Schools collaborate over women’s studies

When someone thinks about UCLA and the University of Southern
California, they think rivalry, Bruins and Trojans fighting for
bragging rights ““ not these women.

At an event cosponsored by the UCLA Center for the Study of
Women and the USC Center for Feminist Research, graduate students
from across the nation came together in an effort to educate and
collaborate on issues and ideas about gender studies.

The event, called “Thinking Gender,” took place on
March 4, which is International Women’s Day, at the UCLA
Faculty Center.

This was the 15th-annual conference held by the two university
women’s studies centers.

Students from over 24 universities came to the event to speak on
panels about a wide variety of subjects, from gender issues in the
media to the history of women’s activism for public health
access.

“People (come) from all over the country, studying
everything from critical theory to philosophy to anthropology, so
it’s been quite an effort to get all these people from
different disciplines in this one conference,” said
conference coordinator Jennifer Musto.

Throughout the day, graduate students assembled into panels to
present theses about gender relations within American society and
to propose ideas about changing them or bringing to light the
history behind what has shaped these relations.

“The faculty who are brought on to moderate or facilitate
the panels are there for support, to field questions and answers,
and if the faculty is familiar with the work that is being
presented, they can offer insight. … It is intellectual exchanges
in a very supportive environment,” said Regina Lark,
assistant director for the UCLA Center for the Study of Women.

In addition to the event, the UCLA CSW is putting on a showing
of “Precious Stones,” a play about the story of two
women ““ one Israeli and one Palestinian ““ that takes
place in Chicago.

Set in 1989, the two characters in the play embark on a journey
to create an Israeli-Palestinian dialogue group in Chicago after
the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising, takes place in the
Gaza Strip and the West Bank. In the process, the two women fall in
love with each other.

“This is an amazingly dynamic, controversial, multilayered
show that is going to deal with really important contemporary
issues,” Lark said.

The play is part of a nationwide college tour by Silk Road
Theater Productions.

Playwright Jamil Khoury said he was encouraged to bring his work
to UCLA when a student saw the piece at a September 2004
performance at Occidental College.

“During the initial run of the play … we were approached
by many university professors,” Khoury said.

The play, which touches on a plethora of subject matter from
sexual politics to cultural identity, is a form of education that
those involved with the show say will bring new light to issues and
questions students are dealing with, no matter what their field of
study may be.

Throughout these events, students are committed to developing
discourse between individuals and groups on gender issues, whether
they are race-related, political or sexual. Participants say this
discussion can lead to further progress in the fight for equality
and understanding within American society.

And the graduate students from UCLA and USC say they will
continue to work together toward this goal, no matter what.

“We don’t believe in that cross-town rivalry. It is
very testosterone driven and we just don’t buy into
it,” Lark said.

“Precious Stones” will be shown Tuesday at 7
p.m. in the Northwest Auditorium.

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