, Politics, and Public Protest in the Life of Ida B. Wells." The roundtable and lecture are sponsored by the Women's Studies Program and Gelman Library.

WHEN: 

Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Roundtable: 3 - 5 p.m.
Lecture: 6 p.m.
 
WHERE: 

The George Washington University
Melvin Gelman Library, Room 207
2130 H St., NW, Washington, D.C.
Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro Station (Blue and Orange lines)

COST: 

This event is free and open to the public. Photo I.D. or GWorld card is required to enter the building.

MEDIA: 

Media wishing to attend should contact Nick Massella at (202) 994-3087 or massella@gwu.edu.

Roundtable:

The inaugural Feminist Research Roundtable, organized by GW faculty, students, and librarians, will be the first in a series of cross-disciplinary events on feminist research and praxis. Faculty from the Elliott School of International Affairs, GW Law School, and the departments of sociology, history, women's studies, and biology will discuss the notions of feminist research at GW and beyond.

Lecture: "If Iola Were a Man": Gender, Politics, and Public Protest in the Life of Ida B. Wells

A discussion of the early life and thought of black journalist Ida "Iola" B. Wells, this lecture examines the origins of Ida Wells' political ideas as they emerged within the context of the racial and sexual politics of the New South. Tracing her career up through the beginnings of her anti-lynching campaign in the 1890s, it argues that Wells' development as both an activist and an intellectual were shaped in distinctive ways by her gender and her personal experiences.

BACKGROUND:

Diana Pearce is founder and director of the Women and Poverty Project, previously affiliated with Wider Opportunities for Women. Dr. Pearce has written and spoken widely on women's poverty and economic inequality issues, testified before Congress, and been an expert witness in federal court on these issues. She has taught at the University of Michigan, the University of Illinois, American University, and Catholic University School of Law. Dr. Pearce currently teaches at the University of Washington.

Mia Bay is an associate professor of the Department of History at Rutgers and the associate director of the Rutgers Center for Race and Ethnicity. She is a specialist in African American history and the history of ideas about race. Bay is the author of several publications, including two books: The White Image in the Black Mind: African American Ideas about White People, 1825-1930 and To Tell the Truth Freely: The Life of Ida B. Wells. She currently is working on two new book projects - a study of African American views on Thomas Jefferson and a social history of segregated transportation.

For more information about the event, visit www.blogs.gelman.gwu.edu/blogs/news.

For more news about The George Washington University, visit www.gwnewscenter.org.

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