The West Virginia University Center for Women’s and Gender Studies is will host its 13th resident scholar, Sondra Hale, Ph.D. Hale Feb. 10-15.
She will give a free, public lecture on Tuesday, Feb. 12, at 7 p.m. in G20 Ming Hsieh Hall on the downtown campus, titled “Women in Conflict Zones: The Politics of Memory in Sudan and Eritrea.” The lecture will examine conflict and gender in the Middle East and Africa, and the role of memory, Islam and nationalism in both civil and human rights. Students, faculty, staff and community members are invited to attend the lecture.
“This lecture focuses on memory as a means of resisting, understanding and coping with gender-based violence experienced by women in Sudan and Eritrea,” said Ann Oberhauser, Ph.D., director of the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies. “We are fortunate to be able to share Dr. Hale’s extensive work as a scholar activist that stems from over five decades of teaching, research and living in this region.”
Sondra Hale is professor emerita of anthropology and gender studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. She earned a Ph.D. in anthropology, a master’s in African studies and a bachelor’s degree in English literature from UCLA, where she has taught since 1986. In addition, she taught at the University of Khartoum in Sudan, California Institute of the Arts and at the California State universities of Long Beach and Northridge. She is co-director of the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies and is past co-editor of the Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies.
Hale is celebrated for her diligent efforts and work as an activist in anti-war movements, labor union organizing, academic freedom campaigns and feminist movements — both at home and abroad. As an activist scholar, she values her involvement on the various campuses where she has taught, including in the classroom where she is known to introduce new and controversial ideas.
“Her commitment to anti-war campaigns, feminist movements and academic freedom throughout the world is inspiring,” Oberhauser said. “This year’s Women’s and Gender Studies Residency is a wonderful tribute to Judith Gold Stitzel and her impact on feminist scholarship and teaching at WVU and in the broader women’s studies community.”
The Women’s and Gender Studies Residency Program began in 1999 in honor of Dr. Judith Gold Stitzel, the founding director of Women’s Studies at WVU. Each year the center hosts a scholar who is involved in women’s and gender studies research and activism. Residents visit campus for three to five days to participate in classes and meet with students, faculty and staff.
The Center for Women’s and Gender Studies supports teaching, research and advocacy that is based on feminist perspectives and centered on analyses of gender and its intersection with race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, age and ability.
For more information, contact the Center at wmst@mail.wvu.edu or 304-293-2339.
