Please join us in Cohen 436 for a graduate student colloquium featuring: 

Andrés Castro Samayoa (GSE)

In Pursuit of Inclusion? 'Diversity' as a Taxonomy of Management in U.S. Higher Education

In this concept paper, I explore the 'issue of diversity' in contemporary universities and colleges in the United States. Drawing from Sara Ahmed's and Roderick Ferguson's recent works on academic environments, I consider how institutions articulate the value of diversity as a vehicle furthering the pursuit of institutional excellence. I examine the necessary linguistic ambiguity of 'diversity' and its use within varied discourses in higher education, such as identity-based resource centers, the prominence of the 'international student', and the appeal to the 'good feelings' of diversity. I close with some questions on the overarching neoliberal logics framing the current state of (higher) education in the United States.

Sarah Abboud (Nursing)

Understanding Virginity from the Perspectives of Arab-American Women: a Phenomenological Approach.

Virginity is part of our existence in the world as embodied sexual subjects. While many meanings are associated with virginity and commonly relate to first vaginal intercourse, in the Arab world virginity relates to the presence of a hymen and extends to encompass the honor of the Arab community. Recently, the literature has become rich with published work exploring premarital sex, virginity, virginity restoration, and honor killing in the Arab world; however no published studies address meanings of virginity from the perspectives of Arab women. The purpose of this study was to gain in-depth understanding of the meanings of virginity from women’s perspectives. This interest led me to follow the phenomenological approach of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, as his philosophy on existence in the world as bodily subjects is central to how our perceptions, standpoints, and connectedness to others shapes our understanding of certain phenomena.

Lunch will be served. Please RSVP below.