brown university winter 2011

Pembroke Center AssociatesNewsletter

National Council for Research on Women HonorsPresident Ruth Simmons

On February 28th, the NationalCouncil for Research on

Women (NCRW) honored BrownUniversity President Ruth J. Sim-mons with the “Making a Differencefor Women Award” in New YorkCity. NCRW created the award tocelebrate outstanding leaders whoare making a difference in the livesof women and girls.

The Pembroke Center is a chartermember of the National Council forResearch on Women, a network of120 leading research, policy, andadvocacy centers committed toimproving the lives of women and

girls. NCRW works to sharethe latest news, information,and strategies needed toensure fully informeddebates, effective policies,and inclusive practices. Inpartnership with business,academic, non-profit, andphilanthropic organizations,NCRW advances collabora-tive and transformativechange, both nationally andglobally. As a member ofNCRW, the Pembroke Centershares its research expertisewith the network and partici-pates in conferences.

NCRW chose to honor RuthSimmons “for her outstand-ing contributions to highereducation and as a remark-able role model for women’stransformational leadership,”said Vivienne Heston-Demirel, director of commu-

nications for the National Council forResearch on Women. The annualaward was also bestowed on Ed Gilli-gan, vice president for AmericanExpress. The event, held in New YorkCity, was attended by a wide cross sec-tion of leaders from business, philan-thropy, higher education, and the non-profit fields. Recent award recipientshave included:

Alison Bernstein - William andCamille Cosby Endowed Professor atSpelman College and former VicePresident of the Ford Foundation

Johnnetta B. Cole - President, Bennett College and PresidentEmerita, Spelman College

Drew Gilpin Faust - President, Harvard University

Mamphela Ramphele - Former Managing Director, World Bank

Gloria Steinem - Activist and Author,Founder of Ms. Magazine

Melanne Verveer - Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, United States Department of State

“We are so pleased that NCRW choseto honor President Simmons,” saidKay Warren, director of the Pem-broke Center. “We know what a trans-formative impact she has had here atBrown, and on higher educationmore broadly. The NCRW award is awonderful way to celebrate herremarkable accomplishments.”Ruth Simmons

inside• Linda Pei Grant Recipient p.3

• Challenge Underway to Raise$1 Million p.4-5

• Upcoming Events p.6

• A Special Thank You for Your Membership Renewal in 2011 p.6

• Bringing the History of BrownWomen to Life through DigitalTechnology p.7

2 • pembroke center

From our large introductory course to the committed intellectual

community fostered in the seniorresearch seminar required for all con-centrators, the Concentration in Gen-der, and Sexuality Studies inspiresBrown students to think critically aboutissues of difference. Each academic year,the Pembroke Center reaches hun-dreds of undergraduate studentsthrough Gender and Sexuality Studiescourses and related offerings in otherdepartments that examine women,gender, or sexuality as a central focus.The Center is pleased to offer a rigor-ous path for Brown students who areinterested in exploring the construc-tion of gender and sexuality in social,cultural, political, economic, or scien-tific contexts.

This academic year, the PembrokeCenter is offering three new courses toundergraduates: “Gender and theModernist Self,” “The Laws of Vio-lence: Lawful Killings in Law Enforce-ment, Punishment, War and the Waron Terror,” and, “Sense and ScientificSensibility: Beyond Vision, From theScientific Revolution to Now.” Coursestaught by the Pembroke Center’s post-doctoral fellows, provide Brown’s stu-dents with the opportunity to studywith the dynamic scholars that thePembroke Center brings to Browneach year.

Deborah Weinstein’93 directs the Gen-der and Sexuality Studies concentra-tion. Weinstein earned her Ph.D. inthe History of Science from HarvardUniversity and was a postdoctoral fel-low at the Pembroke Center in 2002-2003. Her research focuses on the his-tory of modern American medicineand human sciences. In her role direct-ing the concentration at the PembrokeCenter, Weinstein works with Brownfaculty from across the disciplines toenhance course offerings and advisesstudent concentrators.

Gender and Sexuality Studies is inter-disciplinary by nature because itexplores issues of difference from the

perspective of so many fields of study– from literature to sociology to medi-cine. The concentration’s advisoryboard currently includes faculty fromPolitical Science, Medicine, ModernCulture and Media, English, UrbanStudies, Theatre Arts and Perform-ance Studies, History, ComparativeLiterature, and Italian Studies. Inaddition, there are faculty from manyother fields who are teaching in theconcentration. Given the span of dis-ciplinary perspectives among the fac-ulty, it is not surprising that we have anumber of double concentrators whocouple their interest in gender andsexuality with fields such as Anthro-pology, English, Education, Interna-tional Relations, and Ethnic Studies.

Looking to the future, the PembrokeCenter has exciting plans to expandthe curriculum. Given the concentra-tion’s concern with equipping stu-dents to do original research, we aredeveloping a new methods course.This will enable students to pursueissues from a variety of disciplinaryperspectives. Our goal is to enablestudents to be fluent in theory andmethods within and across thehumanities and social sciences, espe-cially in relation to their own individ-ual research interests. We also plan todevelop a graduate level course oncritical and feminist theory that willserve graduate students from a widerange of disciplines.

None of these exciting accomplish-ments and plans for the future wouldbe possible without the PembrokeCenter Associates. Your support ofthe Pembroke Center provides Brownstudents with the opportunity to takeadvantage of an exciting curriculumthat explores the myriad ways thatgender and sexuality inform andshape our world.

Kay Warren, Director

From the Director

Pembroke Center Associates Council

OFFICERS

Elizabeth Munves Sherman ’77, P’06, P’09Chair

Leslie Newman ’75, AM’75, P’08, P’12Vice-Chair

MEMBERS (as of July 1, 2010)

Mary Kim Arnold ’93, MFA ’98Bernicestine McLeod Bailey ’68, P’99, P’03Joan Weinberger Berman ’74, P’05, P’11Emily Blistein ’01Nancy L. Buc ’65, LLD’94 hon.Anne Buehl ’88Elizabeth Castelli ’79Emily Coe-Sullivan ’99Arlene Gorton ’52Sonia Gupta ’06Kay Gurtin ’83, P ’13Ulle Viiroja Holt ’66, AM’92, PhD’00, P’93, P’03Carol Lemlein ’67, P’90Robin Lenhardt ’89Joan Hoost McMaster ’60Barbara Raab ’81Meg Saggese ’06Claudia Schechter ’66Gwenn Masterman Snider ’83, P’13Leah W. Sprague ’66Jasmine Waddell ’99Ulla Wilska P’04Enid Wilson ’43

Ex Officio Members

Joan MacLeod Heminway ’83Jean Miller ’49Diane Lake Northrop ’54, P’81, GP’13Chelsey Carrier Remington ’61, P’89, P’92Eileen Rudden ’72, P’03, P’07Phyllis Kollmer Santry ’66Anita Spivey ’74, P’09Mary Aguiar Vascellaro ’74, P’07Beverly Heafitz Zweiman ’66, P’01

Pembroke Center Staff

Kay WarrenDirector

Suzanne Stewart-SteinbergActing Director

Christy Law BlanchardDirector of Program Outreach and Development

Denise Davis, AM ’97Managing Editor of differences

Donna GoodnowCenter Manager

Amy GreerArchivist of the Feminist Theory Papers

Martha HamblettPrograms and Stewardship Coordinator

Deborah WeinsteinDirector of Gender and Sexuality Studies

pembroke center • 3

The Pembroke Center is pleased to support Christine Zaleski’s

research into the potential of com-munity-based managementapproaches in the conservation ofcoastal resources. She examineshow community-based managementapproaches have impacted humanand ecosystem welfare in oysterrestoration projects in The Gambiaand the United States. The $1,000Linda Pei grant supports studentresearch related to women’s finan-cial empowerment. It honors thelife of Linda Pei ’67 (1944–2007)and is made possible through thegenerosity of Carol Lemlein ’67,P’90, Eric Natwig ’69, AM ’72, P’90, and the Women’s Committee of the Brown University Club ofSouthern California.

Zaleski, an environmental studiesconcentrator, is studying how alterna-tive management plans contribute tohuman welfare and environmentalprotection in protected wetlands inThe Gambia and Rhode Island. InThe Gambia, the TRY OysterWomen’s Association is a self-organ-ized group of women oyster har-vesters who harvest from Tanbi

National Park. They are working tocreate a sustainable co-managementplan for the oyster fishery that bal-ances the needs of the harvesters,consumers, and the environment. InRhode Island, the Nature Conser-vancy has launched an oyster restora-tion project in Ninigret Pond inRhode Island.

In The Gambia, women oyster har-vesters have been working in theTanbi National Park for more thanthirty years. Over the last ten years, asmore harvesters work the same area,they have increased their harvestingeffort and have experienced a markeddecrease in oyster size. Although theDepartment of Parks and WildlifeManagement is officially responsiblefor managing Tanbi’s naturalresources, management of this fish-ery has largely followed tradition andcommunity territorial rights. In 2007,the women organized themselves intoa producer association called TRYOyster Women’s Association toimprove their livelihoods by increas-ing their capacity to buy and sell oys-ters. In 2009, TRY partnered with thesustainable fisheries project, BaNafaa, to add conservation and sus-

tainable development approaches totheir existing efforts and to develop aformal management plan. The com-munity has been able to use consen-sus decision-making to voluntarilyreduce harvesting in the short-termfor the long-term sustainability of theoyster fishery on which they depend.

In Rhode Island, the Nature Conser-vancy is working to enhance the wildpopulation of oysters in NinigretPond. This project will accept shellfrom area restaurants and recycle itback into the environment in order toenhance the oyster habitat and oysterpopulation in the salt pond. Histori-cally, Rhode Island has been an areaof high oyster productivity. However,years of overexploitation, coastaldevelopment, resulting sedimenta-tion, disease, and pollution havereduced oyster numbers to the pointwhere there is no commerciallyviable wild harvest in Rhode Island.This oyster restoration project willrely on citizens groups to help imple-ment the project and police the areafor poachers.

Because both Tanbi National Parkand Ninigret Pond are officially pro-tected areas and have open access foroyster harvesting with some regula-tions and restrictions, they provideinteresting cases to compare. Zaleskiis studying how people adhere to theregulations and how compliance isinfluenced by a number of factorsincluding: governmental and citizen’smonitoring, perceived legitimacy ofthe protection or regulation, and thenature of the restricted resource.

“Communities working togetherhave the power to make positiveimpacts on their environment whileliving off its resources,” observedZaleski. “The oyster women in TheGambia are living proof of that. The Linda Pei grant will allow me to share lessons about cooperativemanagement across cultures.”

Linda Pei Grant Recipient Christine Zaleski ’11 Studies OysterRestoration in The Gambia and Rhode Island

Harvesters shuck oysters at landing sites with the help of family members. Women can also enlist thehelp of retired harvesters to help shuck for the price of breakfast, three cups of oyster meat, and about adollar a day.

Christine Zaleski ’11

The Pembroke Challenge seeks tohelp the Pembroke Center bring

together interdisciplinary groups ofBrown researchers and colleagues atother institutions to investigatetransnational issues of common con-cern. If the Pembroke Center canraise $750,000, Elizabeth MunvesSherman’77, P’06, P’09 and DavidSherman’79, P’06, P’09 will give anadditional $250,000 to fully fund the$1 million endowment for newresearch collaborations in threebroad categories:

• Gender, Medicine, and Science• Gender and Public Policy• Families and Workers on the Move

Within each category, requests forproposals will be solicited fromBrown faculty through a competitiveprocess. The optimal proposal—broad enough to encourage dialogueyet narrow enough to produce tangi-ble results—will plan a multi-yearinitiative. We expect that the interdis-ciplinary and international scope ofthe issues and researchers will pro-duce new lines of inquiry andresearch partnerships.

Endowed income will be used to fundresearch stipends for research groupleaders drawn from the Brown faculty,support visiting scholars, create oppor-tunities for student involvement, con-vene workgroups and symposia forcollaborative exchange, organize conferences to disseminate researchfindings to wider scholarly and publicaudiences, and facilitate publications.

What is the goal of the Pembroke Challenge?Research initiatives funded by thePembroke Challenge will bringtogether scholars from differentfields across the social sciences,humanities, and creative arts to col-laborate on common research prob-lems that explore the benefits andrisks of social change.

Why is interdisciplinary research important?Scholars most often dedicate them-selves to research within their ownfield, which limits the scope of theircollaboration. The Pembroke Centerwants to create forums throughwhich scholars can pursue their owninterests and collaborate across disci-plines on issues of common concern.

What disciplines will be invited to participate?Brown faculty from a broad range ofdisciplines will be invited to submitproposals to lead research initiatives.The Center expects that faculty fromfields as diverse as history, publichealth, international relations, liter-ary studies, creative arts, modern cul-ture and media, American civiliza-tion, anthropology, sociology,comparative politics, economics,development studies, and educationwill be interested in seeking researchfunding under this initiative.

Who will create the research groupsand how will they be organized?The Pembroke Center will announcefunding opportunities as they becomeavailable. Brown faculty will be invitedto apply. Application requirements willinclude: faculty project directors fromat least two fields; a central researchquestion or common issue that willserve as an umbrella for the group; aspecific plan to involve other facultyresearchers, visiting scholars, postdoc-toral fellows, and graduate students;and, opportunities for undergraduateinvolvement. Applicants also will be

Research under the category of “Gender and Public Policy” could examine micro-loans to poor women in India. This photo shows women weaving rope out of coir, which is one way women earn money in Kerala, India.

4 • pembroke center

Challenge Underway to Raise $1 Million to Endow InnovativeResearch Collaborations at the Pembroke Center

Research under the category of “Gender, Medicine, and Science” might explore how health technologies present unexpected challenges for some communities.

pembroke center • 5

asked to describe the dissemination ofindividual and collective resultsthrough professional meetings, publi-cations, and other activities.

How will students be involved in these research groups?Although the faculty leaders of eachinitiative will recruit their researchgroup, it is expected that students willbe involved through a variety of means,including paid research assistantships,advanced workshops or courses thatare developed and taught during theinitiative, and student research grantsfor related honors projects.

What will be the end products of these research groups?It is expected that each researchgroup will produce tangible productssuch as publications, symposia, newcourses, and papers presented at aca-demic or other conferences. After theinitial period of support from the

endowed research initiatives, it ishoped that faculty will leverage thePembroke funding into outsidegrants to continue the research.

How does Brown benefit? The benefits to Brown are many. Thefunding of these innovative researchopportunities will help Brown recruitand retain faculty who see the bene-fits of collaborative research. Excel-lent postdoctoral and graduate schol-ars interested in these initiatives willbe attracted to Brown. Students willenjoy the opportunity to work withfaculty on research projects and takenew interdisciplinary courses tied toresearch initiatives. Alumni will bepresented with research that is rele-vant to their lives and is connected toissues that are in – or should be in –the news. The initiatives will providea platform for faculty to seek longer-term grant support from outsidefunding agencies.

Brown’s standing in the globalresearch community will continue togrow through Brown scholars’ contri-butions to the interdisciplinary bodiesof knowledge delivered via books, arti-cles, and presentations at conferencesaround the world. Brown’s interna-tionalization efforts will be enhancedthrough research findings thataddress the problems that arise fromsocial change and strategies that canbe applied to improve people’s lives.

For more information about contribut-ing to the Pembroke Challenge, pleasecontact Christy Law Blanchard atChristy_Law_Blanchard@brown.edu or (401) 863-3650.

Research funded through this Challenge under the category of “Families and Workers on the Move” could explore urban conflicts and migrant communities inWestern Europe. The photo above was taken at a June 2010 rally against the British National Party and the English Defence League in East London.

6 • pembroke center

Wednesday, April 27th, 20116:30 – 8:30 PMWashington, D.C.

Cosponsored by the Women’s Leadership Council

As natural and unnatural disasters erupt around the globe, the pressure on non-governmental organizations

(NGOs) to provide long and short-term international assis-tance grows. Why have development and relief programsfailed to eradicate poverty and inequality, despite decades oftargeted efforts and billions of dollars in aid? We will examinethe particular challenges of international development andhumanitarianism, including cases where donor pressuresundercut highly successful local NGOs, transnational labormigration and human trafficking confront conventionalcountry-focused assistance, and human rights-based

approaches seek to displace charity by focusing on rights andresponsibilities. A century ago, Oliver Wendell Holmes notedthat the Supreme Court was a “mirror on America.” Thisevent will take a mirror to the practices of international devel-opment and relief efforts and consider the reflection.

Please join Kay B. Warren, the Charles C. Tillinghast Jr. ’32Professor of International Studies and Professor of Anthro-pology, and Director of the Pembroke Center, David Waskow‘88, Program Director for Oxfam America, and moderatorJasmine Waddell ’99, Visiting Lecturer of Sustainable Inter-national Development at Brandeis University’s HellerSchool for Social Policy and Management, to discuss theimpact of international development and humanitarianrelief programs on the poor.

RSVP to Megan Rozzero by April 15 at (401) 863-6010 or via email to Special_Events@brown.edu

Saturday, May 28, 2011Time and Campus Location to be announced.

Brown alumnae/i continue to takethe theater world by storm, captur-

ing some of theater’s most prestigiousprizes. No issue – from race to gender

roles to religion – is off-limits. How dothey do it? Join Lynn Nottage’86, recipi-ent of the 2007 MacArthur GeniusGrant and 2009 Pulitzer Prize, whoseplays include Ruined, Intimate Apparel,and Crumbs from the Table of Joy andother Brown alumnae/i playwrightsfor a no holds barred conversation

about how they write to inspire, pro-voke, and engage theater audiencesaround the world. Learn about theirmotivations and the roadblocks theyface as they write plays that are trans-forming theater today. Other paneliststo be announced.

Save The Date! Commencement Forum with Award-Winning Playwright, Lynne Nottage’86

The Pembroke Center Associates have created a mouse pad showcasing another

perspective on our home, Pembroke Hall. Wewill be delighted to send you your mousepad, along with a special note of thanks, foryour membership renewal in 2011.

Membership gifts provide critical support forthe Pembroke Center’s scholarly initiatives,Associates programming, and publications.Through your generosity, we will provide stu-dent research grants, support faculty projects,record oral histories, and bring intellectuallyengaging speakers to Brown. To renew online,please visit www.pembrokecenter.org or usethe form on the back page of this newsletter.Thank you for your membership!

A Special Thank You for Your Membership Renewal in 2011

Save The Date! A Mirror on International Development and Humanitarianism

pembroke center • 7

After our successful collaboration with the Brown Univer-sity Library to digitize the Pembroke Record, the Pem-

broke Center Associates are taking on a new women’s his-tory project. With the help of the Library, we are digitizingthe oral history recordings of Brown women and plan toshowcase them on a website that will provide contextualhistorical information, photographs, and links to otherBrown history resources. The goal is to make this treasuretrove of original sources available to today’s researchers andeducators. The site also will feature materials to help K-12teachers utilize the oral histories for their classes.

For nearly three decades, the Associates have been recordingoral histories of Brown women, in both individual and groupformats. The project was launched by then Director of Alum-nae/i Affairs Barbara Anton. There are over 100 recordingsin the collection. Many of the group oral histories have beenof women from classes celebrating their fiftieth or twenty-fifth reunions. First recorded on audiocassette tapes, themore recent recordings, approximately ten percent, werevideotaped. They are stored in the Brown UniversityArchives. In addition to the preservation concern of the orig-inal older cassettes deteriorating with time and use, theserecordings were not easy for researchers to use. For example,there is no way to search them by topic or participant.

Concerned about the fragile state ofsome of these recordings and eagerto celebrate the history of Brownwomen, the Associates have decidedto use membership donations tohelp pay for this project. After theLibrary converted the recordingsfrom their original format to digitalform, volunteers have been listeningto them for sound quality and writ-ing abstracts to give a brief descrip-tion of what participants spokeabout during their interviews.

Under the supervision of thePembroke Center’s Feminist TheoryPapers Archivist Amy Greer, graduatestudent intern Krystal Appiah’95,GS’11, is providing critical expertise to the project. Appiah has a master’sdegree in library and informationscience, specializing in archives

management, from the University of California, LosAngeles. Currently she is working towards a master’sdegree in public humanities at Brown and will graduate inMay. As part of her internship with the Pembroke Center,Appiah is reviewing the recordings and identifying themwith metadata, or keywords, relating to the topics beingdiscussed. This metadata will allow the oral histories to besearchable online, which will be a great boon to Brownstudents and faculty who use them for their research. Oncecompleted, Brown alumnae/i also will be able to search theoral histories and listen to those of interest, just as theynow can access the digital archives of the Pembroke Record(www.pembrokecenter.org/associates/history.html).

This ambitious project will take some time to complete.We anticipate having some oral histories online in thefall of 2011, in honor of both the Pembroke Center’s 30thanniversary and the 120th anniversary of women atBrown. Going forward, the website will continue toevolve as the Pembroke Center Associates record neworal histories and add them to the online collection. Weare grateful to our members, whose membership giftsmake this project possible.

Krystal Appiah’95 listens to an oral history at the Orwig Music Library.

Mailing Address:Pembroke CenterBox 1958Brown UniversityProvidence, RI 02912

Phone: 401-863-2643

Fax: 401-863-1298

Website: www.pembrokecenter.org

E-mail: Pembroke_Center@brown.edu

Campus Location: Pembroke Hall, 172 Meeting Street, Providence

PEMBROKE CENTER FOR TEACHING AND RESEARCH ON WOMEN

Bringing the History of Brown Women to Life throughDigital Technology

8 • pembroke center

Yes! I’d like to make a gift to the Pembroke Center Associates!

Membership gifts to the Pembroke Center Associates support the diverse research, teaching, and alumnae/i progams sponsored by the Pembroke Center.

■■ $5,000 + Sarah Doyle Society ■■ $250 – $499 Sponsor

■■ $2,500 – $4,999 Anna Canada Swain Partners ■■ $100 – $249 Sustaining Member

■■ $1,000 – $2,499 Elisha Benjamin Andrews Benefactors ■■ $75 – $99 Contributing Member

■■ $500 – $999 Patron ■■ $50 – $74 Associate Member

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Please return this form with payment to: Pembroke Center Associates, Box 1877, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912

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Questions? Please call 401-863-3650

Pembroke Center for teaching and research on women

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