WEBER STATE WOMEN’S STUDIES NEWSLETTER

VOL. V, NO. 1 SEPTEMBER 1998

COORDINATOR’S CORNER

Welcome back to the beginning of the new year! We’re very pleased that WS2050, which has been designated a General Education class, is filled to overflowing. Thanks to Gloria and the others who worked to gain that designation. Thanks also to Judy Elsley and Priti Kumar who have welcomed thirty-two students into a class that promises to be very exciting with its inclusion of multicultural as well as gender issues for women.

We were saddened to learn of the death of Lyall Crawford’s brother. Our heartfelt sympathy to Lyall and his family.

The Women’s Studies yearly faculty meeting (retreat) will be on September 25 at Angelika Pagel’s home. If you know of new faculty interested in women’s issues and in teaching Women’s Studies core and/or cross-listed courses, please e-mail Linda with names so that we can send them retreat invitations.

The new brochure prepared by Barbara Bernstein, with help from Stacey Campbell and Karen Wimmer, is almost ready. We hope to distribute it before the next newsletter appears. We deeply appreciate the work done by Barbara and her committee, in collaboration with Gloria and me.

Look for the invitation to the annual picnic and book sale to be held on October 4. We will probably meet behind Annex 1 again since that site proved to be so lovely last year.

This year is the nine hundredth anniversary of the birth of Hildegard von Bingen. Hildegard was the abbess of a double monastery, and she wrote about a series of visions that she had. More intriguing from a Women’s Studies point of view is that she also wrote about women’s health, including gynecological problems and their treatment.

In addition to her abilities as a writer and a scientist, Hildegard was a musician and an artist. This multi-talented woman is being honored in many parts of the world. WSU Women’s Studies is also planning a celebration this semester. Kathryn MacKay will present a lecture and slide show about Hildegard. Anyone else interested in helping to create a festival of Hildegard, please contact Linda Shoemake (626-7632) as soon as possible.

FACULTY PROFILE

We have the great pleasure of having Tracy Callahan join the ranks of both faculty and Executive Council members for the Women’s Studies Program and, thus, have coerced her into being the subject of this month’s profile. Tracy is currently an Associate Professor in Performing Arts and has been on the WSU faculty since 1995. She came to us from a faculty position at Oklahoma State University and also has related teaching experience at the University of Florida, University College of Galway (Ireland), Holland Hall Academy, and the University of Tulsa (Oklahoma.) At WSU, she has taught Performing Arts courses in acting, directing, and theatre voice and diction. She and Kathryn MacKay collaborated this summer on an experimental WS course entitled "Outsiders Arts: Cultural Performance by Women and Ethnic Artists" which she says "proved very exciting for all involved" and she would "teach it again in a heart beat" - good news for the program in particular and WSU in general.

Tracy has attended Illinois State University and holds a B.F.A. from Florida State University and an M.F.A. from the University of Florida. In addition to her classroom teaching since coming to WSU, Tracy has been active in directing and otherwise assisting with performances by students in Weber’s theatre program and at Ogden High School; in 1996, "The Grapes of Wrath" was a regional winner in the American College Theatre Festival. She has worked recently with Salt Lake Acting Company and is currently directing Paula Vogel’s Pulitzer Prize-winning "How I Learned to Drive" (running 5 Nov. - 13 Dec) which is "very provocative" material that "would make for an interesting discussion in a Women’s Studies forum." She encourages colleagues to attend and comment, electronically or otherwise. Tracy’s involvement with school and community theatre began in Oklahoma and, in addition, she has given formal scholarly presentations to community and academic groups throughout her career. Attendance at workshops and conferences continues to develop her professional skills and enthusiasm. Among her "back brain burner" items, she has a (currently suppressed) passion for studying contemporary Irish Theatre, especially concerning women "caught in the crossfire of the battles in Northern Ireland." She hopes to develop a collaborative performance piece with other folks from Performing Arts to celebrate the opening of the Browning Center’s black box theatre and also to expand her teaching and directing efforts to include classical and contemporary plays and programs with cutting edge and diverse cultural themes.

Tracy is married to Joe Crnich, a theatre teacher at Ogden High School and they have two sons, Jacob (age 7) and Callahan (age 16 months) who are still young enough to let their mother call them "beautiful."

The Women’s Studies Program is thrilled to be able to take advantage of Tracy’s talents and enthusiasm and we look forward to a long and productive relationship!

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KUDOS to WS minor Kristi Eversole who was elected vice-chair of the ASWSU Student Senate. CONGRATULATIONS also to Raj Kumar who will present a paper on the effect of television violence on children at the first World Conference on Family Violence in Singapore, 8-11 September. Raj joins other distinguished invited guests including First Lady Hilary Rodham Clinton and South African President Nelson Mandela.

A big "WHEW!" that Sally Bishop Shigley and her companions survived their 20 August encounter with a "Utah tornado" in much better shape than did her truck.

Things to look for in the near future include Diana Page’s (with son, Chris Grueninger) recital on 8 September in the (Marriott) Peery Lecture Hall. Also, the Utah Consortium of Women in Higher Education will hold its annual fall conference on Friday, 2 October, from 9 AM until 3:30 PM, at the University of Utah Alumni House. Featured speaker is Dr. Martha N. Beck, author of "Why Women Fall Apart and How They Can Re-Create Their Lives." We have several brochures with registration information available in the Women’s Studies office.

A REMINDER that semester conversion has required a relatively dramatic shift in the scheduling of our core course offerings. WS 4050 (formerly part of WS 405) is being offered now and WILL NOT BE OFFERED AGAIN IN SPRING, so act accordingly.

CALENDAR

8 Sept. - Diana Page/Chris Grueninger recital, Marriott Peery Lecture Hall, 7:30 PM.

10 Sept. - Convocations features Ms. Bev Smith addressing "Women and Minorities in the Media," 10 AM, Union Ballroom

11 Sept. - WS Exec. Council Mtg., SS115, 1:30 PM

25 Sept. - WS Autumn Retreat, Angelika Pagel’s home, 2 - 6 PM.

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PLAN TO COME TO THE PICNIC OCTOBER 4th!