The Institute is being launched in the 2006-07 academic year, with two “start up” activities. First, a major interdisciplinary conference, “Dimensions of Women’s Equal Citizenship,” is being held on November 3 & 4 at the Law School. It reflects the collaboration of the Institute’s co-directors with affiliated Law School faculty, Professors Nora Demleitner and Barbara Stark, and Hofstra faculty in other departments, Professors Margaret Abraham, Amy Baehr, Lisa Merrill, and Cheryl Mwaria. Second, a new course, Colloquium on Contemporary Issues in Gender, Law & Policy, will be offered to highlight new and important research in areas related to the Institute’s mission. The format is a series of presentations, akin to workshops, in which scholars with expertise in the area of gender, law, and public policy present papers for discussion with students. For the Fall 2006 semester, the scheduled presenters are: Carol Sanger (Columbia), Ruthann Robson (CUNY), Rosemary Salomone (St.John’s), Sally Goldfarb Rutgers, Camden), Cheryl Wade (St.John’s), Teemu Ruskola (American University and Princeton), and I. Bennett Capers (Hofstra).
In addition to holding conferences and offering the Colloquium, the Institute plans to undertake additional activities, such as developing new curriculum, sponsoring lectures and educational programs, hosting roundtables not only with other scholars but also with practitioners, government officials, or representatives of organizations engaged in efforts pertaining to gender equality, and supporting empirical and collaborative work.
