The Women's Research Institute of Nevada at UNLV presents the Fall 2008 Gender Research Series. Free and open to the public, this series gives faculty the opportunity to discuss their important research on gender and women's issues. One of this fall's discussions, co-sponsored by the women's studies department, highlights a local activist who is making an impact in advancing women's rights. For more information, call The Women's Research Institute, (702) 895-4931, or the women's studies department at (702) 895-0467. Visit .
The following is a list of scheduled events. Times are subject to change.
A Conversation with Ruby Duncan
Date/Time: Tuesday, Oct. 28, 6 p.m.
Location: Marjorie Barrick Auditorium, UNLV campus
Description: Ruby Duncan is a local award-winning activist dedicated to improving conditions for women, children and the less fortunate of Las Vegas. Growing up, Duncan chopped cotton on the Ivory Plantation of Louisiana She came to Las Vegas in 1952 and was a housekeeper and a cook until an injury left her unable to work. Divorced and the sole supporter of six children, she turned to welfare.
When Nevada's welfare assistance was cut in 1971, Duncan organized welfare rights demonstrations, eat-ins and eventually two large marches on the Las Vegas Strip. She is a recognized leader of the African-American community. In 1972, she founded Operation Life, a community-run organization, which brought much-needed services to West Las Vegas including a medical clinic, library, economic development, housing, day care, education and job training. Dartmouth College Professor Annelise Orleck's book, "Storming Caesars Palace: How Black Mothers Fought Their Own War on Poverty," features the life of Duncan and her co-workers.
Bargaining and State Policy: The Implications of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and for Women Sex Workers
Date/Time: Wednesday, Nov. 5, noon to 1 p.m.
Location: William S. Boyd School of Law, Room 117, UNLV campus
Description: S. Charusheela, interim chair for the women's studies department, and doctoral students in sociology Crystal Jackson and Suzanne Becker, will examine the relationship between prostitution, labor conditions and state polices under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Their research focuses on a woman's bargaining power in the market, community and state and the sex industry.
When is a sex crime more than a sex crime? Catherine "Kitty" Genovese and the
Construction of the Perfect Female Victim
Date/Time: Tuesday, Nov. 18, noon to 1 p.m.
Location: Classroom Building Complex, Building B 225A, UNLV campus
Description: Marcia M. Gallo, assistant professor for the history department at UNLV, will fill in the blanks on the life of Catherine "Kitty Genovese," a woman who was the victim of a brutal crime in the 1960s. She was stabbed to death after an attempted rape on a New York street in March 1964 while 38 neighbors, who reportedly heard her cries or witnessed the attacks, did nothing to intervene. Very little is known about Genovese's life beyond media reports of her tragic death.
Gallo will talk about her research on Genoese's background and interests as an independent woman living in New York in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The presentation will explore the reasons why the details of her life have been either minimized or eliminated in the many stories told about her death, then and now.
