“A philosophical gender divide - Daily Princetonian” plus 4 more |
- A philosophical gender divide - Daily Princetonian
- Mahatma Gandhi Statue Unveiled in Seattle - Indiawest.com
- Tibetans-in-exile get lessons in Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy - Newstrack India
- Dix Hills woman wins Ms. Senior America national pageant - Newsday
- Exhibit Structures Debuts StrategyByDesign - Exhibitor Online
| A philosophical gender divide - Daily Princetonian Posted: 22 Oct 2009 09:37 AM PDT
When Helen Yetter GS first arrived on campus three years ago as the only female philosophy graduate student in her class, she said she felt "very insecure" and wondered whether she'd only been accepted because she was a woman. While math and science departments have long been home to a disproportionately high number of male faculty members and students, in recent years humanities classes have typically hosted a larger female contingent. Yet the philosophy department at Princeton mirrors a nationwide trend of attracting fewer women than other humanities. Of the 63 undergraduate philosophy majors at the University, only 19 are female. Thirteen of the 56 graduate students in the department are female, while four of the 23 philosophy professors are women. The four philosophy professors who have received tenure within the past five years are male. "Women don't even come in the door," philosophy department chair Daniel Garber said, adding that he is "very conscious of the composition of the faculty" and is "definitely looking to attract more female professors" to the department. Garber first noticed the gender gap about 20 years ago while teaching at the University of Chicago, he said, noting that in earlier generations it was "very difficult for women." He explained that gender ratios in his field "reached a plateau" in the early 1980s and no progress has been made toward gender equality since then. In 2006-07, women earned 31 percent of bachelor's degrees awarded in philosophy nationwide, according to an Oct. 11 article in the Chronicle of Higher Education. The ratio of male to female students in the University's philosophy department is significantly greater than it is in many of the University's other humanities departments. Female undergraduates make up 86 percent of art and archaeology majors, 70 percent of architecture majors, 69 percent of English majors and 63 percent of comparative literature and religion majors. Garber said there is a "presumption that men aren't signing on [to other fields in the humanities] because they don't want to," but the gender discrepancy in philosophy "goes beyond preferences," suggesting that "we're doing something wrong." Philosophy professor Elizabeth Harman said "there has been a great deal of explicit and implicit sexism" in the field of philosophy, adding that "if a field has few women, that creates conditions that make it unwelcoming to women, so it is hard to fix the problem." Several students interviewed noted that philosophy involves more argumentation than other fields in the humanities. Even within philosophy, they noted, women tend to focus on the less analytical areas of moral philosophy and ethics rather than epistemology and logic. "Philosophy is much more about critical thought than actual attacking and arguing," philosophy major Subha Perni '11 said in an e-mail. But, she added, introductory classes "seem to involve aspects of aggression much more than my higher-level classes." Perni said she wonders if "women are being scared away by the precepts of these introductory classes." Jada Twedt Strabbing GS said she thought that "women are more apt to feel less confident," and this tendency might be especially detrimental in philosophy, where there is always the "risk of being shot down." Garber, however, said he believes men and women are "not that different intellectually," adding that he doesn't think a biological or scientific reason can serve as sufficient explanation for the divide. The difficulty in shifting this trend, Garber said, is that while everyone is "happy to admit that it's a problem," nobody can agree on how to address it. He added that gender might be a factor in admission decisions for graduate applications. Kristin Primus GS noted that it helps to be assertive in philosophical discussions and said she thinks some women may not be accustomed to this. "It would be a good thing if all women, not just women in philosophy, were more confident with their ideas," she added. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. | |
| Mahatma Gandhi Statue Unveiled in Seattle - Indiawest.com Posted: 22 Oct 2009 12:15 PM PDT SEATTLE — A torrential Seattle winter rain failed to dampen the spirits of hundreds of people who gathered at the Bellevue Public Library Oct. 17 along with Indian Ambassador Meera Shankar and Congressman Jim McDermott to witness the unveiling of a life-size statue of Mahatma Gandhi. | The 1000-pound statue was a gift from the Indian government. As the signature prayer of "Raghupati Raghav" was recited, the statue was unveiled to reveal a Gandhi cast in bronze, a staff in his right hand and sandals on his feet. For Anjali Sachdev, the regional director of the National Federation of Indo-American Associations which was instrumental in making the event possible, the gift to Washington state was the realization of a dream she and others at the NFIA had been working on for the past year. "When in Delhi, I followed up with the request to the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and since then despite hurdles, we finally got the gift here in Seattle," she told India-West. In her address to the gathering, the Indian ambassador elaborated on the reasons why Gandhi's philosophy continues to have global relevance. "Using power of ideas and power of words to bring a colonized country to freedom by abjuring violence path was a revolutionary step," she said. Furthermore, Gandhi emphasized that the means are as important as the end, and the pursuit of end, no matter how noble, will distort the goal if the means are violent, Shankar pointed out. Gandhi was also ahead of his time in being green. He insisted on drinking goat milk, farming and spinning his own cloth. "We must take from the earth only what's necessary and give back to the earth," Shankar said. Film celebrity Girish Karnard in his speech spoke about the need for creating awareness of Gandhi's philosophy globally, especially in those regions where violence is an accepted way of life. NFIA president Chandu Patel expressed his gratitude to Ambassador Shankar and her team for making special efforts to visit Seattle for the landmark event. Echoing Gandhi's philosophy of peace and non-violence, Patel spoke on the relevance of such ideals in this time. Congressmen Jay Inslee and Jim McDermott also acknowledged and applauded NFIA's effort in creating history by installing this monument of peace in Bellevue. The six-hour long event included cultural events of bhajans, dances and bhangra by young children. FIA-Washington president Lavanya Reddy used the occasion to reach out to supporters and member associations, urging them to begin a tradition of feeding the homeless at least once a month in cities throughout Washington state, and to contribute toward establishing a scholarship for college students specializing in Gandhian studies. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| Tibetans-in-exile get lessons in Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy - Newstrack India Posted: 22 Oct 2009 12:05 AM PDT
Dharamshala, Oct 22 (ANI): Tibetans-in-exile organised a five-day discourse here during which Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy is being preached. A committee headed by Samdhong Rinpoche, the Tibetan Prime Minister-in-exile, has organised the event to mark the 'Hind Swaraj Centenary Commemoration'. Mahatma Gandhi wrote a small yet powerful book named 'Hind Swaraj' while he was on his way from London to South Africa in 1909.
Eminent Gandhian scholar Narayan Desai, son of late Mahadev Desai who worked as a secretary to Mahatma Gandhi, spoke on the 'Gandhi Katha (tale).' "Hind Swaraj is one of the Mahatma Gandhi's most important book which was written in November 1909. Now in November 2009 the book completes 100 years. So we are celebrating that 100 years of the 'Hind Swaraj'. In the light of that we are also organising Gandhi Katha. For the first time in Dharamshala we are organising this Gandhi Katha," said Samdhong Rinpoche. Many Tibetan students attentively followed Gandhi's preaching and his values. "The inspiration that he was an iconic freedom struggler as well as with a Buddhist philosophy of non-violence was overwhelming. So this actually helps Tibetan youth like me to go...inspires me every other time," said Tsering, a Tibetan youth. (ANI) This content has passed through fivefilters.org. | |
| Dix Hills woman wins Ms. Senior America national pageant - Newsday Posted: 22 Oct 2009 10:56 AM PDT Dix Hills woman wins Ms. Senior America national pageant
King, 60, taught English for 35 years at Sachem High School North in Lake Ronkonkoma and is a breast cancer survivor.
How did you learn about the pageant and what inspired you to enter?
What do you hope to accomplish during your reign?
Can you share a favorite memory from the pageant?
What did you do for the talent event? What is your involvement with the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund?
What about the acting and modeling career you've been pursuing? Any upcoming roles? For more about the Ms. Senior America pageant, visit senioramerica.org. Tags: Dix Hills This content has passed through fivefilters.org. | |
| Exhibit Structures Debuts StrategyByDesign - Exhibitor Online Posted: 22 Oct 2009 12:22 PM PDT
| Exhibit Structures Debuts StrategyByDesign
10/22/2009
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Those closest to the statue surged forward to touch Gandhi's feet or simply held their hands in prayer before him.
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Earlier this month, Gail King of Dix Hills was crowned Ms. Senior America 2009 at the national final competition in Atlantic City. The annual pageant spotlights and honors women, age 60 and older, who best exemplify what senior women can do and accomplish. Contestants are judged on poise, talent, elegance and life philosophy.| You are subscribed to email updates from Philosophy - Bing News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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