The Clothesline Project

“The Clothesline Project is a visual display of violence statistics that often go ignored. Each shirt is made by a survivor of violence or by someone who has lost a loved one to violence. The color of each shirt represents a different type of violence.” Find out more at http://clotheslineproject.info/index.html or from the resources below. Rohrbach Library’s display is located on the first floor, by the main entrance.

The Clothesline Project

Body Politics with Feeling: The Power of the Clothesline Project (Article) – “The Clothesline Project uses t-shirt art to address the issue of violence against women. Others have argued that the Clothesline Project empowers women in general and female victims of violence in particular. In this article we attempt to deepen this argument, first, by tying it to the existing “faces of power” literature. Using this literature, we argue that the Clothesline Project empowers by creating a public space for political action, offering an alternative communicative medium, educating in a context of dismissal and silence, and contributing to social and cultural transformation. Second, we develop the notion of effective power and argue that it amplifies the practical power of the Clothesline Project”

The Clothesline Project: Women’s Stories of Gender-Related Violence (Article) – “The Clothesline Project (CP) was established in the promenade of the Empire State Building’s Grand Concourse line in Albany, NY. The CP sells t-shirts that contains the printed statements of women and children who suffered from traumatic experiences. Victims of gender-related violence such as rape, incest, wife battering, emotional abuse and sexual harassment are recounted in vivid statements that are printed on the t-shirts. The project was formed to enhance public awareness about gender-related injustices.”

A Few Lines on the Clothesline Project (Article)

“I am the Woman Next Door”: The Clothesline Project as Woman Abuse Survivors’ Societal Critique (Article) – “The Clothesline Project, an international grassroots public art project, offers survivors of woman abuse the opportunity to tell their stories through t-shirt art. Although the project hopes to “break the silence” surrounding gendered violence, survivors’ art testifies to more than the existence of gendered violence. A feminist standpoint analysis of survivors’ art may reveal critical and previously unseen insights into the prevalence and severity of gendered violence. This study examines the standpoints of woman abuse survivors by rhetorically analyzing words and images in Clothesline Project art. A collective critique of society’s role in woman abuse emerges. Results reveal survivors’ knowledge of the erroneous discourses surrounding woman abuse and their desire to critique and transform the cultural dynamics that create and sustain woman abuse.”

Challenging Global Gender Violence (Article) – “Violence against women and children is a global human rights and public health issue. Gender violence – including rape, intimate partner violence, domestic violence, mutilation, sexual trafficking, dowry death, honor killings, incest, breast ironing is part of a global pattern of violence against women, a pattern supported by educational, economic, and employment discrimination. Intimate partner, family, and sexual violence is a major cause of death and disability for women aged 16-44 years of age worldwide. The most common rationale given for the denial of human rights to women is the preservation of family and culture. While gender violence is a significant cause of female morbidity and mortality, and has long been recognized as a human rights issue that has serious implications for public health and an obstacle for economic development, it persists. Drawing upon cross-national survey data and interviews with women participating in the Global Clothesline Project, this paper discusses the prevalence and patterns of gender violence across the developing and developed world, highlighting the voices of victim-survivors and the strategies that are empowering women and challenging gender violence in Cameroon, the Netherlands, and the United States.”

Clothing their Resistance in Hegemonic Dress: The Clothesline Project’s Response to Violence Against Women (Article) – “Through a case study of The Clothesline Project, the author demonstrates how shirts are strategically deployed to resist gender domination, particularly gendered violence, by articulating an alternative political discourse that refutes official and popular notions about violence against women and female subordination.”

Sexual Assault Awareness in the #MeToo Era: Student Perceptions of Victim Believability and Cases in the Media (Article) – “Media discussions of sexual violence have increased since the rapid growth of the social media movement #metoo. Specifically, the phrase resurfaced in abundance in 2017 when actress, producer, activist Alyssa Milano encouraged her social media followers to reply “me too” if they had ever been sexually harassed or assaulted. In addition to raising awareness, media coverage of historically silent topics such as sexual assault can be beneficial as it relates to widespread education. Conversely, widespread dissemination of sexual violence misperceptions—also known as rape myths—can perpetuate rape culture (e.g., linking sexuality to violence and the subsequent normalization of sexual violence). Therefore, this study examines student perceptions of sexual assault in the media using in-depth semi-structured interviews with 34 students and alumni. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.”

Domestic Violence and Sexuality: What’s Love Got To Do With It? (E-Book) – The first detailed discussion of domestic violence and abuse in same sex relationships, challenging the heteronormative model in domestic violence research, policy and practice.

Domestic Violence : Intersectionality and Culturally Competent Practice (E-Book)

Intimate Partner Violence in LGBTQ Lives (E-Book)

Understanding Adult Survivors of Domestic Violence in Childhood: Still Forgotten, Still Hurting (E-Book) -Domestic violence experienced in childhood continues to have an enduring emotional impact into adulthood. The scars it leaves can impact on family lives, employment, and long-term emotional and mental health. This book explores the experiences of adult survivors of domestic violence in childhood. The authors draw on many years’ experience at the forefront of the field to bring together current research, best practice guidance for those working with both adults and children, personal testimonies and creative writing from survivors. 

Happy Women’s History Month!

Seven Faces of Women’s Sport (E-Book) – “This book explores the connections between women’s experiences of and contributions to sport as a profession, product and pastime. This collection brings together insights and experiences from academics, activists, players and practitioners to critically reflect upon contemporary women’s sport.”

Women in World War I (E-Book) – “This title examines the various roles women played in the war effort, as well as the new opportunities and societal changes they faced during World War I.”

Unspinning the Spin: The Women’s Media Center Guide to Fair and Accurate Language (E-Book) – “The Women’s Media Center-founded by Jane Fonda, Gloria Steinem, and Robin Morgan-presents its first comprehensive guide to using accurate, inclusive, creative, and clear language. At a time when language is too often used to “spin” instead of communicate, Unspinning the Spin: The Women’s Media Center Guide to Fair and Accurate Language was created to help everyone understand and be understood.”

Interrogating Women’s Leadership and Empowerment (E-Book) – “Looking at gender through multiple lenses, this volume seeks to understand what empowerment really means to women today. It examines the situation of women in, and their contribution to, politics, business, education, social and economic development, the women’s movement, health, law, insurgency and the arts.”

Women for President: Media Bias in Nine Campaigns (E-Book) -“Newly updated to examine Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, Women for President analyzes the gender bias the media has demonstrated in covering women candidates since the first woman ran for America’s highest office in 1872. Tracing the campaigns of nine women who ran for president through 2008 Victoria Woodhull, Belva Lockwood, Margaret Chase Smith, Shirley Chisholm, Patricia Schroeder, Lenora Fulani, Elizabeth Dole, Carol Moseley Braun, and Hillary Clinton – Erika Falk finds little progress in the fair treatment of women candidates.”

Integrative Women’s Health (E-Book)

Seeking Solutions: Maximizing American Talent by Advancing Women of Color in Academia (E-Book) – “Seeking Solutions: Maximizing American Talent by Advancing Women of Color in Academia” is the summary of a 2013 conference convened by the Committee on Women in Science, Engineering and Medicine of the National Research Council to discuss the current status of women of color in academia and explore the challenges and successful initiatives for creating the institutional changes required to increase representation of women of color at all levels of the academic workforce. While the number of women, including minority women, pursuing higher education in science, engineering and medicine has grown, the number of minority women faculty in all institutions of higher education has remained small and has grown less rapidly than the numbers of nonminority women or minority men.”

Women of Color in Tech: A Blueprint for Inspiring and Mentoring the Next Generation of Technology Innovators (E-Book)

Racially and Ethnically Diverse Women Leading Education: A World View (E-Book) – “This book’s primary focus is on racially and ethnically diverse women in educational leadership. Each chapter is written from a unique conceptual or empirical lens as shared by international female leaders, and range from a critical examination of global society and cross-cultural collaboration, to the intersection of race, law, and power.”

Beyond Retention: Cultivating Spaces of Equity, Justice, and Fairness for Women of Color in U.S. Higher Education (E-Book)

Underserved Women of Color, Voice, and Resistance: Claiming a Seat at the Table (E-Book)

Women of Color In STEM: Navigating the Double Bind in Higher Education (E-Book)

Women of Color in STEM: Navigating the Workforce (E-Book)

Outsiders still : why women journalists love – and leave – their newspaper careers (E-Book) – Despite years of dominating journalism school classrooms across North America, women remain vastly underrepresented at the highest levels of newspaper leadership. Why do so many female journalists leave the industry and so few reach the top?

Leadership and Women in Statistics (E-Book) – Learn How to Infuse Leadership into Your Passion for Scientific Research! Leadership and Women in Statistics explores the role of statisticians as leaders, with particular attention to women statisticians as leaders. By paying special attention to women’s issues, this book provides a clear vision for the future of women as leaders in scientific and technical fields. It also shows how emerging and current leaders of both genders in many disciplines can expand their leadership potentials.

Transgressive : a trans woman on gender, feminism and politics (E-Book) – How do I know I am trans? Is trans feminism real feminism? What is there to say about trans women’s male privilege? This collection of insightful, pithy and passionately argued think pieces from a trans-feminist perspective explores issues surrounding gender, feminism and philosophy and challenges misconceptions about trans identities. The book confronts contentious debates in gender studies to alleviate ongoing tension between feminism and trans women. Split into six sections, this collection covers wider issues, as well as autobiographical experiences, designed to stimulate the reader and encourage them to actively participate

Uncomfortable Labels: my life as a gay autistic trans woman (E-Book)

The Truths We Hold: An American Journey (Audiobook) – “The author, United States Senator Kamala Harris, shares moments from her life growing up as the daughter of immigrants, becoming a prosecutor after graduating from law school, and later rising to her position of leadership in politics. Highlights some of her most defining moments ranging from taking on big banks during the foreclosure crisis to her current role in the senate, addressing such issues as national security, immigration, and the opioid crisis.

Writing Women’s History: Struggles, Strategies and Support (Article)

Women, History and Wikipedia Editing (Article) – The article focuses on gender bias in Wikipedia editing stifling the voices of women in history. Topics discussed include need to improve historical knowledge in order to evaluate Wikipedia as an historical source; need to developing biographical entries of women on Wikipedia; and importance of enabling students to improve the representations of women’s history on Wikipedia in order to expand students’ understanding of women in history.

Tracing Diverse Pathways to Teaching: Tales of Nontraditional Immigrant Women of Color Becoming Teachers of Young Children (Article)

Acknowledging extraordinary women in the history of medical entomology (Article)

Women in Tech (Film) – “We often talk about how new technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning might change the lives of women. Now, meet some women who are changing the world of tech.”

Celebrating Black History Month!

Happy Black History Month! Did you know Black History Month began as Black History Week (then called “Negro History Week”) in 1926? Then in 1976 it was expanded to the month of February!

Rohrbach Library has e-books, articles, and videos to help you celebrate. You can also find a resource guide for information on black military veterans at https://library.kutztown.edu/veterans/blackveterans and a Hip Hop resource guide at https://library.kutztown.edu/hiphop.

Click on the links below to access these resources:

Gale in Context- African American Perspectives: Part of Gale Research Library, a database featuring full-text encyclopedias and specialized references for multidisciplinary research. There are nearly 50 different topics to browse through.

The Political Thought of Frederick Douglass: In Pursuit of American Liberty (E-book) – “Frederick Douglass, one of the most prominent figures in African-American and United States history, was born a slave, but escaped to the North and became a well-known anti-slavery activist, orator, and author. In The Political Thought of Frederick Douglass, Nicholas Buccola provides an important and original argument about the ideas that animated this reformer-statesman. Beyond his role as an abolitionist, Buccola argues for the importance of understanding Douglass as a political thinker who provides deep insights into the immense challenge of achieving and maintaining the liberal promise of freedom. Douglass, Buccola contends, shows us that the language of rights must be coupled with a robust understanding of social responsibility in order for liberal ideals to be realized. Truly an original American thinker, this book highlights Douglass’s rightful place among the great thinkers in the American liberal tradition”

John Edward Bruce: Politician, Journalist, and Self-Trained Historian of the African Diaspora (E-book) – “John Edward Bruce, a premier black journalist from the late 1800’s until his death in 1924, was a vital force in the popularization of African American history. “Bruce Grit,” as he was called, wrote for such publications as Marcus Garvey’s nationalist newspaper, The Negro World, and McGirt’s Magazine. Born a slave in Maryland in 1856, Bruce gained his freedom by joining a regiment of Union soldiers passing through on their way to Washington, DC. Bruce was in contact with major figures in African American history, including Henry Highland Garnett and Martin Delany.”

The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health : Navigate an Unequal System, Learn Tools for Emotional Wellness, and Get the Help You Deserve (E-Book)- In The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health, psychologist and African American mental health expert Rheeda Walker offers important information on the mental health crisis in the Black community, how to combat stigma, spot potential mental illness, how to practice emotional wellness, and how to get the best care possible in system steeped in racial bias.

Black Power and the American People : The Cultural Legacy of Black Radicalism (E-Book)- Its original leaders, Stokely Carmichael and Willie Ricks, were Black Nationalists, advocating a militant and extremist approach to tackle racism, while other leaders, such as Bobby Seale of the Black Panthers, believed that the struggle for Black Power was essentially a class struggle. Beginning with the folk-narratives told through song by slaves in the plantations, through the Harlem renaissance of the 1920s and 30s, the era of Malcolm X, the African-American art and fashion of the late sixties and ‘soul music’ and politics in the 1970s, Black Power and the American People will be the first comprehensive cultural history of the movement.

Black on both sides : a racial history of trans identity (Book) – The story of Christine Jorgensen, Americas first prominent transsexual, famously narrated trans embodiment in the postwar era. Her celebrity, however, has obscured other mid-century trans narratives-ones lived by African Americans such as Lucy Hicks Anderson and James McHarris. Their erasure from trans history masks the profound ways race has figured prominently in the construction and representation of transgender subjects. C. Riley Snorton identifies multiple intersections between blackness and transness from the mid-nineteenth century to present-day anti-black and anti-trans legislation and violence. Drawing on a deep and varied archive of materials–early sexological texts, fugitive slave narratives, Afro-modernist literature, sensationalist journalism, Hollywood films–Snorton attends to how slavery and the production of racialized gender provided the foundations for an understanding of gender as mutable. In tracing the twinned genealogies of blackness and transness, Snorton follows multiple trajectories, from the medical experiments conducted on enslaved black women by J. Marion Sims, the father of American gynecology, to the negation of blackness that makes transnormativity possible. Revealing instances of personal sovereignty among blacks living in the antebellum North that were mapped in terms of cross dressing and canonical black literary works that express black mens access to the female within, he concludes with a reading of the fate of Phillip DeVine, who was murdered alongside Brandon Teena in 1993, a fact omitted from the film Boys Don’t Cry out of narrative convenience.

One a Year to be Black: Fighting Against Typical Black History Month Pedagogies (Article) – “Our study examined the experiences of three middle school teachers who created their own Black History Month curriculum. Although, the relevance of Black History Month is under scrutiny by opponents who feel it marginalized the history of Black Americans, proponents of this position have failed: to account for teachers who view and use this month to challenge passive approaches to teaching Black history and to provide for the overreliance on traditional historical sources. Our goal was to uncover various ways in which teachers navigate or interrupt “official curriculum” that marginalizes the history of Black Americans. Findings suggest that Black History Month teaching operates in both transgressive and regressive ways that require more scholarly attention and consideration to tease out appropriate pedagogies.”

My Soul Looks Back in Wonder: Remembering Black History in the Archives (Article)- Reflections and highlights of an archivist working with Black History materials.

“Beasting” at the Battleground: Black Students Responding to Racial Microaggressions in Higher Education (Article) – “Black students are often tasked with negotiating racial microaggressions–subtle, racialized offenses–at historically White colleges and universities. Higher education scholarship has found that when Black students speak up in response to racial microaggressions, they tend to feel overburdened with having to educate the offending party. This article demonstrates how Black students used a more empowering strategy that they called “beasting,” where they utilized culturally affirming counternarratives to actively oppose racial microaggressions. In this process, Black students drew upon their own diverse knowledge base to contest and reframe dominant ideologies that stereotyped, dismissed, and devalued their racial group. These counternarratives included: (a) asserting Black intellect; (b) centering Black history, culture and perspectives; and (c) affirming the diversity within Black communities. These culturally affirming counternarratives serve as a powerful form of resistant capital for Black students. Moreover, the university context can facilitate the sharing of these narratives through Black student organizations, ethnic studies courses, and friendship networks. Black students can utilize this resistant capital in the future to navigate other historically White institutions that are critical to social mobility.”

Black Music is American Music: Learning Underrepresented Aspects of Black History in College through Critical Race Media Literacy. (Article) – The New York Times 1619 Project materials on American popular culture were presented to college students at a Historically Black University & College (HBCU) and a Predominantly White Institution (PWI). Guided by Critical Race Media Literacy, we employed quantitative and qualitative analysis to explore the knowledge-based and emotional responses to Black historical media. The findings suggest that HBCU and PWI students had similar levels of prior knowledge and experienced disparate emotional responses to the material. Overall, both HBCU and PWI students’ knowledge increased following the study, which highlights the potential of educational media to amplify and engage students in underrepresented histories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Say Brother Ten Great Black Historical Figures (Film) – “This program weaves historical briefs about men selected as the ‘greatest Black men in history’ with a contemporary discussion of Boston’s current political situation.”

Resources Featuring Black Women

Shaping Memories: Reflections of African American Women Writers (E-book) – “Shaping Memories offers short essays by notable black women writers on pivotal moments that strongly influenced their careers. With contributions from such figures as novelist Paule Marshall, folklorist Daryl Cumber Dance, poets Mari Evans and Camille Dungy, essayist Ethel Morgan Smith, and scholar Maryemma Graham, the anthology provides a thorough overview of the formal concerns and thematic issues facing contemporary black women writers.”

Justice Leah Ward Sears: Seizing Serendipity (E-book) – “This is the first full biography of Justice Leah Ward Sears. In 1992 Sears became the first woman and youngest justice to sit on the Supreme Court of Georgia. In 2005 she became the first African American woman to serve as chief justice of any state supreme court in the country. This book explores her childhood in a career military family; her education; her early work as an attorney; her rise through Georgia’s city, county, and state court systems; and her various pursuits after leaving the supreme court in 2009, when she transitioned into a life that was no less active or public.”

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper African American Reform Rhetoric and the Rise of a Modern Nation State (E-book) – “A prominent early feminist, abolitionist, and civil rights advocate, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper wrote and spoke across genres and reform platforms during the turbulent second half of the nineteenth century. Her invention of a new commonplace language of moral character drew on the persuasive and didactic motifs of the previous decades of African-American reform politics, but far exceeded her predecessors in crafting lessons of rhetoric for women.”

Remaking Black Power: How Black Women Transformed an Era (E-book) – “In this comprehensive history, Ashley D. Farmer examines black women’s political, social, and cultural engagement with Black Power ideals and organizations. Complicating the assumption that sexism relegated black women to the margins of the movement, Farmer demonstrates how female activists fought for more inclusive understandings of Black Power and social justice by developing new ideas about black womanhood.”

Black Women in Politics: Demanding Citizenship, Challenging Power, and Seeking Justice (E-book) – “This book explores how Diasporic Black women engage in politics, highlighting three dimensions–citizenship, power, and justice–that are foundational to intersectionality theory and politics as developed by Black women and other women of color.”

Spectacular Leap: Black Women Athletes in Twentieth-Century America (E-book) – “When high jumper Alice Coachman won the high jump title at the 1941 national championships with’a spectacular leap, ‘African American women had been participating in competitive sport for close to twenty-five years. Yet it would be another twenty years before they would experience something akin to the national fame and recognition that African American men had known since the 1930s, the days of Joe Louis and Jesse Owens. From the 1920s, when black women athletes were confined to competing within the black community, through the heady days of the late twentieth century when they ruled the world of women’s track and field, African American women found sport opened the door to a better life. However, they also discovered that success meant challenging perceptions that many Americans–both black and white–held of them.”

Black. Queer. Southern. Women. : An Oral History (E-Book)– Drawn from the life narratives of more than seventy African American queer women who were born, raised, and continue to reside in the American South, this book powerfully reveals the way these women experience and express racial, sexual, gender, and class identities–all linked by a place where such identities have generally placed them on the margins of society. Using methods of oral history and performance ethnography, E. Patrick Johnson’s work vividly enriches the historical record of racialized sexual minorities in the South and brings to light the realities of the region’s thriving black lesbian communities.

Despite the Place, Can’t Escape Gender and Race: Black Women’s Faculty Experiences at PWIs and HBCUs (Article) – “Despite the profound academic and professional achievements among Black women, the intersection of race and gender in higher education remains inescapable. Black female tenure-track and tenured professors at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) commonly experience challenges; however, the challenges Black women confront at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are not publicly discussed. Using critical race and feminist theories, which is critical race feminism, the purpose of this study is to explore the intersections of race and gender among Black female tenure-track professors working at PWIs and HBCUs. Nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with Black female tenure-track and tenured professors at HBCUs and PWIs. The results highlight that Black women continue to experience exploitative and oppressive conditions regardless of their educational attainment, academic successes, or institutional locale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]”

Black Faces, White Spaces: Navigating A Women’s Center as Queer Black Women Leaders (Article) – “Many of the Women’s centers across the US came to life in response to the continued activism of students who held women identities and their allies. While the establishment of women’s centers changed life on college and university campuses for many who hold women identities, the racial and gender demographics of those occupying and utilizing resources and those in leadership has overwhelmingly been cis-gender and white. This does not come as a surprise, as the creation of many of these centers has historically been rooted in white feminist ideology; leaving out Black, Indigenous, Woman of Color (BIWOC), Trans Woman, and many others who hold marginalized, intersectional Woman identities. Through vulnerable and candid conversation, we shed light on the history of the Women’s Resources and Research Center at UC Davis (the oldest identity based center on campus turning 50 in winter 2020), the changing nature of the work as it becomes rooted in intersectional feminism, how leadership has changed and now includes two Queer Black Women as the first Black Director and Black Associate Director of the Center, and what it means and has meant for them to be Black faces in a historically white space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]”

Women’s Leadership Online Summit. Black Women Changing the Tides (Film) – “During trying times like the one we’re experiencing now, people push back against the changing tides, and often, black women represent those changing tides. All leaders have challenges and obstacles that they must overcome to lead effectively, but for black women leading legacy organizations in philanthropy, those challenges are unique”

Black Feminist (Film) – “Black Feminist is a feature length documentary film surrounding the double edged sword of racial and gender oppression that black women face in America. This documentary is told through interviews from scholars, lecturers, writers, business owners, veterans, comedians and authors.”

Winter Break Hours

Winter Break Hours: starting December 18th, Rohrbach will be open Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30 pm. Closed on weekends, December 23rd-January 1st, and MLK day, January 15th. Regular hours resume on January 22nd. Any changes or updates will be posted on our website. Enjoy the break!

Hours for Fall 2023 Exam Week

Happy National Native American Heritage Month!

Happy National Native American Heritage Month! This is a great time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people. Rohrbach Library has e-books, articles, and films to help you celebrate!

Rourke’s Native American History & Culture Encyclopedia, Volumes 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, & 10 (E-Book) – “This ten-volume set of encyclopedias presents alphabetical entries of significant people and events in the history of Native Americans, from the arrival of Europeans in the early fifteenth century to present day.”

Interpreting Native American History and Culture at Museums and Historic Sites, (E-Book)

Native American Almanac: More Than 50,000 Years of the Cultures and Histories of Indigenous Peoples (E-Book)

Mankiller: A Chief and her People (Book)

What Can We Learn About Native American Culture Using Art and Conversations? (Article) – The article explores learning about Native American culture. Topics covered include the use of art and conversations to give audiences additional vantage points in which to understand Native American culture, the implications of culturally sensitive practices for shaping learning experiences about other cultures, and the McNay Art Museum’s 2019 exhibition “We’re Still Here: Native American Artists, Then and Now.”

Transformations of Gender in Native American Cultures (Article) – The themes of transformation and ambiguity that pervade Native American oral traditions and concepts of the supernatural resonate in the life cycles of individuals as well. The institution of two-spirit (formerly referred to as “berdache”), where individuals partially or completely take up the social role of the opposite sex, provides a striking example of this. Just as there is often no clear distinction between animate and inanimate, human and non-human in the natural world, humans may be neither men nor women, or both, or may become transformed from one gender into another upon the agency of the supernatural or due to their own preferences. This contribution will explore the status of women-men and men-women in Native American cultures within the context of world views that appreciate and recognize change, transformation, and ambiguity as essential features of the nature of things. The manifestation of both masculine and feminine traits, or the discrepancy between physical sex and gender role, was thus (at least traditionally) generally not viewed as deviant but as an expression of an individual’s being, or even as a special gift bestowed upon him or her by the supernatural.

Our Fires Still Burn: The Native American Experience (Film) – “This compelling one hour documentary invites viewers into the lives of contemporary Native Americans. It dispels the myth that American Indians have disappeared from the American horizon, and reveals how they continue to persist, heal from the past, confront the challenges of today, keep their culture alive, and make significant contributions to society.”

Native-American History (Film) – “Explore the fascinating history of the Native American people. Follow their history from migration to the Americas, to the development of civilizations throughout the American continent. Discover how every part of America was flourishing long before European settlers arrived.”

Visit https://nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov/ to learn even more!

Transgender Awareness Week

Transgender Awareness Week is the week leading up to Transgender Day of Remembrance, which takes place on November 20th. It is a week to raise awareness to issues people in the transgender community face. Rohrbach Library has e-books, articles, and films to help raise awareness!

Transgender Mental Health (E-Book) – Societal awareness of transgender and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) individuals is greater now than at any point in history, owing to the education of policy makers by advocacy organizations, the education of clinicians by research and scientific organizations, and the education of the general public by movies, television, and other media. However, most professional training programs for mental health professionals provide little to no education regarding gender diversity. Transgender Mental Health squarely addresses this deficit. This guide forgoes clinical jargon in favor of accessible, straightforward language designed to educate clinicians on how to address the basic needs of the TGNC community, thus increasing access to mental health care for TGNC individuals, which has been sorely lacking to this point.

Introduction to Transgender Studies (E-Book) – This is the first introductory textbook intended for transgender/trans studies at the undergraduate level. The book can also be used for related courses in LGBTQ, queer, and gender/feminist studies. It encompasses and connects global contexts, intersecting identities, historic and contemporary issues, literature, history, politics, art, and culture. Ardel Haefele-Thomas embraces the richness of intersecting identities—how race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, class, nation, religion, and ability have cross-influenced to shape the transgender experience and trans culture across and beyond the binary. Written by an accomplished teacher with experience in a wide variety of higher learning institutions, this new text inspires readers to explore not only contemporary transgender issues and experiences but also the global history of gender diversity through the ages.

The Transgender Handbook: A Guide for Transgender People, Their Families, and Professionals (E-Book) – This handbook is written for transgender people, their families and friends; for professionals who in their day-to-day job may encounter transgender people; and for students, teachers, educators, academics, and members of the public at large with an interest in transgender people. This handbook gives an in-depth overview on a wide spectrum of issues encountered by transgender people, from childhood to later on in life. Key topics addressed include medical and surgical treatments, access to transgender health care, sexuality, mental health issues, fertility, education, and employment.

Transgender Cinema (E-Book)

Transgender Health and Medicine: History, Practice, Research, and the Future (E-Book)

Histories of the Transgender Child (E-Book)

Transgender and the Literary Imagination: Changing gender in twentieth-century writing (E-Book) – ‘Transgender and the Literary Imagination’ is the first full length study to revisit twentieth century narratives and their afterlives, examining the extent to which they have reflected, shaped or transformed changing understandings of gender.

Representing Queer and Transgender identity: fluid bodies in the Hispanic Caribbean and beyond (Book)

They’re Crying in the All-Gender Bathroom: Navigating Belonging in Higher Education While First Generation and Nonbinary (Article) – Maintaining the sociocultural and interpersonal supports needed to succeed in higher education as a first-generation student can be very difficult due to a lack of familiarity with what brings success. When this identity intersects with a nonbinary gender identity, it further complicates higher education’s challenges and may make solutions impossible to come by. My experience sits at the intersection of these two identities and their gradual collision and connection with success in higher education. Through this narrative, I seek to unpack potential difficulties and nuances for the increasingly diverse body of first generation students and bring attention to the barriers in our social systems which may be blocking current and future students from achieving their full potential.

Transgender Issues on College Campuses (Article) – Colleges and universities are beginning to consider the needs of transgender students, but few understand how to offer support to this segment of the campus community. This chapter address issues and provides suggestions for student affairs professionals.

Gender Matters – Transgender Youth (Film) – Six short films, including narratives and documentaries, delve into the lives of transgender & gender expansive young adults appear in this collection.

Transgender Stories (Film) –  This feature-length film features transgender individuals sharing their unique personal stories, and talking candidly about the challenges they encounter in their daily lives before, during and after transitioning, and how in the end they all strive to come to a place of acceptance and fulfillment. These stories transcend the gender binary and illuminate the beauty of gender diversity, and are sure to give you a new understanding of what it means to identify as transgender, transsexual or gender variant.

Veterans Week 2023

This week is Veterans Week! Looking for more resources on veterans? Check out our Military Veterans Libguide to get a look at some of the veteran ebooks and streaming videos we have available for you! If you’re looking for a specific resource, feel free to reach out to a librarian for help!

Click this link to learn more! : https://library.kutztown.edu/veterans

Banned Books Week 2023

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe – Reason: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson – Reason: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit

The Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison – Reasons: depiction of sexual abuse, claimed to be sexually explicit, EDI content

Flamer* by Mike Curato – Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit

Looking for Alaska by John Green – Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky – Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit, depictions of sexual abuse, drugs, profanity

Lawn Boy* by Jonathan Evison – Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie – Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, profanity

Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez – Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit

A Court of Mist and Fury* by Sarah J. Maas – Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit

Crank by Ellen Hopkins – Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, drugs

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl* by Jesse Andrews – Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, profanity

This Book is Gay* by Juno Dawson – Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit, sex education

*Books without links are not currently available at Rohrbach Library, but feel free to reach out to the Interlibrary Loan department if you are interested in checking one out!

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month!

National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated September 15 to October 15th to honor the culture and contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans. Rohrbach Library has e-books, articles, video series, and films to help you celebrate!

From Inclusion to Influence: Latino Representation in Congress and Latino Political Incorporation in America (E-Book)

The Latino Generation: Voices of the New America (E-Book)

Notable Latino Writers (E-Book) – “Biographical essays on 120 authors who are US residents of Latin descent or Latin American authors.”

Latinx Photography in the United States : A Visual History (E-Book)

Contemporary Hispanic cinema : interrogating the transnational in Spanish and Latin American film (E-Book)

Hispanic reflections on the American landscape : identifying and interpreting Hispanic heritage (E-Book)

Hispanic Heritage Month (Article) – “Discover how Hispanic astronauts continue the tradition of space exploration and study.”

Dolores Huerta, the United Farm Workers, and people power: Rhetorical participation in Latina/o/x suffrage and social movements (Article) – “Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers Union, was and still is involved in a number of social justice causes, including voter participation. Since her days working at the Community Service Organization in the 1950s, she has long advocated for registering and organizing voters as part of a broader strategy to enfranchise Mexican, Mexican American, and other historically marginalized groups. This essay explores a few brief examples of her calls to get out the vote and participate in social movements more broadly to address the deep-seated problems of “citizenship excess” that face Mexican, Mexican American, and other immigrant communities (as well as many others) in the United States. In addition, Huerta has strongly advocated for “people power” as a way to get marginalized people into activism, especially those with intersectional identities related to race, ethnicity, gender, class standing, sexuality, and political orientations.”

Ana Mendieta: Art, Artist and Literary Afterlives (Article) – “Ana Mendieta was one of the most prolific and certainly the most prominent Cuban-American woman artist of the twentieth century. Mendieta’s influence on successive generations of artists is undeniable and a growing bibliography on her recognises both her relevance in Cuban and North American feminist art history. However, there is almost nothing written about how she has been represented in literature and how these literary reconstructions address some of the many unanswered questions which remain concerning the artist, her art, her relationship with Cuba, her personal life and her tragic death. This essay begins to address this gap through its discussion of texts by Cuban, Cuban-American and Canadian women writers.”

Eliding trans Latino/a queer experience in U.S. LGBT history: José Sarria and Sylvia Rivera reexamined (Article) – “This essay examines the place of trans Latino/a queer pioneers José Sarria and Sylvia Rivera in U.S. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender historiography over the past two decades, specifically how their Latino/a identities have been conveyed and elided in professional and popular historical texts, in documentary films, in cinematic fictions, and on newly-erected street signs. It further explores how such scholarly developments as transgender history, new accounts of queer Latino/a San Francisco and New York, and diaspora studies, particularly with regard to Rivera’s Puerto Rican heritage in the context of 1960s New York City, have provided new vantage points from which to assess their significance to the always tentative project of queer history.”

Experiences of ethnic discrimination among US Hispanics: Intersections of language, heritage, and discrimination setting (Article)

Latino Americans: the 500-Year Legacy that Shaped a Nation (Film) – “Survey the history and people from 1565-1880, as the first Spanish explorers enter North America, the U.S. expands into territories in the Southwest that had been home to Native Americans and English and Spanish colonies, and as the Mexican-American War strips Mexico of half its territories by 1848.”

The Latino List. Volume 1 (Film) – “HBO presents a unique glimpse into the vibrant and burgeoning culture of Hispanic America through a series of highly personal video portraits of Latinos who have richly contributed to the fabric of contemporary society. Funny, poignant and irreverent, The Latino List illuminates the Latino experience today, at a time when the Latino population in the US is booming. The Latino List: Volume 1 spotlights a diverse range of notables from music, science, journalism, theater, politics, business, and government. In intimate interviews with NPR correspondent Maria Hinojosa, these prominent Hispanic Americans discuss such subjects as the childhood inspirations that fueled their ambitions, how they achieved success, the evolving American cultural landscape they helped mold, the importance of preserving a distinct cultural identity for future generations to embrace, and the challenges of discrimination. The subjects share stories of growing up Latino in America, how their backgrounds shaped their philosophies and their feelings on a society where new opportunities abound, but challenges still exist. Hailing from a variety of backgrounds, including Cuban, Colombian, Honduran, Mexican, Puerto Rican, and more, each interviewee has a unique perspective on his or her American success story.”

The Latino List. Volume 2 (Film) – “The Latino List: Volume 2 features interviews with an extraordinary cross-section of Hispanic Americans who represent a variety of professions, disciplines, and backgrounds, each speaking to the unique struggles and triumphs he or she has faced. The film consists of intimate first-person vignettes, with each subject speaking simply and directly into the camera about a number of topics–from the hot-button issue of immigration to childhood inspirations that fueled their ambitions, to the evolving American cultural landscape they helped mold, to the importance of preserving a distinct cultural identity for future generations. Volume 2 features activist Dolores Huerta, journalist Soledad O’Brian, NY Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz, model and humanitarian Christy Turlington, actors George Lopez and Judy Reyese, former Telemundo president of entertainment Nely Galan, Univision network president Cesar Conde, and political figures like Raul Yzaguirre, the US Ambassador to the Dominican Republic. From sharing stories from their childhoods to talking about life-changing moments in their professional and personal lives, each of these individuals shares what it means to be Latino in America.”


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