University of Oregon
Center for the Study of Women in Society
http://csws.uoregon.edu
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[Return to Index of Expertise] Last updated 07/23/02
Contact Information:
340 Hendricks Hall
1201 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403
Phone: 541-346-5015
Fax: 541-346-5096
E-mail: csws@uoregon.edu
CENTER DESCRIPTION
The University of Oregon's Center for the Study of Women in Society (CSWS) is a multi-disciplinary research center that produces, supports, and disseminates research on gender and all aspects of women's lives. The center seeks to initiate research on and draw attention to gender-related issues, both within the university and wider community. This is accomplished through research initiatives, grant and fellowship opportunities, events and sponsored projects, publications, and curriculum and faculty development activities.
AREA(S) OF EXPERTISE
Affirmative action; cultural, religious, racial and ethnic diversity; economic development (U.S. and international); economic and social status of women; employment; environment; family; feminist thought and scholarship; global issues; health and health care; history; literature; media; poverty; reproductive rights; sexuality; violence against women; welfare reform; work and family.
RECENT PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES
Women in the Northwest Research Initiative. This project documents and expands the knowledge of women's lives in the Northwest. Current projects include Welfare Reform: Self-Sufficiency, and Family Well-Being in Oregon.
Research Interest Groups. Research Interest Groups (RIG) organized by CSWS foster collaboration between scholars at the university. Faculty, graduate students, and community members participate in programs and events. RIGs are designed to facilitate collaborative research; create support groups for the preparation of grant proposals; build better connections between scholars and community activists; and generate opportunities for cross-disciplinary dialogue among scholars.
The Feminist Humanities Projectis a collaborative effort to incorporate and advance the historical study of women and gender into all areas of humanities teaching and research. Main activities of the project are Teaching the Past in the Present, Virtual Resource Bank, and the Medieval Feminist Forum.
Research Program on Women's Health. The overall goal of this program is to generate, support, and disseminate research that improves understanding of the diverse factors affecting women's health. The program currently has projects funded by CDC, NIH, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Current projects include PARTNERS Project, a study that designs, implements and evaluates a couple-based intervention to reduce unprotected intercourse among young women and their sexual partners; Women's Acceptability of the Vaginal Diaphragm; and Measuring Activated Healthcare Consumerism.
The Wired Humanities Project is a joint venture between the UO College of Arts and Sciences and the Center for the Study of Women in Society, designed to promote the use of digital technology in humanities teaching and research. The WHP was launched to assist the humanities faculty with electronic dissemination of teaching materials, availing whatever technologies may facilitate and enhance their presentation. This may range from digital retouching of images to multimedia presentations to the development of websites.
PUBLICATIONS
The Status of Women in Oregon: Politics, Economics, Health, Demographics (1998). This report uses national data sets to examine five aspects of women's status: political participation, employment and earnings, economic autonomy, reproductive rights, and health.
Valuing Families: The State of Oregon's Families, Leslie Harris (1999), focuses on families and family life, and contains charts, graphs, and text that illustrate the struggles and successes of families in meeting their day-to-day needs. Topics include: availability of affordable, accessible health care and child care; the impact of taxation on household income; affordability of housing; childhood poverty; use of cash assistance, food stamps, and other services; domestic violence rates; and shelter availability. The series is a new collection of papers dedicated to social policy issues in Oregon.
CSWS Newsletter. The center's newsletter is published twice a year in September and February.
Policy Matters #3 (title TBA), is a volume of policy matters focused on medical abortion in the U.S. Available by the end of 2002.
Welfare Restructuring, Work & Poverty: Policy Implications from Oregon (Policy Matters #2)(2002). This publication looks at the experiences of families who left or were diverted from cash assistance (TANF) or Food Stamps in the first quarter of 1998. The data reveal that the effects of welfare restructuring programs are both more complex and less rosy than many policy makers admit.
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