Author Leads Discussions on Patriarchy and White Privilege
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 8, 2002
Joe Wills
530-898-4143
Author Leads Discussions on Patriarchy and White Privilege
Is each man responsible for a society that disadvantages women? Or are the inequities the result of an unfair patriarchal system? Sociologist and author Allan Johnson will lead discussions with faculty, staff and students about gender and racial inequities Wednesday, Feb. 20, on the California State University, Chico campus.
The first discussion program, on the topic of patriarchy, will be 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The second program, about white privilege, will be 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Both will be held in room 210 of the Bell Memorial Union.
Johnson, professor of sociology and women’s studies at the University of Hartford in Conn., is the author of “The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy” and “Privilege, Power, and Difference.”
Johnson has spoken on gender issues with a number of corporate and higher education entities, including the American Association of University Women, BankBoston, California Institute of Technology, General Electric, Harvard University and United Technologies Corporation.
For each program on Feb. 20, Johnson will begin with a lecture on the system of patriarchy and white privilege and how people can change it. Then he will facilitate a discussion among the participants.
“A lot of people hear ‘men’ whenever someone says ‘patriarchy,’ so that criticism of gender oppression is taken to mean that all men—each and every one of them—are oppressive people,” Johnson writes in “The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy.” “If we are ever going to work toward real change, it’s a confusion we have to clear up.”
The event is sponsored by Building Bridges, CSU, Chico’s program designed to increase acceptance and respect on campus and within the Chico community, the Center for Multicultural and Gender Studies, the Women’s Center and the Department of Sociology.
Anyone interested in attending the free sessions should contact the Center for Multicultural and Gender Studies at 898-5249.
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