Upcoming Event: Reproductive Genocide in Gaza (a discussion by Rana A. Sharif in conversation with Dr. Lori Baralt, Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, CSULB)
On behalf of the Departments of Anthropology, Sociology, Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies, and Asian and Asian American Studies, and Global Middle East Studies Program, you and your students are invited to a talk by UC Riverside PhD Candidate Rana A. Sharif, titled: “Reproductive Genocide in Gaza” on March 12th, 11:00am-12:30pm @ AS-119.
What: Reproductive Genocide in Gaza (Rana A. Sharif in conversation with Dr. Lori Baralt, Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, CSULB)
When: March 12th 11am-12:30pm
Where: Anatol Original Conference Room (AS-119)/ CSULB
Rana A. Sharif is currently completing her doctoral degree in Comparative Literature and Languages from the University of California, Riverside (UCI). She is a faculty member in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies at California State University, Northridge (CSUN), and a coordinating member of the Palestinian Feminist Collective (PFC). She hosts and produces SWANA Region Radio on KPFK (90.7 FM) and serves on the Board of the ACLU of Southern California.
Upcoming Event: Weaponizing Sexual Violence in Conflict Zones ( a discussion by Dr. Nada Elia and Dr. Tina Beyene)
On behalf of the Departments of Sociology, Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies, Asian and Asian American Studies, Political Science, Romance, German, Russian Languages and Literature, and the Global Middle East Studies Program invites you and your students are invited to a talk by Western Washington University Associate Professor Dr. Nada Elias and CSUN Assistant Professor Dr. Tina Beyene, titled: Weaponizing Sexual Violence in Conflict Zones on March 20th, 11am-12:30pm @ AS-119.
What: Weaponizing Sexual Violence in Conflict Zones (a talk by Dr. Nada Elias and Dr. Tina Beyene)
When: March 20th 11am-12:30pm
Where: AS-119/ CSULB
Dr. Nada Elia is a Visiting Associate Professor in Cultural Studies at Western Washington University, where she is also affiliated with the Program in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. A scholar activist, she served on the steering collectives of AWSA, RAWAN (Radical Arab Women’s Activist Network), INCITE! Feminists of Color Against Violence, and is currently on the Coordinating Committee of the Palestinian Feminist Collective. Nada is the author of Greater Than the Sum of Our Parts: Feminism, Inter/Nationalism, and Palestine (Pluto 2023) and is currently working on “Falastinuyyat: A Century of Palestinian Feminisms,” forthcoming from Verso in 2025.
Dr. Tina Beyene is an Assistant Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies at California State University, Northridge. Her research and teaching interests are in the areas of transnational feminism; gender and conflict zones; African feminist movements; and imperial foreign policy. She was a former publisher and editor at South End Press, a progressive publishing collective based on a participatory economics model, where she worked on topics such as the global water rights; advanced capitalism and inequality; the prison industrial complex.
WGSS Summer 2024 Courses
Summer 2024 is just around the corner. Here are the courses WGSS will be offering for Summer 2024! All courses are session 1 (05/28/24-07/05/24) and online asynchronous. To learn more about the courses, visit CSULB’s course catalogue. For more information, please contact the course instructor.
Recent WGSS Faculty Publications
Check out the below publications from our WGSS Faculty!
Dr. Lori Baralt
Dr. Melissa Hidalgo
A guide to the best craft breweries on the L.A. Eastside – Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)
Dr. Jennifer Reed
Full article: Gentleman Jack and the (re)discovery of Anne Lister (tandfonline.com)
WGSS 205 (Queer Studies) Student Work
Check out the semester projects our WGSS 205 students completed this fall 2022!
Professor Kavitha Koshy’s new book, The Paradoxes of Indian American Complicity: On the Racial Sidelines, out now!
Dr. Kavitha Koshy wrote a book entitled The Paradoxes of Indian American Complicity: On Racial Sidelines. Information on the book can be found below, as well as the link to purchase.
Dr. Shira Tarrant featured in USA Today article, “Monica Lewinsky Has Been Mocked in Beyoncé, Eminem Lyrics. Is it Time for Us to Apologize,”
“Monica Lewinsky Has Been Mocked in Beyoncé, Eminem Lyrics. Is it Time for Us to Apologize,” USA Today, August 7, 2022 (Jenna Ryu).
Click here to view the article
NWSA Statement Concerning the Overturning of Roe v. Wade
Dear NWSA Community,
Earlier this year, after the draft of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the 1973 decision in the Roe v. Wade case was leaked to the public, the National Women’s Studies Association felt compelled to speak out against this decision. We were alarmed. We were concerned. We were furious, but we were not surprised. Last week’s decision represents the culmination of work that has been done over several decades to reverse Roe v. Wade and give States the ultimate authority to govern, police, and oversee our most personal decisions about our bodies.
In 1973, SCOTUS concluded that the constitutional rights to privacy and liberty protected a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy. Justice Harry Blackmun, who wrote the opinion for the majority, noted that while “the Constitution does not explicitly mention any right to privacy,” several prior decisions had found “a guarantee of certain areas or zones of privacy.” He went on to note that this guarantee of privacy is grounded in several amendments within the Bill of Rights and in the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of liberty, which, taken together, “create zones of privacy in areas of society such as marriage, contraception, family relationships, and child-rearing.”
Friday’s decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case not only reverses the last 50 years of precedent but will disproportionately impact economically challenged communities of color and marginalized groups who are already navigating the existing health care obstacles. It will also affect all people’s ability to have reproductive choices.
To be clear, the National Women’s Studies Association, the world’s largest network of feminist scholars, educators, and activists, unequivocally affirms that a person’s right to govern their body is a fundamental human right that must be enshrined into the law, now more than ever.
With Friday’s SCOTUS decision, our ability to make reproductive choices will be denied or limited in scope. So far, 22 states have abortion bans on their books (ranging from early-term to near-total ). Additionally, Texas, Oklahoma, and Idaho recently enacted “heartbeat” legislation allowing private individuals to sue anyone who performs or aids in an abortion after fetal cardiac activity is first detected (around six weeks of pregnancy).
We know that you are probably still feeling a range of emotions –from rage to anger to confusion to exhaustion to frustration (and everything in between!)–so we urge you to practice self-care. We need you to be healthy and prepared for what is coming next.
As we noted in our statement in May, we are at a moment where we must fight. We must push back, and we must speak out. Elections have consequences, and protests and petitions hold weight. There is power and protection when we come together.
This is the moment where we must seek out activist organizations to participate in protests, teach-ins, town halls, and vigils.
This is the moment to reach out to your Congressperson, participate in voter registration drives, and use your social media platform to alert everyone to what is happening so that we can show up at the polls in November and elect people into office who will have our best interests at the top of their to-do list.
NWSA, this is the moment to stand taller, to speak louder, to look farther down the road than those who pretend to know the way, and to remember that they will try and tell us that we cannot withstand the storm only because they fail to realize that We. Are. The. Storm.
We stand ready to fight with you and to fight for you.
In love and solidarity,
Karsonya Wise Whitehead, President
National Women’s Studies Association
RESOURCES
*Please note, the resources shared below are neither connected to nor endorsed by NWSA but are shared just in case someone needs a starting place to access healthcare or make a reproductive decision.
If you are seeking access to healthcare:
Amnesty.org – provides basic facts about abortion.
Gynopedia – a nonprofit organization that runs an open resource wiki for sexual, reproductive, and women’s health care worldwide.
Guttmacher Institute – a primary source for research and policy analysis on abortion in the United States.
National Abortion Federation – unites, represents, serves, and supports abortion providers in delivering patient-centered, evidence-based care.
National Network of Abortion Funds – connects you with organizations that can support your financial and logistical needs as you arrange for your abortion
Planned Parenthood – A Comprehensive Guide for Unplanned Pregnancy
RAINN – National Sexual Assult Hotline
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice – a network of ministers and rabbis that refer women to abortion providers they had researched and found to be safe
Texas Equal Access Fund – provides emotional and financial support to people seeking abortion care.
Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project – helps bridge the financial gap for women who seek an abortion or emergency contraceptives.
If you need help terminating your pregnancy:
AbortionFinder – With more than 750 health centers, AbortionFinder.org features the most comprehensive directory of trusted (and verified) abortion service providers in the United States.
Afiya Center – Their mission is to transform the lives, health, and overall wellbeing of Black women and girls by providing refuge, education, and resources. They act to ignite the communal voices of Black women resulting in our full achievement of reproductive freedom.
AidAccess – consists of a team of doctors, activists, and advocates for abortion rights that help people access abortion or miscarriage treatment. They send the pill worldwide for $110/90€.
Bridge Collective – provides practical and responsive abortion services to Central Texas.
Buckle Bunnies Fund – provides practical support for people seeking abortions. They help with transportation, funds to help with hotels, lodging costs, and emergency contraceptive funds to go towards abortion.
Carafem – helps with abortion, birth control, and questions about reproductive healthcare. They do consultations online and send abortion pills in the mail.
Cobalt Abortion Fund – provides direct financial assistance to individuals seeking abortion care. Their mission is to work toward reproductive freedom for all people and provide financial assistance without judgment or question to people who seek an abortion but cannot pay the total cost.
Faith Aloud – compassionate religious and spiritual support for abortion and pregnancy options.
Frontera Fund – makes abortion accessible in the Rio Grande Valley (Texas) by providing financial and practical support regardless of immigration status, gender identity, ability, sexual orientation, race, class, age, or religious affiliation.
HeyJane – Modern abortion care, without the clinic, Get fast, safe, and affordable abortion care from home. Chat with a medical provider within 36 hours. Medications are shipped daily.
International Consortium on Emergency Contraception – Emergency Oral Contraceptive Doses for Birth Control, U.S.
Jane’s Due Process – helps minors in Texas with judicial bypass for abortion, navigate parental consent laws and confidentially access abortion and birth control. They provide free legal support, 1-on-1 case management, and stigma-free information on sexual and reproductive health.
Justice Empowerment Network – focuses on abortion access in South Dakota.
Kentucky Health Justice Network – helps with both abortion care and gender-affirming care in Kentucky.
Lillith Fund – the oldest abortion fund in Texas, serving the central and southern regions of the state with direct financial assistance for abortions.
Northwest Abortion Access Fund – provides funds to help folks in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska.
Plan C Pills – provides up-to-date information on how people in the U.S. access abortion pills online.
Westfund – focuses on Latino and low-income communities.
Women on Web – an online abortion service that can help you do a safe abortion with pills.
Additional resources:
Connect and Breathe is intentionally not a “pro-choice” or political org. Its purpose and mission are to provide a talkline service (with trained volunteers across the nation) for people who have had abortions.
*Please be safe and be aware of clinics (e.g. Crisis Pregnancy Centers) that give out dangerous misinformation on abortions and pregnancy.
PAID INTERNSHIP program- College Corps@the Beach
Internships open many doors for student job placements and other career and educational opportunities: in fact, students with internship experience are more likely to be invited for job interviews post-graduation. We know, however, that for many CSULB students who need part-time jobs and financial aid to pay for college, unpaid internships are almost impossible to complete.
That’s why we are very excited about a new CSULB PAID internship program—College Corps@the Beach, an internship program with positions focused on climate change and environmental justice; food insecurity; and K-12 education as it relates to climate literacy.
We hope that you will apply! Read on for program details, check out the attached flyer, and attend an Information Session to hear more. Applications are due May 1, 2022. To apply complete this online application. Visit the program website at https://www.csulb.edu/college-corps.
Students selected for College Corps@the Beach will:
- Commit to a two-semester internship (fall 2022 & spring 2023) during which they will complete 450 hours of meaningful work. This breaks down to about 12-15 hours a week.
- Enroll in a 3-unit internship course during the fall 2022 semester.
- Attend professional development trainings and workshops.
- Connect with other interns across the state via a virtual community platform and regional events.
- Receive up to $7,000 toward living expenses (paid out in monthly installments) and a $3,000 educational award at the completion of their 450 hours that can be used to pay off education loans or put toward future educational expenses (e.g., tuition, books).
Students from all colleges and majors are encouraged to apply, including AB540 students and those who are first in their families to go to college. Priority will be given to students who demonstrate a financial need.
Student Information Sessions (online)—learn about participating in the program and ask questions. You do not need to attend an information session in order to apply, although it is highly recommended.
- April 11, 2022 | 12:00 noon-1 PM
- April 14, 2022 | 5:00 PM- 6:00 PM
- April 19, 2022 | 9:00 AM- 10:00 AM
- April 22, 2022 | 12:00 noon – 1:00 PM
- April 25, 2022 | 5:00 PM- 6:00 PM
All information sessions will be held online via Zoom.
Meeting ID: 872 0305 6870
https://csulb.zoom.us/j/87203056870
Have questions? Contact the program at CollegeCorps@csulb.edu.
TAC Symposium on March 18: Cruising the Capacious
Click here to register for event
