WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY WOMEN'S STUDIES NEWSLETTER
VOL III, No 4 DECEMBER 1996
COORDINATOR'S CORNER
We welcome Homa Firouzbakhch as a new member of the Women's Studies teaching team, effective winter quarter when she will team-teach Feminist Theories with Diane Krantz, also teaching for the program for the first time. This month I'll profile Homa; Diane's introduction will appear in January. December is not a "heavy" month for academic program-related activities, but I'll call your attention to a few items. On Sunday, 1 December, at 3:30 p.m., DLSU will join the Ogden Red Cross in sponsoring this year's World AIDS Day Candlelight Vigil at the WSU Duck Pond. Speakers include Sharon Parkinson of WSU and Ogden ministers Shirley Jones, Sarah Lambert, and James Morgan. (Advance notice: The first week of winter quarter, look for a 9 January presentation co-sponsored by DLSU entitled "Two Spirit Traditions in Native American Cultures" delivered by Lacee Harris, spiritual leader of the Paiute and Ute Nations.) On Thursday, 5 December, the Grand Finale of the Centennial Reading Series will be held from 7 - 9 p.m. in the WSU Stewart Library, featuring writings from "The Word from Weber County." It's not too soon to begin planning to attend the spring statewide meeting of Utah women's programs, tentatively scheduled for 8 March 1997 on the campus of Salt Lake Community College. As the committee finalizes details, more information will be forthcoming in the newsletter. We are hoping to be able to hear from the presidents of Westminster and the College of Eastern Utah. All interested staff, faculty and students are encouraged to attend.
The Women's Studies Student Association has begun work on a project to raise funds to supplement the scholarship for traditional-age WS minors. If you have ideas to share about strategies and/or donors, please contact the office (626-7632) and Norma will pass the information along.
CONGRATULATIONS !! to Women's Studies faculty Dr.'s Forrest Crawford and Wangari wa Nyatetu-Waigwa who were honored at the 16 November appreciation program of the Ogden Shriners Labbayk Temple. Forrest received the Distinguished Citizen Award and Wangari was presented with an award of appreciation, in addition to being the featured speaker for the evening. Other members of the Weber State community were also recognized.
THANKS to all who attended the Autumn Quarter Video Series on U.S. Women's History, co-sponsored with Services for Women Students. The videos presented are available for use in classes, as is the case for all previous Women's Studies video series.
A REMINDER of next quarter's Women's Studies classes which include:
- WS 305 - Feminist Theories
- Engl 373 - Middle Eastern Women Writers
- Fr (HL) 170 - French Caribbean Writers
- Psych 220 - Psych. of Women and Gender.
See p. 132 of the Winter Quarter class schedule for registration codes. Call the office (626-7632) for more information.
FACULTY PROFILE
This month we are delighted to introduce one of our newest Women's Studies faculty members, Homa Firouzbakhch, who will join Diane Krantz of the English Department in teaching Feminist Theories. Homa is an Assistant Professor of Sociology , having joined the Weber State faculty in 1995, replacing Dean Collinwood when he became Director of Asian Studies. Born in Gorgan, Iran, near the Caspian Sea, Homa was raised in Tehran and educated on both sides of the Atlantic, specifically in Iran, France, Belgium and the U.S. She received a B.S. and M.S. in Sociology/Anthropology from the Free University of Brussels, following which she worked for one year with the European Economic Community.
During the last year of her masters' work, the revolution occurred in Iran, and her family could not return home. Her father was in the army of the old regime and had to go into hiding. All of the family's possessions were confiscated. Having a best friend whose sister was at the University of Utah led to inquiries about graduate work in their Sociology Department and, ultimately, to her Ph.D. program there. For her dissertation research, supported by a university fellowship, she studied the population dynamics in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Specifically, she explored the role that religious, semi-secular, and secular groups played in the revolutionary process and received her degree in 1993. While working on her dissertation, Homa served as associate director of a small private recruiting company in Salt Lake City. Prior to coming to Weber, she also taught Sociology of Gender and Social Theory at the University of Utah. In the WSU Sociology Department, she participates in developing courses for the new program in comparative sociology. Her theoretical and empirical interests provide a strong background for courses comparing the industrialized nations with the industrializing ones; some of these have been designed already and some are yet to come.
Homa's avocations include amateur photography and Hatha Yoga, which she practices and teaches. Her husband, Touraj Noroozi, is also from Iran; they met at the University of Utah while he worked at the Middle Eastern Library. Touraj holds a Ph.D. from the U. of U. in International Relations. His dissertation examined Khomeini's use of symbolism and its impact on international relations. He continues to study the role of liberalism in the reformation occurring within the Islamic republic. In Iran, Touraj was a professional film critic and Homa joins him in continuing that interest through a film club that they sponsor in Salt Lake City.
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The Department of Performing Arts offers many opportunities to begin December with music. For information, call 626-6431.
- Combined Choirs Concert, St. Joseph's Church, 1 Dec, 5:30 and 8 p.m.
- Ogden Community Choir, 7 p.m.
- Ogden Tabernacle, 2 Dec
- SLC Assembly Hall, 5 Dec
- Brigham City Tabernacle, 6 Dec
- WSU Chamber Choir, First United Methodist Church, 4 p.m., 7 Dec
- WSU/High School Band Concert, Ogden H.S. Auditorium, 4 p.m., 7 Dec
- Weber State Singers, Union Ballroom, 7:30 p.m., 9 Dec
CALENDAR
1 Dec - World AIDS Day Candlelight Vigil, 3:30 p.m., WSU Duck Pond
2 Dec - Exec. Council Mtg, 9:30 a.m., SS 137
5 Dec - Centennial Reading Series Finale, 7 - 9 p.m., WSU Stewart Library
6 Dec - Winter Graduation, 1:10 p.m., Dee Events Center
6 Jan - Winter Quarter classes begin.