Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Wajma (An Afghan Love Story), Dereck Daschke

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Wajma (An Afghan Love Story) (2013) directed by Barmak Akram.

God Loves Uganda, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of God Loves Uganda (2013) directed by Roger Ross Williams.

Salma, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Salma (2013) directed by Kim Longinotto.

Fill The Void, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Fill the Void (2012) directed by Rama Burshtein.

Keep Relationships Positive Or Do Things Right: Bridging Women Leaders’ Conflict Management Strategies In Non-Profit Organizations In Taiwan And The Us, Chin-Chung Chao, Dexin Tian

Communication Faculty Publications

Purpose – The present study aims at contributing to the knowledge of organizational communication and cross-cultural female leadership by examining the conflict management strategies between Taiwanese female presidents and their American counterparts in Rotary Clubs.

Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected through field observations and 25 in-depth interviews with 14 Taiwanese female presidents and 11 American female presidents in Rotary Clubs. Theme analysis of the interpretive method was used in this research.

Findings – This study revealed that the female presidents in both cultures applied obliging and integrating strategies to handle management conflicts. Yet, due to the interference of past presidents, …

Babette's Feast And The Goodness Of God, Thomas J. Curry

Journal of Religion & Film

This article attempts to answer the preeminent question Babette’s Feast invites viewers to consider: Why does Babette choose to expend everything she has to make her feast? Of the critical studies made of the film, few have considered analytically crucial the catastrophic backstory of Babette, the violence of which is implied and offscreen. Appreciation of the singularity of Babette’s own personhood and the darker aspects of her experience, and not only how she might act as a figure of Christ, are key to understanding the motivating force behind her meal and its transformative effect: That through the feast Babette lays …

Whale Rider: The Re-Enactment Of Myth And The Empowerment Of Women, Kevin V. Dodd

Journal of Religion & Film

Whale Rider represents a particular type of mythic film that includes within it references to an ancient sacred story and is itself a contemporary recapitulation of it. The movie also belongs to a further subcategory of mythic cinema, using the double citation of the myth—in its original form and its re-enactment—to critique the subordinate position of women to men in the narrated world. To do this, the myth is extended beyond its traditional scope and context. After looking at how the movie embeds the story and recapitulates it, this paper examines the film’s reception. To consider the variety of positions …

The Magdalene Sisters: How To Solve The Problem Of ‘Bad’ Girls, Irena S. M. Makarushka Ph.D.

Journal of Religion & Film

This article focuses on Peter Mullan’s The Magdalene Sisters which explores the scope and complex nature of the punishment experienced by the women incarcerated in the Magdalene Asylum near Dublin. The analysis reflects my long-standing interest in religion, film and feminist values as well as my revulsion at the sexual abuse and predatory practices of countless Catholic priests and nuns. It is the same revulsion that drove Mullan to bring the horrors of the Magdalene Asylums out from beneath the culturally sanctioned shadows into plain sight. My analysis focuses not only on women as victims of abuse, but also on …

There’S No Place Like Home: From Oz To Antichrist, J. Sage Elwell

Journal of Religion & Film

This article explores the dialectic of the uncanny in The Wizard of Oz (Victor Flemming, 1939) and Antichrist (Lars von Trier, 2009), treating the latter as a sequel to the former such that we encounter Dorothy first as a young girl and then as a grown woman. I observe that the uncanny entails a repressive and expressive moment that is cinematically rendered in these two films, and drawing on Freud and Žižek, I argue that in Dorothy’s evolution from Oz to Antichrist we see that the witches and wizards and gods and devils of our own minds are known to …

The Influence Of Cognitive-Perceptual Variables On Patterns Of Change Over Time In Rural Midlife And Older Women's Healthy Eating, Bernice C. Yates, Carol H. Pullen, Jonathan Bruce Santo, Linda Boeckner, Patricia A. Hageman, Paul J. Dizona, Susan Noble Walker

Psychology Faculty Publications

Although studies demonstrate that dietary interventions for healthy adults can result in beneficial dietary changes, few studies examine when and how people change in response to these interventions, particularly in rural populations. The purpose of this study was to examine patterns of change over time in healthy eating behaviors in midlife and older women in response to a one-year health-promoting intervention, and to examine what predictors (perceived benefits, barriers, self-efficacy, and family support for healthy eating) influence the changes during the intervention and follow-up. Data for this secondary analysis were from the Wellness for Women community-based trial. Women (N ¼ …

Climbing The Himalayas: A Cross-Cultural Analysis Of Female Leadership And Glass Ceiling Effects In Non-Profit Organizations, Chin-Chung Chao

Communication Faculty Publications

Purpose – The present study aims at contributing to the knowledge of organizational communication and cross-cultural leadership by examining the relationship between cultural values and expected female leadership styles in non-profit organizations in Taiwan and the US. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 307 Rotarians in Taiwan and the US completed a survey meant to reveal their cultural values and expected female leadership styles. In addition, the method of semi-structured interviews was used to raise the participants’ consciousness of and critical reflections upon social practices regarding female leadership.

Findings – The research results are threefold. First, among the three major leadership styles, …

Culturally Universal Or Culturally Specific: A Comparative Study Of The Anticipated Female Leadership Styles In Taiwan And The United States, Chin-Chung Chao, Dexin Tian

Communication Faculty Publications

Guided by Bass and Avolio’s leadership frameworks and Hofstede’s modified cultural dimensions, the present cross-cultural study aims to compare and explore the relationships between cultural values and anticipated female leadership styles in non-profit organizations in Taiwan and the US. Regression and t-test analyses of 307 participants in 138 Rotary Clubs in the two societies reveal two research findings. First, Rotary Club members in Taiwan have higher scores in all the cultural dimensions of collectivism, masculinity, and life-long relationships than their US counterparts. Second, transformational leadership proves to be the most anticipated leadership style among Rotary Club members in both cultures. …

Cultural Values And Anticipations Of Female Leadership Styles A Study Of Rotary Clubs In Taiwan And The United States, Chin-Chung Chao

Faculty Books and Monographs

Although the status of women in general has gradually improved in education, employment and leadership over the years, the big picture for women is still disheartening, and female leadership in higher positions is disproportionately represented. To address this issue for more satisfactory gender equality, this study undertakes a comparative quantitative and qualitative study of female leadership in non-profit organizations in the East and the West by exploring the relationships between the Rotary Club members¿ cultural values and their anticipated female leadership styles in Taiwan and the United States. Specifically, this study will provide more academic perspectives on female leadership in …

Gender Role And Feminism Revisited: A Follow-Up Study, Elizabeth A. Suter, Paige W. Toller

Communication Faculty Publications

In this follow-up to our earlier study (Toller, Suter, & Trautman, Gender role identity and attitudes towards feminism, Sex Roles, 51, 85–90, 2004) we examine the interrelationships among gender role, support for feminism, and willingness to self-label as feminist. Ten percent of college students previously surveyed participated in qualitative interviews, which elicited characterizations of feminists, whether students self-identified as feminist, suggestions for garnering support for feminism, and for interpretation of the initial study’s findings. Students were asked to speculate why we found that highly masculine men and highly feminine women were neither likely to self-identify as feminist nor to …

Gender Role Identity And Attitudes Toward Feminism, Paige W. Toller, Elizabeth A. Suter, Todd C. Trautman

Communication Faculty Publications

In this study we examined relationships among gender role identity, support for feminism, nontraditional gender roles, and willingness to consider oneself a feminist in a sample of college students (N D 301). For female participants, we found positive relationships among higher masculinity on the PAQ (Personal Attributes Questionnaire), nontraditional attitudes toward gender roles, and the combined SRAI (Sex Role Attitudinal Inventory). A negative correlation was also found between lower scores on the PAQ masculinity–femininity index and the combined SRAI in women. For male participants, we found positive relationships among high femininity on the SIS (Sexual Identity Scale), willingness to consider …

Women's Studies Is A Vital, Useful Pursuit, Karen Falconer Al-Hindi, Joy Ritchie, Diane Kholos Wysocki

Geography and Geology Faculty Publications

We write in response to George Will's May 21 column, "The sad state of women's studies." Women's studies is thriving at the University of Nebraska. On the Lincoln campus, a major in this field has been offered for 25 years. In Kearney, students have been able to earn a minor in women's studies since 1989; a recent student conference there drew nearly 100 participants. Just 15 months after its approval at UNO, 11 students are pursuing the major in women's studies.

This discipline helps students answer questions and prepare for careers as no other field can. Among women's studies majors …

Service-Learning Is A Feminist Issue: Transforming Communication Pedagogy, Eleanor M. Novek

Service Learning, General

How do we "do" emancipatory feminist teaching when we have not observed it or experienced it ourselves? The author argues here that service-learning is a useful strategy for feminist communication educators to begin challenging the power relationships of traditional pedagogy. Pioneered in the 1960s and '70s, this pairing of traditional course work with community service is now used as a learning model in schools around the nation. Because service-learning allows educators to forge relational links between ourselves, our students, our neighbors, and the communities in which we live, it deserves careful consideration from feminist educators.

The Effects Of Gender Of Observers And Victims On Perceptions Of Fairness In Unjust Situations., Laura Leah Josoff

Student Work

The effects of gender of observers and victims on perceptions of fairness in unjust situations were investigated. Subjects participated in group sessions and were blocked by gender and then assigned to either the disadvantaged female (read a composition concerning a femal who received poor outcomes) or disadvantaged male (read a composition concerning a male who received poor outcomes) group. After reading the composition, subjects completed a questionnaire which was related to the composition. It was expected that the perception of fairness would depend upon the gender of the perceiver as well as the gender of the victim. Specifically, females would …