[Herstory] November CWLU Herstory E-Zine

Fri Nov 15 06:53:10 EST 2002

Hello: Welcome to the November issue of the CWLU Herstory E-Zine. 
Please send us news tips about upcoming events you know about. Also, 
don't be shy. Send us news about yourself and what you are doing. 
Feminist networking is part of what we are about. Forward our E-Zine 
to colleagues and friends who may want to subscribe.

Remember: Buy online from Women and Children First Books or the 
History Channel.com using the links from our homepage. The links are 
the History Channel.com and Women and Children First logos. It's a 
great way to buy books, videos, music or other items. We will earn a 
small but much needed commission.

NOTE: We had to switch our mailing software again. Please e-mail 
infogal at cwluherstory.org if you have any problems.

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Archie Motley dies at the age of 67

Although his name may not be known to many CWLU Herstory E-Zine 
readers, Archie Motley was a strong supporter and friend of our 
project. Archie was a people's archivist, who believed that the lives 
of working people and social activists were important enough to be 
included in the archival collections of libraries, museums and 
universities.

The son of an African-American father and a German immigrant mother, 
Archie devoted his life to fighting discrimination and exploitation 
through his work as a historical archivist. His father was the noted 
American painter Archibald Motley.

At the Chicago Historical Society (CHS) where he worked, Archie was 
largely responsible for building the impressive collection of 
documents and personal papers that tell the story of Chicago from the 
bottom up. The CHS has the largest collection of CWLU documents in 
the nation.

Archie died after falling off a ladder at the CHS while doing what he 
did best,tending his beloved archives. He will be missed.

We would like to place a dedication to Archie on the Archive Section 
of our website. We feel it is a fitting tribute to a person who 
really helped this project grow. Any feedback on this idea is welcome.

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Jane: Abortion and the Underground to be performed in Florida

Planned Parenthood of North Central Florida has teamed up with 
students from the University of Florida and Florida State to mount a 
production of  Paula Kamen's play about the Abortion Counseling 
Service.

Christine Gajda of Planned Parenthood got in touch with us and we 
sent her some of the original  promotional graphics from the 1999 
premiere here in Chicago. She plans to use them to promote the 
Florida production.

Christine tells us that the students are working hard and plan to 
present the play in several cities the week of the Roe v Wade 
anniversary.

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Bust Magazine uses one of Elaine Wessel's Rock Band photos

Bust Magazine, the brash in-your-face publication for young 
feminists, contacted us when they saw a photo of the Chicago Women's 
Liberation Rock Band on the website. They really liked one of the 
Rock Band photos and we helped them get in touch with Elaine to 
secure her permission.

The photo should be running in the latest issue. We haven't see the 
story that it accompanies, but the publisher promised to send us a 
copy of the issue.

You may visit the Bust website at http://www.bust.com/ .

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New Photo Essay on JoFreeman.com about the 1977 National Women's 
Conference in Houston

The National Women's Conference in 1977 was organized to celebrate 
International Women's Year and set a women's agenda for America. It 
was an amazing event in many ways.  Where else could you see Bella 
Abzug, Lady Bird Johnson and Maya Angelou all on the same stage?

Feminist scholar and writer Jo Freeman was there and shares her 
photos of the event accompanied by an essay  at 
http://www.jofreeman.com/photos/IWY1977.html.

Jo plans to continue expanding her website with more photos and 
articles. We'll keep you posted.

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Check out our Chicagoland Feminist Calendar

We remodeled the Feminist Salon and added an interactive calendar of 
Chicagoland feminist events. We will also begin adding events that 
are not happening in Chicagoland, but would be of interest to Chicago 
feminists. If you have an event you would like posted, e-mail us at 
infogal at cwluherstory.org.

While you are perusing the calendar, take our monthly poll. This 
month's poll concerns the issue of single gender schools. And don't 
forget to read the Feminist Quote. They are generated randomly from 
our database so you see a different one each time you visit.

One of our favorite quotes is,"Where would men be without women? 
Scarce sir, mighty scarce." See if you can guess who said that. You 
may be surprised.

You may submit articles directly to the Salon by copy-pasting them 
into a handy web form and then pressing submit. No fuss. No muss. So 
get out that college women's studies paper, or that feminist letter 
to the editor you never sent and post it to the Salon. You may also 
read and comment on articles already there.

The Salon may be reached from our homepage links at 
http://www.cwluherstory.org or directly at 
http://www.cwluherstory.com/phpweb/ .

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The Herstory Project needs interns. Volunteer now!

Graduate and undergraduate students are needed to write, edit, 
research, interview, do audio/video, add documents, do publicity and 
lots more. Our projects are exciting and challenging. Contact 
infogal at cwluherstory.org for more details.

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SO WHAT'S NEW ON THE HERSTORY SITE?

We added a memoir from Heather Booth about her life in the movement. 
It was edited by UIC student Gina Caneva from an interview originally 
conducted by Carnegie-Mellon student Becky Kluchin.

We totally revamped the Feminist Salon and the GrrlSmarts section.

The Herstory E-Zines are now being archived on the site using a 
database for easier updating.

We are currently editing a timeline of Chicago and national 
second-wave feminism from the 1960's to the 1980's  developed by UIC 
student Ann Medina. Many thanks to Ruth Rosen for letting us use her 
national second-wave timelime from her recent book "The World Split 
Open".

If any enterprising women's studies student wants to extend the 
timeline into the 21st century, please get in touch with us. Getting 
Ann's timeline on to the site is our big project this month. We plan 
to add a comment section along with the timeline so people can 
contribute suggestions and correct any errors.

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BOOK!

Fireweed: A Political Autobiography" by Gerda Lerner (Temple University Press )

Gerda Lerner was one of the founding mothers of Second Wave feminism 
through her work as a feminist historian.  A refugee from the Nazis, 
her work in women's history and race relations in America recently 
won her the Bruce Catton Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Historical 
Writing, the first woman to receive this honor.

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WEB SURFIN' WITH THE HERSTORY PROJECT

Here are some web links of interest to feminists. Please send us your 
favorite links. The Internet is a huge place and it's easy to miss 
the buried feminist treasures.
_____________________________________
http://www.womensenews.org/

"Womens eNews" is probably the best source of serious women's news on 
the Internet. Our Feminist Salon frequently links to their well 
written thoughtful articles. Womens eNews grew out of the NOW Legal 
Defense Fund, but became independent in January 2002.

______________________________________
http://www.about-face.org/

"About-Face" takes on the relentless mass media campaign to make 
women feel really terrible about themselves. The have galleries for 
both "offenders" and "winners".

______________________________________
http://www.fwhc.org/

"Feminist Women's Health Center" is an incredible resource on women's 
health, especially reproductive health. Most clinic waiting rooms 
have worn copies of Lady's Home Journal or Readers Digest. The FWHC 
website provides you with emotionally moving poetry and stories 
submitted by their site visitors.

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FEMINIST EVENTS AND ACTION CALENDAR

Empower Your Improv Goddess!

The Sirens, Chicago's all women improv group, invite you to an 
afternoon Fall Women's Improv Workshop. Break free from playing the 
mother, girlfriend, and wife and laugh it up with other women.

Sunday, November 17th
12:30-4pm
The Playground, 3341 N. Lincoln
PRICE: Just $35 (includes bagel breakfast)

To register: E-mail sirensimprov at hotmail.com or call 773-680-0826.

For more info on Sirens go to http://www.sirensimprov.com/

______________________________________
The Vagina Dialogues

This workshop will cover a variety of topics regarding women's sexual 
and reproductive health including self-care, dispelling myths about 
our sexual anatomy, the menstrual cycle & cervical self-exams. Led by 
Carissa Szymanski, an educator from the Chicago Women's Health 
Center. This workshop is open to all women.

Early to Bed is Chicago's only 100% woman-owned and operated erotic 
gift shop.They are committed to providing accurate, current 
information about women's health and sexuality. To that end they 
offer workshops, lecture about sexuality and safer sex to students 
and offer in-home demonstrations.

Tuesday, November 19, 7:30 pm
Early to Bed
5232 N Sheridan Rd
Chicago, IL 60640
$10 (sliding scale)

Call 773-271-1219 or visit http://www.early2bed.com for more info

______________________________________
Women and Children First Bookstore has a great lineup of events
5233 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL
Phone(773) 769-9299.

Monday, Nov. 18,
7:30 p.m.

Young Feminists Discussion Group
Subject to be Announced

Check the Women and Children First website 
(http://www.womenandchildrenfirst.com) for an announcement of the 
subject for the second meeting of our new group for women in their 
20s and early 30s.

Tuesday, Nov. 19
7:30 p.m.
Women's Book Discussion:
Eva Moves the Furniture by Margot Livesey

This months selection is a magical novel about loneliness, love, and 
the profound connection between mother and daughter, which fuses the 
simplicity of a fairy tale with the complexity of adult passions. 
Book club selections are discounted 10%. Not an author appearance.

Thursday, Nov. 21
7:30 p.m.
Kathleen Thompson and Hilary Mac Austin
Americas Children : A Slide Presentation

Americas Children, the first visual history of children in America, 
looks at four centuries of American life. Hometown newspaper 
photographers present a nostalgic but unsentimental view of Americas 
small towns. Jacob Riis and Lewis Hine show us children in mines and 
sweatshops. Family snapshots reveal children in the immediacy of 
their daily lives. Contemporary photographers glimpse girls at a 
pro-choice demonstration, an illegal immigrant huddled in his fathers 
arms, a boy limboing under a crime scene tape. The authors slide 
presentation is accompanied by historical background and text in the 
voices of the children themselves. Thompson and Austin have 
collaborated on two previous books, The Face of Our Past: Images of 
Black Women from Colonial America to the Present and Children of the 
Depression.

Tuesday, Nov. 26
7:30 p.m.
Lynn Peril
Pink Think: Becoming a Woman in Many Uneasy Lessons

 From the 1940s to the 1970s, women were coaxed by advertisers and advice
experts to "think pink" to attain feminine perfection in an adorable 
pink package that would set them surely on the road to marriage, 
motherhood, and total female fulfillment. In Pink Think, online zine 
editor Lynn Peril serves up a wildly entertaining but also 
eye-opening history and analysis of the time, including period 
memorabilia and artifacts, from the dreaded yet intriguing "Dud" of 
the Mystery Date board game to the impossibly glossy Campus Queen 
lunchbox.

Cartoonist and writer Mimi Pond writes, "Peril has taken on a topic 
that would leave even professionally ironic post-feminists howling, 
sputtering and apoplectic in a pool of their own juices."

December 2002 Events
Sunday, Dec.1
5 p.m.
Gerda Lerner
Fireweed: A Political Autobiography

A pioneer of the field of women's history, esteemed author Gerda 
Lerner has published 12 books, including The Creation of Patriarchy, 
The Creation of Feminist Consciousness, and Why History Matters. Her 
own life has encompassed many of the most significant social and 
historical developments of the twentieth century, and her remarkable 
autobiography, Fireweed, covers all of it: Her childhood in a Jewish 
family in Austria, imprisonment by the Nazis, two marriages including 
one to a Hollywood film editor who was blacklisted and who first 
introduced her to many left-wing political causes and of course, her 
lifelong development as a writer and scholar. Now Professor of 
History, Emerita, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, she was 
recently awarded the Bruce Catton Prize for Lifetime Achievement in 
Historical Writing, the first woman to receive this honor.

Visit the Women and Children First website at 
http://www.womenandchildrenfirst.com for dates and times as well as 
info  about other upcoming happenings.

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LOOKING FOR A JOB?

The Rogers Park Community Action Network(RPCAN) in Chicago is looking 
for an executive director

RPCAN fights for social justice and community empowerment on issues 
such as gentrification, economic justice, affordable housing, worker 
rights and school reform.

The Executive Director works with a hands-on Board of Directors to 
provide overall direction, administration and fundraising for RPCAN. 
A chief responsibility of the Director is the execution of 
direct-organizing efforts in the context of housing, gentrification 
and other issues identified by the board and membership.This position 
entails both organizing and administration, requiring flexible hours 
including evenings and weekends.

To apply, send resume and cover letter describing approach to social 
action organizing to:

Search Committee
RPCAN
1545 W. Morse
Chicago, IL 60626Email

morseoffice at juno.com

______________________________________
Contributors to an encyclopedia on rape needed

This will be an A-Z reference book for high school students, 
undergraduates, and the general public. There are approximately 200 
narrative entries on key terms, organizations, history, important 
people,etc. Each entry will also include cross-references and 
suggested readings. There will also be an introduction, index, 
selected bibliography, and appendix with primary documents and 
statistics.

If you are a Ph.D. or ABD in the relevant fields who can write clear 
and concise entries, please contact Dr Merril D. Smith at 
msmithnj at earthlink.net.

______________________________________
University of Houston needs a Women's Studies scholar in History, 
Political Science or Psychology to begin in Fall 2003

This associate or full professorship  will include tenure in the 
relevant traditional department and will involve teaching of 
undergraduate and graduate courses cross-listed in Women's Studies. 
Firm commitments to teaching and to the study of women and gender as 
well as a strong research agenda are required.

Review of applications will begin December 10, 2002, and continue 
until the position is filled. Send cover letter, c.v., publications 
(no more than 3), and a list of three references (names and 
addresses, including email where possible) to Women's Studies Search 
Committee, Women's Studies Program, University of Houston, Houston, 
TX 77204-3005.

______________________________________
The Feminist Majority Foundation has several jobs open for 
administrators, campus organizers and interns.

Visit http://www.feminist.org/911/jobs/jobs_fmf.asp for the latest info.

______________________________________
The Feminist Majority Foundation maintains a constantly updated 
database of employers looking for feminists. Check them out at 
http://www.feminist.org and look for "Career Center" on their 
homepage.They also have a place to post your resume if you are 
looking for a job. They have recently upgraded their career section 
with some very useful features, so go there if you are on a job 
search.

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Well that's it for this month. Please send us any news about former 
CWLUers, upcoming events and feminist happenings. We depend on you to 
be our eyes and ears. Do you need research assistance? Do you provide 
a service? Do you need a service? Do you have a cool project you need 
help with? Are you looking for a job? Do you have a job to offer? Let 
us know and we'll try to include it. Feminist networking is part of 
what we are about. E-mail infogal at cwluherstory.org with your 
contribution.

CWLU Herstory Website Project
http://www.cwluherstory.org
PO Box 548
Oak Park, IL 60303-0548
708-386-7197
A Project of the University of Illinois
Center for Research on Women and Gender

"I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism 
is:I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express 
sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat."- Rebecca West

CWLU Herstory Website Project
http://www.cwluherstory.org
PO Box 548
Oak Park, IL 60303-0548
708-386-7197
A Project of the University of Illinois
Center for Research on Women and Gender

"I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is:
I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express 
sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat."- Rebecca West