Gender and Sexualities ICG
Newsletter
About the ICG
The Gender and Sexualities ICG is an Innovative Community Group focused on a) promoting impactful research, policy, and practice around the intersections of literacy and gender/sexuality; and b) forwarding an agenda of justice, equity, equality, and diversity centered around the wide range of gender and sexualities and their intersections with other factors, including race/ethnicity, culture, language, age, ability, religion. In doing so, this ICG works to create welcoming space within LRA for researchers and practitioners who do research within the intersections of literacy and gender/sexualities.
The ICG is open and welcomes all LRA members.
We all have a gender, gender identity, and a sexual orientation. The Gender & Sexualities ICG seeks to bring recognition to these facets of identity as they intersect with other identity markers, literacy research and practice.
Contact Information:
Corrine M. Wickens cwickens@niu.edu
Gender & Sexualities ICG chair
Northern Illinois University
Stephanie Anne Shelton stepshel@uga.edu
Gender & Sexualities, ICG co-chair
University of Georgia
Gender-Sensitivity in Bathrooms signs
Planning for LRA 2016...
During the annual meeting in Carlsbad, LRA initiated a new "briefing room," as a space for interested and committed members to discuss and begin the work of crafting potential policy statements around different topics. During the briefing room and at the business meeting, the Gender & Sexualities ICG began discussions about writing a policy brief and/or policy resolution around LGBTQ issues. Anyone interested and able to commit some time to collaboratively write an initial policy statement should contact Corrine at cwickens@niu.edu.
We need mentors!
The ICG's Mentoring Roundtable session was hugely successful! A number of participants offered comments describing their experiences with the event:
From mentees:
· Kongji Qin: The opportunity to learn alongside an iconic scholar like Dr. Dutro was truly a blessing; I continue to be inspired by her passion, caring, and scholarship. I am grateful to Dr. Dutro and other scholars in the Gender and Sexualities ICG. I have no doubt this experience will impact my work and future career, and I intend to one day pay her generous support forward by mentoring like-minded emerging scholars in the field.
· Ryan Schey: As a doctoral student completing my coursework, I feel extremely fortunate to have participated in this year's ICG mentoring roundtable event. My mentor Dr. Cindy Brock was kind, intellectually generous, and invested in supporting me as an emerging scholar. I appreciated her sensitivity to my research interests and questions, helping me to clarify my own thinking. I find that it's a rare gift for a senior scholar to invest such an extended amount of time engaged in my work and am grateful for her feedback. I also am thankful for the beginning of a new relationship and look forward to staying in contact with her. Thank you Cindy!
· Stephanie Anne Shelton: Dr. sj Miller has long been a source of inspiration, encouragement, and support, and he opportunity to work with sj in the ICG Roundtable was invaluable and deeply appreciated. I love that the ICG is serving graduate students by connecting them with connected scholars like sj! So, so much love and gratitude to sj and to the ICG.
· Selena E. Van Horn: The Gender & Sexualities ICG Mentoring Roundtable event was the highlight of my LRA experience this year! I am thankful for the work of the co-chairs (and/or others) who planned the event and to all of the amazing mentors who generously gave their time. I met with my mentor to discuss a manuscript. My mentor provided thoughtful feedback and took the time to talk with me beyond the manuscript. I truly valued the experience and the opportunity to meet one-on-one with a scholar I admire.
From mentors:
· Dr. Elizabeth Dutro: The ICG mentoring session was a terrific experience. As a mentor, I enjoyed the opportunity to engage with an emerging scholar’s work prior to the conference. The scheduled session provided space in the midst of the busy conference for individual conversation about the manuscript and, most importantly, to build genuine connection with a doctoral student colleague from another university. I am grateful for this experience and urge both mentors and mentees to take up this opportunity!
· Dr. sj Miller: The sweet, tender, connections made between intergenerational scholars queering the academy across epistemological, methodological, and disciplinary lines, not only unites us as a collective, and paves ways to enable us to reach out our hands and hearts to each other, but also opens up spaces for those coming into the academy. This process is not about mentor/mentee, it is about how we are nurturing and holding the other up in a world that offers frowns upon is with disdain.
ICG Spotlight!
In "The Spotlight," the ICG Newsletter will celebrate members' recent publications, accomplishments, and other professional achievements related to gender and/or sexualities research. For this issue, we have a number of shoutouts!
Dodge, A. M., & Crutcher, P. A. (2015). Inclusive classrooms for LGBTQ students: Using
Linked Text Sets to challenge the hegemonic "single story." Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 59(1), 95-105.
Miller, s. (2015). A queer literacy framework promoting (a)gender and (a)sexuality self- determination and justice. English Journal, 104(5). 37-44.
Miller, s. (forthcoming). Trans*ing pedagogy: Recognition of trans* and gender creative youth in the secondary ELA classroom. In S.C. Carothers, D. Hucks, C. Lewis, V. Showunmi, and Y. Sealey-Ruiz (Eds.), Purposeful Teaching and Learning in Diverse Contexts: Education for Access, Equity and Achievement (pp. XX-XX).
Shelton, S. A. & Barnes, M. E. (forthcoming). "Racism just isn't an issue anymore”: Preservice teachers' resistances to the intersections of sexuality and race. Teaching and Teacher Education.
Gender and Sexualities ICG
ICG Chair Corrine Wickens (cwickens@niu.edu)
or
ICG Co-Chair Stephanie Anne Shelton (stepshel@uga.edu)
Email: stepshel@uga.edu
Website: http://www.literacyresearchassociation.org/
Location: NIU, Graham Hall 119J
Phone: (815) 753-8485