FEMINIST SOLIDARITY POTLUCK – 9/22/2006

- Overview of Fall 2006 activities
o LGBTQ 101: Awareness training provided by Safe Space for English and Comp Lit grad students; 9/29 at 3pm in PAR 204. For more information, please contact Erin Hurt (erinhurt@mail.utexas.edu)
o Feminism in Academic Disciplines: A roundtable discussion by and for grad students about the ways in which feminism makes its appearance in academic disciplines that are not traditionally identified as feminist fields of study (e.g. medieval studies). For more information, please contact Layne Craig (laynecraig@mail.utexas.edu) or Kate Beutner (katharine.b@gmail.com).
o Family Matters: Tentatively planned for November 10. A panel of grad students and faculty will discuss how they manage children/family with work. Issues include, but are not limited to choosing to take time off, how to balance stress with workload, and the practical advice for pregnancy and childcare. Please contact Lydia Wilmeth (lwilmeth@mail.utexas.edu) or Erin Hurt (erinhurt@mail.utexas.edu).
o A Day in the Life: Graduate students will describe a typical day in their life, from when they wake up to when they go to sleep. A collection of these will be posted on the Feminist Solidarity blog (http://feministsolidarityblog.blogspot.com/).
o Guide for New Students: Throughout the semester, FS members are encouraged to post tips for (new) grads on the FS blog, with the hopes of putting together a pamphlet of tips about the things that you are never told as a new student.
- Spring 2006 activities
o Mentor panel: Faculty will discuss their experiences both as mentors to students and other faculty as well as their own experiences of being mentored.
o Female faculty panel?

- Brainstorming ideas for 2006-2007 school year?
o Definitions of Feminisms panel?

- Discussion about using the various resources, communities, and groups that are already established on campus (such as Gender and Sexuality center, New Works Program, Center for Women and Gender Studies)
o It was suggested that that instead of starting from scratch in terms of creating feminist community and activism, the FSG should instead become aware of groups outside of the department and build on activities that are already established.

- Discussion of possible future activities:
o Discussion of marginalization and/or hostility in the graduate classroom
o Coping mechanisms for instructors with problem students

- Other upcoming events:
o Announcement of the formation of a support group for Women of Color
o October is LGBTQ Awareness Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Domestic Violence Awareness month

- Meeting ended with announcements of various sign-up sheets:
o Sign up for emails from the group
o Sign up to be a part of the planning committee
o Sign up to be a part of the Day in the Life project
o Sign up if you are interested in actively blogging on the FSG blog
o Email UTfeministsolidarity@gmail.com if you want to be involved in any of these things but didn’t get a chance to sign up at the meeting.


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