IAP 2015 Activities by Category - Women's Issues

David Gray

	Jan/27	Tue	07:00PM-09:00PM	4-144
	Jan/29	Thu	07:00PM-09:00PM	4-144

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Repeating event, particpants welcome at any session

What is identity? How is it defined by our current society? What role does it play in the pursuit of gender equality? Come explore these and other related topics in a roundtable discussion over a meal. We will discuss important subjects such as identity, cultural relativism, the historical forces that have shaped the way people experience power differently, the role of media, and why the equality of women and men is of vital concern to all. The facilitator has experience working with various academic, NGO and faith-based representatives on these topics throughout the United States, Canada and particularly in Washington, D.C. No background is needed on the subject to participate. The rich expertise of all will be valuable to the conversation. (bahai.mit.edu)

Sponsor(s): Bahai Association
Contact: David Gray, DGRAY@MIT.EDU

Esther D. Shilcrat, Former MIT Fellow and former Simmons CS Professor

	Jan/13	Tue	02:00PM-04:00PM	14-0637
	Jan/15	Thu	02:00PM-04:00PM	14-0637

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/05
Limited to 14 participants
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions

If you have ever used a calculator even for simple computations, you are already a programmer! In this class we will show
how to translate you've already been doing - using memory, giving input, getting output, into small programs in the JavaScript language. To make it more visual, and more fun, we will work in small teams to use our new knowledge to create graphic displays

Great for those with no programming experience and especially those who are put off by what they thing programming is like.  Both students and non-students are welcome to attend.

Please bring a calculator or a smart phone and some blank paper and a pen or pencil.

 

Sponsor(s): Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Women's and Gender Studies
Contact: Esther D. Shilcrat, estherds@mit.edu

Holly Sweet, PhD, Psychology

Jan/27

Tue

03:30PM-05:00PM

TBD

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 12/05
Limited to 20 participants

In this workshop, we will explore different styles of communication with
others, including passive, passive-aggressive, assertive and aggressive
behaviors. Through role playing, personal inventories, and group
discussion, we will examine what gets in our way of being assertive and
what helps us be more assertive, including asking for what we want and
saying no to unreasonable requests. We will pay particular attention to
effective methods of negotiating our needs with coworkers and supervisors.  

First preference will be given to Course 6 women students.    Sign up at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/14PY384TOazSbLwzt00Ir4KXiG0ev4-K8FBKsqXyqXx0/viewform

Sponsor(s): Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Contact: Bianca Homberg, HKN Women's Initiative, bhomberg@mit.edu

Sandy Alexandre, Professor of Literature

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions

This course explores Beyoncé’s songs, music videos, and photographs as a way to reflect on issues of black feminism, womanism, and intersectionality. What do those terms even mean? How exactly does race and feminism intersect, and why is that particular intersection important, especially in the case of this singer? How successful or forced are efforts to view Beyoncé as a paragon of black feminism? What does a practice of womanism in action actually look like, and how might a performance of it on a music video, for example, invite someone to emulate it (or tailor it for feasible, productive, and pleasurable use) in the real world? How can we use popular entertainment as a foray into deeper examinations of race, gender, class, and sexuality? Is palatable, and entertaining black feminism any different from—a diluted version of—the black feminism we read about in scholarly books? This course will include in-class discussions of Black Feminist Thought (1990) by Patricia Hill Collins, along with supplemental essays, which we will read over the course of one week.

Sponsor(s): Literature, Women's and Gender Studies
Contact: Sandy Alexandre, 14N-422, 617-253-4450, alexandy@mit.edu

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Beyonce: Black Feminist Thought

	Jan/20	Tue	02:30PM-04:30PM	14E-304
	Jan/21	Wed	02:30PM-04:30PM	14E-304
	Jan/22	Thu	02:30PM-04:30PM	14E-304
	Jan/23	Fri	02:30PM-04:00PM	14E-304

Sandy Alexandre - Professor of Literature

Philip Tan, Research Scientist

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
Prereq: None

The "Disney Fairies" series launched in 2005 with new novels based on the tales of Peter Pan. From the novels and plays of J.M. Barrie and the animated films by Walt Disney Productions, Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine developed an elaborate mythology for the fairies of Neverland. The lead character, Tinker Bell, moved from "Disney Princess" marketing efforts into a separate franchise of chapter books, comics, and merchandise. Following Disney's purchase of Pixar, direct-to-DVD productions of Disney Fairies were restarted and debuted with the 3D computer-animated film "Tinker Bell" in 2008.

While visually consistent with Disney's earlier interpretations of Neverland, some may find the characterization and the tone of the films surprising. Barrie's century-old "common pots-and-pans fairy" is reinterpreted as a titular heroine with a unique talent for invention and engineering. Most of the films revolve around Tinker Bell's ability to construct incredible machines and her irrepressible drive to find and fix "lost things." The mostly-female cast is generally portrayed as being extremely competent and working collectively to solve problems, even as the films fall back on formulaic personality conflicts.

Children with adult supervision are welcome. Each screening will be followed by an optional, moderated discussion with participants, which may venture into playful, activist, academic or headcanon topics.

This event aims to provide a harassment-free experience for everyone.

Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing
Contact: Philip Tan, 26-149, 617 324-9129, PHILIP@MIT.EDU

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Screening times

	Jan/07	Wed	02:00PM-03:30PM	2-105, Tinker Bell
	Jan/09	Fri	02:00PM-03:30PM	2-105, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure
	Jan/12	Mon	02:00PM-03:30PM	2-105, Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue
	Jan/14	Wed	02:00PM-03:30PM	2-105, Pixie Hollow Games & Secret of the Wings
	Jan/16	Fri	02:00PM-03:30PM	2-105, The Pirate Fairy

Children are welcome to the screenings (with adult supervision, please!)

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Optional Discussion

	Jan/07	Wed	03:30PM-04:30PM	2-105
	Jan/09	Fri	03:30PM-04:30PM	2-105
	Jan/12	Mon	03:30PM-04:30PM	2-105
	Jan/14	Wed	03:30PM-04:30PM	2-105
	Jan/16	Fri	03:30PM-04:30PM	2-105

A moderated discussion and critique of the themes, representation, development, marketing, problems and solutions presented by the Tinker Bell films and media franchise. The session will start after a 10-minute intermission after the screening. Participation in the discussion is completely optional.

Christine Kelly, Senior Lecturer

Enrollment: Advance Sign-up
Sign-up by 01/09
Limited to 15 participants
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions

Maximum enrollment:  15 students.   Students must attend all three days.

We will explore leadership by discussion of themes and  preparing speeches and scenes from Shakespeare's play, "Lear". 

We will tell our stories to identify and reflect on issues related to being a leader. The workshop will culminate in performing speeches or a scene from Shakespeare for delivery to an audience.  Prof Christine Kelly teaches leadership communication and coaches at MIT Sloan.  

Henriette Koomans is a management trainer and coach involved in developing leadership programs for private and public sector organizations in The Netherlands. For more info: www.henriettekoomans.com

Sponsor(s): Sloan School of Management
Contact: Christine Kelly, E62-325, 617-452-3594, ckelly@mit.edu

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	Jan/12	Mon	09:00AM-04:00PM	E62-221
	Jan/13	Tue	09:00AM-04:00PM	E62-221
	Jan/14	Wed	09:00AM-12:00PM	E62-221

Christine Kelly - Senior Lecturer, Henriette Koomans

Marianna Novellino, Graduate Student, Julia Somerdi, Graduate Student

Enrollment: Unlimited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/01
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions
Prereq: None

Are you exasperated by the process of finding a workable outfit for interviews? Figuring out what exactly 'business casual' means? What the best 'cocktail attire' is for your body type? 

Would you like to know exactly how to find clothes that work with your figure, your personal style, and the different spheres in your life? 

This workshop is designed for you! Our goal is to help women in STEM  be smarter about style and gain confidence in their ability to take control of their wardrobes, without all the stress and worry.  We are preparing this session for women interested in learning how to put together outfits that work for their different life styles, present and future, with guidance from fashion advisors and students in apparel design from top tier schools.

We will have sessions with our fashion advisor about the basics of fashion and tricks about working with 'realistic bodies' instead of what we most often see in the fashion 'industry'. Then we will give you the opportunity to put these guidelines into practice and become experts about fashion for yourselves.  The students from design school will help us understand their theory for design and we will teach them how we, as end users, experience wearing their designs and how we could improve the fashion standards of design to be Smarter! 

It will be difficult and challenging on many levels, but we hope you are ready and willing to become the first class of MIT Fashion Smarts!

Sponsor(s): Women's and Gender Studies
Contact: Marianna Novellino, (857) 209-6808, MNOVELLI@MIT.EDU

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Intro to Fashion Workshop and Agenda

Jan/08

Thu

05:00PM-06:30PM

Introductions

Present workshop goals, objectives, and agenda

Q/A

Marianna Novellino - Graduate Student, Julia Somerdi - Graduate Student

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Closet Smarts Presentation

Jan/09

Fri

03:00PM-05:00PM

Closet Smarts, by Emily Neill

- Fashion that works for you and your body (not the other way around!)

- (The Skeletons in) Your closet - what to keep, what to toss, how to craft an outfit from what is there

- Fashion Versus Style - Developing personal style and the best possible version of you 

 

Marianna Novellino - Graduate Student, Emily Neill - Women and Gender Studies

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Your Closet Smarts experience

Jan/15

Thu

05:00PM-06:30PM

Review of assigments from Class 2 

- Bring your style to class session

- What did you learn from your closet inventory?

- What would you change in your styles after this exercise?

Julia Somerdin - Graduate Student, Emily Neill - Women and Gender Studies

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Designers Session

Jan/16

Fri

03:00PM-05:00PM

Fashion - from conception to realization

- Presentation from fashion designer students

- Interactive session with class

- Comments about session and lessons learned

Marianna Novellino - Graduate Student, Julia Somerdin - Graduate Student

Greta Suiter, Collections Archivist, Jessica Venlet, Library Fellow for Digital Archives

Jan/23

Fri

10:00AM-12:00PM

14N-118, Bring your laptop

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/22
Limited to 14 participants
Prereq: None

There are many interesting women associated with MIT who have sparse Wikipedia entries or no presence at all. You can help fix this! Come to this Wikipedia Edit-a-thon to create or edit articles about MIT women using collections from the MIT Institute Archives as well as secondary sources. The Institute Archives collects materials from MIT alumni, faculty and departments. One of the collections we’ll be using for this Edit-a-thon is the Howe, Manning, Almy papers. Lois Lilley Howe, Eleanor Manning and Mary Almy are believed to be the first women to open an architecture firm in Boston.

This session is perfect for anyone interested in learning more about women at MIT, the Institute Archives’ collections, or Wikipedia editing. Let’s make Wikipedia a more complete record of MIT women’s achievements! No previous editing experience is necessary, but make sure to bring your laptop. 

Sign up to reserve your spot and learn about Wikipedia editing on the Meet Up page. 

Sponsor(s): Libraries
Contact: Greta Suiter, 14N - 118, 617-258-5533, gsuiter@mit.edu

Renee Blackburn

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions

Like a land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats, gender stereotypes of women in car films should be broken. The dominant stereotype of gender in car films centers on a beautiful woman with little or no knowledge of cars who plays the eye candy or prize to be won of the dominant male “car guy.”  During this IAP series we will examine this portrayal of gender in car films and challenge its validity as a stereotype. After each film, we will discuss questions such as: What is “car culture” and how is it portrayed in the film? What gender stereotypes were present? What are the major themes of the film? How are minorities portrayed? Do these films break any barriers or stereotypes about gender and cars?

During this short series we will watch four films.

Heart Like a Wheel (1983)

Christine (1983)

Disney's Cars (2006)

Trucker (2008) 

 

Snacks will be provided. The website for the series, with additional content and the required registration form to sign up for each film, is availabe here:

http://iapfullthrottle.weebly.com

 

Please note that this is taking place in 3-310, the Margaret Cheney Room, MIT's Women's Community Center. Usually a women's only space, for this series the main community room will be open to the entire MIT community regardless of gender.

Sponsor(s): Student Activities Office, Women's and Gender Studies, Science, Technology, and Society
Contact: Renee Blackburn, RMBLACK@MIT.EDU

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Heart Like a Wheel (1983)

Jan/20

Tue

05:00PM-08:00PM

3-310

Shirley Muldowney is determined to be a top-fuel drag racer, although no woman has ever raced them before. Despite the high risks of this kind of racing and the burden it places on her family life, she perseveres in her dream. From IMDB

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Christine (1983)

Jan/22

Thu

05:00PM-08:00PM

3-310

A nerdish boy buys a strange car with an evil mind of its own and his nature starts to change to reflect it. From IMDB

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Disney's Cars (2006)

Jan/26

Mon

05:00PM-08:00PM

3-310

A hot-shot race-car named Lightning McQueen gets waylaid in Radiator Springs, where he finds the true meaning of friendship and family. From IMDB

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Trucker (2008)

Jan/28

Wed

05:00PM-08:00PM

3-310

A trucker, leading a life free of depth and on the way to nowhere, is forced to make a decision about her aggressive loner 11-year-old son whom she openly deserted ten years previously. From IMDB

Note: movie is rated R for reasons including a scene involving a sexual assault.

Tal Achituv, Media Lab / Fluid Interfaces, Nancy Holtzman, RN BSN IBCLC RLC CPN, Naomi Bar-Yam, Executive Director at Mothers' Milk Bank Northeast

Jan/06

Tue

02:00PM-05:00PM

E14-TBD

Enrollment: Please sign up in advance so we can prepare. Walk-ins welcome pending space
Sign-up by 01/05
Limited to 30 participants

Want to create some hacks that might save the lives of newborn babies?

Like blood-banks, maternal milk banks provide essential services to save lives and improve outcomes for newborn babies. This IAP session will introduce participants to critical design challenges in infant care through partnership with Mothers' Milk Bank Northeast, a non-profit organization that provides essential services to families, babies and hospitals. Participants will work in teams to come up with better ways of bottling milk, pasteurizing milk, controlling and measuring various aspects of the milk storage, connecting donors and receivers with an iOS/Android app, and other creative applications. Throughout the process, we will be supporting teams to research the problem space, hear from end-users and stakeholders, and learn about the latest science in neonatal health care and how that might be creatively translated into engineering and design applications.

During the first session we will form teams, and define projects. Teams will be be assigned mentors who will help the team realize their project. Mentors will meet with their teams on a schedule to be determined individually. 

Field trips to the milk bank (in Newton, MA) can be arranged for interested teams.

Example project ideas will be provided, though creativity is encouraged.

Register here: http://goo.gl/forms/sykWh6wwpZ

Contact: Tal Achituv, E14-548, 917-512-5060, ACHITUV@MIT.EDU

Duane DeFour, Program Manager, Violence Prevention and Response

Jan/29

Thu

12:00PM-01:00PM

3-442

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: None

Some fun and interactive activities will help us explore cultural norms and beliefs about sex and what those beliefs do for the concept of “consent.” By the end of the session participants will leave with some ideas on how to make talking about sex (and consent) a little bit more comfortable and dare we say… sexy.

Lunch will be provided. This program is geared towards members of the Class of 2018 as a follow-up to the sexual assault programming done during Orientation.

RSVP encouraged to mkenney@mit.edu

 

Sponsor(s): Office of Undergrad. Advising/Academic Programming
Contact: Meghan Kenney, 7-103, 617 253-9764, MKENNEY@MIT.EDU

Maia Weinstock, Deputy Editor, MIT News, Kim Surkan, WGS Lecturer

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Limited to 16 participants
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions
Prereq: none

Although Wikipedia is one of the most popular encyclopedias in the world, women are highly underrepresented on its pages. In this workshop, students will create original Wikipedia articles about notable women in history. Emphasis will be placed on women in the STEM disciplines, but students may chose women from any field. Participants will learn the nuances required of successful Wikipedia biographies; discover how to add appropriate images to Wikipedia articles; research notable women missing from Wikipedia's pages using multimedia resources from MIT's libraries; and come away having created a viable new article. No Wikipedia editing experience required.

Sponsor(s): Women's and Gender Studies
Contact: Emily Neill, 14E-316, 617 253-8844, ERNEILL@MIT.EDU

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Jan/12

Mon

07:00PM-09:00PM

14E-304, Bring your laptop

Maia Weinstock - Deputy Editor, MIT News, Kim Surkan - WGS Lecturer

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Jan/13

Tue

07:00PM-09:00PM

14E-304, Bring your laptop

Maia Weinstock - Deputy Editor, MIT News, Kim Surkan - WGS Lecturer

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Jan/14

Wed

07:00PM-09:00PM

14E-304, Bring your laptop

Maia Weinstock - Deputy Editor, MIT News, Kim Surkan - WGS Lecturer

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Jan/15

Thu

07:00PM-09:00PM

14E-304, Bring your laptop

Maia Weinstock - Deputy Editor MIT News, Maia Weinstock - Deputy Editor, MIT News, Kim Surkan - WGS Lecturer