Queer/feminist DH scholars and new media artists use (and critique!) technologies in order to challenge dominant narratives, biases, and cultures in digital spaces and to advocate for more socially just societies and futures. UB’s Palah Light Lab seeks to further this work through creative new media art projects that foster community and cultural critique while centering marginalized peoples. This workshop explores queer/feminist design principles through the lab’s ongoing projects in poetry and gaming (such as Trans Folks Walking, a 3D narrative video game about trans peoples and their experiences) and will introduce accessible digital tools such as Twine and Ren’Py that participants can use to create their own new media art.

Co-sponsored by Department of Media Study, Department of Global Gender and Sexuality Studies 
Register for this workshop

Wednesday, March 3, 12:30pm

Announcing the 2021 Women’s History Theme:

“Valiant Women of the Vote: Refusing to be Silenced”

https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/#:~:text=The%20theme%20for%202021%20National,%3A%20Refusing%20to%20Be%20Silenced.%E2%80%9D

Noël Valis, Professor of Spanish at Yale University

Tuesday, March 4, 2021
1:00 - 2:00pm
Zoom Platform

To register to receive a link, please click here

Dr. Valis has recently finished Lorca After Life, a study of the poet-playwright’s meaning as a cultural icon and modern celebrity, now in press with Yale University Press. Her previous works include: The Culture of Cursilería: Bad Taste, Kitsch, and Class in Modern Spain (Katherine Singer Kovacs Prize, 2003); Sacred Realism: Religion and the Imagination in Modern Spanish Narrative; many other books and editions in Spanish and English, as well as creative writing.

A Guggenheim Fellow (2006-07), she is a corresponding member of the Spanish Royal Academy and a full member of the Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española.

Moderated by Elizabeth Scarlett, Professor, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, University at Buffalo.

The sponsorship of the Zengierski Family Lectures in Spanish Literature and Culture, and of Professor Justin A. Read, is gratefully acknowledged.

They begin the semester honoring Black History month with the powerful and critically acclaimed film Unapologetic, directed by Ashley O'Shay. Told through the lens of Black millennial organizers Janaé and Bella, two fierce abolitionist leaders from Chicago, Unapologetic is a deep look into the Movement for Black Lives, from the police murder of Rekia Boyd to the election of mayor Lori Lightfoot. The film will be followed by a discussion with local activist students, moderated by India Walton. 

All films are followed by a discussion panel and are free and open to the public. Please remember to pre-register through the links below. You will receive a link to the Zoom meeting on the day of the film screening. 

Spring 2021 Schedule:

Thursday, March 4th at 7pm: Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (2020)

Link to Register: https://forms.gle/cd1Py7KWyJamS1Mq8
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRrIs22plz0

Thursday, April 15th at 7pm: The Infiltrators (2019)
Link to Register: https://forms.gle/cY9gxLynXGhZqMiS9
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvSuyItYudk

Beyond Boundaries is programmed by Ruth Goldman and Meg Knowles with phenomenal support from Katelyn Keane and Crystal Rodriguez-Dabney. This series is a collaboration between the Office of Equity & Diversity, the Department of Communication and the Burchfield Penney Art Center. 

If you are currently working with undergrad or grad student researchers at UB or another area institutions, please encourage them to submit a presentation proposal for STEM for Everyone by March 5, 2021. Any questions can be directed to Chelsea at ubwise@buffalo.edu.

STEM for Everyone: Stories and Examples from Students

Are you an undergraduate or graduate student involved in research or hands-on projects? Would you like to share your work with a broad audience and sharpen your communication skills? Submit your proposal to participate in STEM for Everyone! 

STEM for Everyone, presented by the UB Women in STEM Cooperative (WISC) and UB Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE), invites students to record a 5-minute video presentation about an existing research project or a STEM topic. This event provides a platform for students to communicate the significance of their work to a general audience, an important skill for any STEM professional. Creativity is encouraged!

Participants will benefit from mentorship and constructive feedback from a communication coach as they are preparing their video, and will be eligible to win prizes based on final submissions!

Presentation proposals are due by March 5, 2021.

Final video submissions are due April 11, 2021.

To learn more about STEM for Everyone, and to submit a presentation proposal, visit buffalo.edu/wise/stemforeveryone.

The HealthCare Executive Forum, Inc (HEF) Diversity and Inclusion Committee and the HEF Program Committee on March 9th will begin a Symposium Series on Inclusion and Diversity as Social Determinants of Health Care Delivery.

Program A: Increasing the Presence of Women in Healthcare Leadership Roles

Program B: Cultivating a Pipeline of Diverse Leaders

Program C: Creating a Healthier More Equitable Future

The first program will be March 9th 2021 with the remainder scheduled in later spring and early fall.

The HEF's mission is to focus greater attention on and address ongoing systemic disparities and the pernicious impacts on the community. Our goal is identifying the societal structures and practices that sustain inequity. To formulate practical means to reform the larger society and its institutions to create a health care delivery system that actively promotes for all the best quality of care delivered with justice, and dignity.

Wednesday, March 10th 2021, 5:30 - 6:30pm

What role does art play in times of need? In this moment of upheaval, reckoning, and change, what responsibilities do museums have in representing cultures, past and present, as well as modeling the future of diverse cultural landscapes? UB Art Galleries Curator Liz Park moderates a roundtable discussion with Candice Hopkins and Yesomi Umolu, two leading thinkers and curators in the field of contemporary art. They will share frank reflections on the limits of museums as sites of knowledge and explore the potentials of creating a just and open space in which art can amplify voices and broaden views. 

To register: click here

Cosponsored by the Office of Inclusive Excellence, the Gender Institute and UB Art Galleries.

Barbara Smith, Author, activist, and independent scholar 

Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Time - 7:00 pm 
Zoom Platform

To register to receive a link, please go to: 
https://bit.ly/BarbaraSmithLecture

Barbara Smith is one of the most important Black feminists in our time. In 1974, she co-founded the Combahee River Collective in Boston, and she co-authored their now famous Combahee River Collective Statement in 1977, which became one of the earliest explorations of the intersection of multiple oppressions, including racism and heterosexism. Smith and Audre Lorde co-founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press in 1980. Kitchen Table later published her collection Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology (1983). Her groundbreaking essay, “Toward a Black Feminist Criticism,” opened the door to serious critical consideration of Black women writers. Her most recent book is the award-winning Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around: Forty Years of Movement Building with Barbara Smith.

This event is a collaboration with the Department of Africana and American Studies and their 2021 Endowed African American Studies Lecture

Benedicte Boisson, Professor of Afroamerican & African Studies Scholar at University of Michigan 

Tuesday, March 16, 2021
4:00 pm - 5:00pm
Zoom Platform

Attendees who register in advance will be sent samples of work the guest presenter has shared.

To register to receive a link, please click here

In ecological terminology, commensalism refers to a class of relationship in which two organisms mutually benefit without affecting each other: there is no contract, no profit, and no need to feel indebted or grateful in a commensal relationship. One takes what is needed with no promise of return. This is often how people in Martinique and Guadeloupe relate to the liminal animal world. In this talk, Bénédicte Boisseron looks at Creole culture through the prism of commensalism, arguing that this ecology applies not only to the animal world but also to humans in a post-colonial context.

Co-sponsored by Melodia E. Jones Chair of French, the Humanities Institute Performance Research Workshop and the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures.

Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology

Wednesday, March 17, 2021
12:00 - 1:30 pm 
Zoom Platform

To register to receive a link, please go to: 

https://bit.ly/GI-FRA

"Preaching Guilt: Religion and Experiences of Painful Sex in College Women"

This research project investigated the relationship between women college students’ pelvic health, sexuality, and religiosity. Currently 20-26% of young women report chronic pain during sexual activity, which is generally a highly preventable and treatable condition. Considering that young girls and women grow up with strong messages about permissible and taboo sexual conduct, gendered expectations of what constitutes “normal” pain-free sex, and the privileging of vaginal-penile intercourse over other forms of non-penetrative sexual activity, we tested if religiosity and religious teachings were contributing factors to women’s experiences of painful sex. Specifically, we examined the relationship between the prevalence of genito-pelvic pain with sex among sexually active female college students based on their sexual conceptualizations and practices, religious self-identification, belief and exposure to religious teachings, and the experiences of sexual shaming and guilt. 

Professor Azim's research centers around women’s reproductive health, agency, and rights in the United States, and specifically on experiences of genito-pelvic pain and psychosocial factors of painful sexual intercourse in young women. Her second line of research encompasses MENA/Arab/Muslim+ women’s perceptions of ethnic identity at the intersection of geopolitical, sociocultural, religious, and gendered factors.

Tuesday, March 18, 12:00pm EST

Please feel free to join our panel as we discuss this year’s theme; Supporting Women in STEM in 2020.  The result of the onset of the COVID-19 virus has affected us in many different ways.  We will explore these topics and ways to support, encourage and build community to move forward.

To register: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfjfdi4_Stk1wt-6RV6hlEIShwxHomfHYbPAQx0esMp4ZnVSQ/viewform

Visit: https://www.buffalo.edu/womeninstem/events/webinars.html for more information

"Crime Fiction in the Age of Trump"

David Schmid
Associate Professor of English

Thursday, March 18, 2021
4:00 pm 
Zoom Platform

Zoom link: https://buffalo.zoom.us/meeting/98985244700
Meeting ID: 971 3440 7912
Passcode: Justice

Please join us at the 7th Annual Summit - March 24, 2021- 9:00 am EST

Discover what’s current in inclusive pedagogy, science and policy with local thought leaders who are building solutions and influencing change. Meet organizations that support diversity and inclusion initiatives at our Information Fair. Don’t miss this opportunity to be inspired, grow and connect with us!

For more information visit: https://www.buffalo.edu/womeninstem/events/summit.html

This presentation will provide some background to the Choreographic Lineage Project, an interactive, web-based genealogical network illustrating connections between dance artists, their teachers, their students, their collaborators and people they were influenced by, and to give an update of developments since last spring, as partially supported by a DSSN Enabling Grant. This project represents collaboration between Aceto in the Department of Theatre & Dance and Alan Hunt and Bina Ramamurthy in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

Co-sponsored by Department of Theatre and Dance and Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Register for this presentation

The Analysis of Topic Model Network (ANTMN) method was developed by Ophir and his colleague Dror Walter to equip researchers with an inductive, data-driven approach for the identification of media frames. Media framing is a core journalistic practice consisting of the selective emphasis of specific features of events and people, at the expense of others. Though a journalistic practice at its core, framing is being used by others, from politicians to laypersons on social media. In this talk Ophir will go through the three steps of ANTMN (topic modeling, network analysis, community detection) and demonstrate its applicability to various contexts, and its flexibility when combined with other social science methods, such as time series analysis, surveys, and experiments. He will demonstrate their work with ANTMN using examples ranging from the way the media talk about epidemics and its effects on the public’s trust in and compliance with CDC, to the ways politicians frame and are being framed during electoral races and its impact on their success, to the analysis of Russian trolls and bots who interfered with American online discourse during the years leading to the 2016 elections and what it means for our democracy.

Co-sponsored by Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Department of Communication, Department of Political Science
Register for this presentation

Thursday, April 8th 2021, 5:30 - 6:30pm

Location: Zoom (online)

Intended Audience: UB Community

To register: click here. Registration deadline: April 2, 2021.

The Office of Inclusive Excellence is pleased to announce UB's second Inclusive Excellence Summit, “Living our Commitment.” The summit will consist of 25 sessions and workshops that highlight practices, research, and initiatives across the university that support diversity and inclusion, in addition to a keynote address by CDI Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Dr. Waverly Duck. This is an opportunity for faculty, staff, and students to come together as a community to promote understanding and to learn about the innovative methods and practices being developed to foster multiculturalism and diversity at UB. For more information, visit the summit webpage.

Presented by the Office of Inclusive Excellence.

PhD Candidate
Global Gender and Sexuality Studies

Wednesday, April 14, 2021
12:00 - 1:30 pm 
Zoom Platform

To register to receive a link, please go to: 

https://bit.ly/GI-FRA

“Ally or Adversary? Rethinking Feminist Relationships with the State Post-MeToo”

In this talk, Vandenbark discusses how feminist relationships with the state are evolving through a complex interaction of shifting political landscapes, social movements (such as MeToo, Black Lives Matter, RISE, etc.), and bureaucratic reforms. These changes create strategic opportunities for anti-violence advocates which Vandenbark analyzes utilizing Kimberly Morgan and Ann Shola Orloff's conceptualizion of the "many hands of the state" (2018) as well as Indigenous feminist frameworks on state violence. She critically examines the role of the state in addressing sexual violence, as well as the lack of feminist attention to “small S” states, where most sexual assault cases are addressed and adjudicated. Drawing on her dissertation case study of New York’s Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights (2018), Vandenbark explicates the roles of insiders and outsiders in shaping state responses to sexual violence and the social context in which these changes take place.

Mad Praxis and the Mad Academic: Bringing Together Scholarship and Activism to Affect Mental Healthcare Policy 

Jessica Lowell Mason

Thursday, April 15, 2021
4:00 pm 
Zoom Platform

Zoom link: https://buffalo.zoom.us/meeting/98985244700
Meeting ID: 989 8524 4700
Passcode: Justice

"Racist Policing and Colorblind Rhetorics: A Case Study of the Buffalo Police Advisory Board"

Nicole Lowman
PhD Candidate, English

Thursday, April 22, 2021
4:00 pm 
Zoom Platform

Zoom link: https://buffalo.zoom.us/meeting/99834797015
Meeting ID: 998 3479 7015
Passcode: Justice

Assistant Professor
Graduate School of Education

Wednesday, May 5, 2021
12:00 - 1:30 pm 
Zoom Platform

To register to receive a link, please go to: 

https://bit.ly/GI-FRA

"Researching the Margins: Feminist Critical Policy Analysis as a Framework of the Center"

Decades of social science research documents the harmful effects of violence, and in particular gender-based and sexual violence, on adolescent female mental, physical, and socioemotional health.  These effects not only can impair development, but prompt negative short- and long-term problems in adulthood.  Despite the existence of long-standing multi-level prevention and intervention legislation and programming, gaps in educational policy research and educator practice remain.  In this talk, Lemke presents feminist critical policy analysis (FCPA) as an integral framing device in the examination of educational policy-making and those normative, but often hidden arrangements of power, which can have intended, unintended, and enacted discriminatory consequences for women and girls.  Lemke also invites critical discussion and reflection on nuanced ethical, methodological, and political considerations, both within and outside of field research.