Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Dr. Diane Balser leads London Workshop

Dr. Diane Balser, faculty of the Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Program at Boston University, was the primary leader of a workshop held in early 2014 in London for women and some men from many European countries. The workshop reached a truly international audience, including two women from India, several women and men from Israel and two women from Kenya.  The sessions were based on a peer counseling system in which participants explored their feelings and thoughts around issues, which pertain to the situation for women (primarily) and some men. The main issues included sexism and
more specifically violence against women, sexism in the workforce, child rearing, reproductive rights, marriage, sexism in education, and politics. She has been invited to conduct a forthcoming workshop in the Netherlands.

New Publication from Boston University's Women's and Gender Studies Faculty affiliated with our UNESCO/UNITWIN Network

We are pleased to announce the publication of On the Wonders of Land and Sea: Persianate Travel Writing, a comparative study of non-European travel writers in the eastern Islamic or Persianate world from the eighteenth to early twentieth centuries.


Edited by Dr. Roberta Micallef - Master Lecturer in the Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature at Boston University, and Dr. Sunil Sharma - Associate Professor of Persianate and Comparative Literature at Boston University, this compilation of essays discusses travel narratives by female and male Muslim and Parsi/Zoroastrian travelers in the Hijaz, Iraq, Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, India, and Europe. The authors' methodological approach places the texts in their socio-historical contexts and the travelers in their geographical locations, taking into account their gender and national identity.  (Source: here)

Dr. Savyasaachi of Jamia Millia Islamia Just Published!

Dr. Savyasaachi, a founding member of our UNESCO/UNITWIN Network, and Dr. Ravi Kumar, both of Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi, are co-editors of a new volume just published by Routledge, titled "Social Movements: Transformative Shifts and Turning Points." It analyzes such issues as difference feminism, protests against globalization, and legal opportunity in struggles, especially in South Asia.

The publishers highlighted the following:
"Mapping the development of social movements in South Asia, this book offers a penetrating study of the nature and modes of protest and dissent as manifest in people’s struggles in securing equity, justice and security in labour, gender, human and environmental rights.
Amid significant changes in society, economy and polity, combined with far-reaching consequences of globalization and neoliberalism, it situates the understanding of social movements within concrete experiences and examples of diversified resistances, collective dissensions and radical transformative mobilizations.
Through case studies and examples from across South Asia, that reinforce vibrant democratic dissent, this volume challenges the view that in recent years there has been a decline of mass movements in the region. Besides drawing attention to the interconnections between New Social Movements (NSMs) and Classical Labour Movements (CLMs), it discusses the patterns of development of growing NSMs, particularly in South Asia, such as the Zapatistas’ revolution; anti-capitalist movements; protests against globalization, Statism and difference feminism; and roles of language, money and legal opportunity in struggles.
This book will be of interest to students and scholars of sociology, social movements, politics, gender and feminist studies, labour studies, as well as the general reader."

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Burkina Photo Exhibit sponsored by BU-anchored UNITWIN

                                                                                                                                        The BU-based UNESCO / UNITWIN Network is proud to announce an upcoming photo exhibit, covering the evolution of the roles and rights of women in Burkina Faso from the 1970s to present. The exhibit will include a large collection of photos that tell the story of workload-lightening technologies that were introduced to Burkina in the 70s, and their impact on female education and empowerment over the following decades.

The opening reception for the exhibit will be held on March 8, International Women's Day, from 11 AM-1 PM at the Oak Square-Faneuil Branch Gallery of the Boston Public Library. The reception is open to the public, and will allow community members to learn more about the rich history of women in West Africa and to celebrate the progress that they have made over the past 40 years. It is sponsored by the Friends of Faneuil Branch- Boston Public Library, Unbound Visual Arts, Inc., and UNITWIN at Boston University.

The exhibit is based on the work undertaken by Dr. Brenda Gael McSweeney of Boston University's Women's and Gender Studies and UNESCO/UNITWIN Network during her time managing UN Development Programme projects in Burkina Faso. One of the key initiatives was to boost female education through the introduction of time and energy-liberating technologies. This project for Equal Access of Women and Girls to Education was managed by Scholastique Kompaoré, National Coordinator. She and Brenda also jointly led village research into the operations and outcomes of this project. The exhibition will run throughout Women's History Month, and until 12 April 2014.

More here at the Website, including a Guide to the Exhibition