[356] Classroom Project Spotlights Multicultural MTSU Campus

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 11, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

CLASSROOM PROJECT SPOTLIGHTS MULTICULTURAL MTSU CAMPUS
Women Students, Faculty, Staff Express Themselves in Videotaped Interviews

(MURFREESBORO) – Students in an MTSU Women’s Studies class are putting what they learn into action with “Multicultural Women’s Voices,” a video of women in the campus community voicing their views about gender, race, ethnicity and other cultural issues, which will be shown from 11:20 a.m.--12:45 p.m. Thursday, March 18, in Room 307 of Peck Hall.
The thematic frames for the discussion include gender socialization, ethnic/racial minority experiences, diverse family structures and empowerment strategies for women, says Dr. Newtona “Tina” Johnson, director of the Women’s Studies Program and instructor of the Multicultural Women’s Voices class.
“Often we shed light on the external community, but we forget that MTSU is a community in itself,” says Johnson. “So we thought it was important to provide a platform for women on campus to offer their perspectives on issues that are important to them.”
The students taped interviews with several MTSU women students, faculty and staffers from a variety of racial, ethnic, national, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Johnson says each of the 11 members of the class contributed to the project.
“Collaborative learning is an important part of feminist pedagogy, so it was important for everyone to be involved,” says Johnson.
The viewing of the video, which is a National Women’s History Month event, is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Johnson at 615-898-5910 or womenstu@mtsu.edu.

--30--


With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.