yooooo. how are we all doing on this absolutely wonderful friday afternoon? i have been thinking about courses lately..whats offered, what should be offered, etc. etc.

i would absolutely love to see atleast an undergrad intro class to critical whiteness studies. wouldnt that be kinda cool? id also like to see a few more classes that take the intro to queer studies topics into greater detail. maybe a queer studies minor option....maybe a major option. and what about a class that looks at masculinity more specifically, that be pretty cool. i would also orgasm at the sight of a feminist philosophy class. word. wouldnt that be so cool! my brain would probably explode with happiness. lets see what else....there could be more feminist theory classes that could elaborate more on the topics discussed in intro to feminist theory. I think that a course on women and the law would also be pretty interesting where you could have an opportunity to turn an analytical lens on the legislative and judicial practices in this country. it could look at reproductive rights, health policy, etc. etc.

obviously it takes work on a number of levels in order to have more courses offered, but hey we should start taking a more influential role in GWS cultivation so we can bring the noise to the people. holler.

and so, i pose the question....what would you like to see offered?

have a wonderful weekend, my friends.

some lectures going on this week...

Thursday at 4pm, Education Building Room 2: A Global Perspective on Socially Responsible Entrepreneurship
"Professor Wu Qing's dedication to social activism has won her world acclaim and in 2001 the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service, considered the "Asian Nobel Prize." She is the first woman to receive the honor and has also been selected to join the Schwab Foundation network of exemplary social entrepreneurs. Join Professor Wu Qing in discussing how socially responsible entrepreneurship can dramatically impact societies and economies around the world."
http://webtools.uiuc.edu/calendar/Calendar?ACTION=VIEW_EVENT&calId=7&eventId=58875

Thursday at 7:30pm, Alice Campbell Alumni Center Ballroom: 16th Annual Daniel S. Sanders Peace and Social Justice Lecture given by Larry Cox (exec. director-Amnesty International)
http://webtools.uiuc.edu/calendar/Calendar?ACTION=VIEW_EVENT&calId=7&eventId=58514

Friday at 4pm, Illini Union 314B: MillerComm Lecture Series "Humanities in Post-human Times"
"The goal of the conference is to explore the interfaces between the humanities and high technology with talks by specialists in these areas from the U. of I. and from other institutions. Speakers will explore how the humanities and technology meet now and can meet in the future. Talks will look at how the humanities pursue traditional and not-so-traditional subjects. Speakers will also examine how emerging technologies illuminate and illustrate cultural artifacts. Visualization and virtual reality look at text-based objects of culture, and facilitate and add to interpretation and reading. Talks will also look at the repercussions of emerging "post-human" paradigms by examining new ways of thinking and models of the post-modern. This conference not only produces new knowledge, but also develops innovative approaches to these issues and problems that are central to having an on-going dialog at the U. of I. and elsewhere. The keynote lecture is by Professor Alan Liu (University of California-Santa Barbara) as a MillerComm talk, on Friday, April 20, in 314B, Illini Union at 4 p.m."

I won't be in town for the Friday one, but it sounds pretty cool. definitely relative to post-modernist feminism and queer theory. if you by chance get to attend it, i would love to hear a run down of how it went.

ok. peace out.

Check It Out!

Date: Apr 17, 2007
Time: 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Location: McKinley Foundation, 809 S. Fifth St., Champaign
Sponsor: IPRH Women of Color Feminism Reading Group, IPRH, Gender & Women's Studies, Center on Democracy in a Multiracial Society


The IPRH Women of Color Feminism (WOCF) Reading Group will host a one-day event of programming, which will include a symposium, film screening, reception, and a co-sponsored concert with Brooklyn-based funk band Antibalas on April 17, 2007. The symposium, titled, "Las Krudas: Women, Power & Resistance," will feature interdisciplinary scholarship by UIUC faculty and graduate students conducting research about Black women's activism, the African Diaspora and women-centered Caribbean creative productions that specifically speak to the critically-acclaimed artistry of the internationally renown lesbian feminist Cuban hip-hop trio, Las Krudas. A confirmed concert featuring Las Krudas and Antibalas not only will bring together the campus and larger Champaign-Urbana community, but the daylong programming ultimately will fulfill the primary goal of the WOCF: to heighten community awareness about transnational women-centered intellectual-cultural intervention, which promote a feminist poetics and praxis that engages with diasporic social justice movements.

Please join us for the following events at the McKinley Foundation (809 S. 5th St., Champaign):

1-2pm Film Screening of "T con T: Lesbian Lives in Contemporary Havana"

2-3pm Panel discussing the work of Las Krudas, a Cuban, hip hop trio that address issues such as female liberation, lesbian rights, female solidarity, and racism.
Panelists:
Celiany Rivera-Velazquez, ChairInstitute of Communications Research, UIUC
Marc Perry, PhDAnthropology and African American Studies, UIUC
Erik McDuffie, PhDGender and Women's Studies and History, UIUC
Tanya Saunders, PhD CandidateSociology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

3:30-4:30pm Reception with food and music
8pm Concert: Antibalas with special guests Krudas Cubensi, Canopy Club, $13 at the door

doesnt get much better than that!

(http://www.krudas.org/)
(http://www.antibalas.com/)