From their perch on the top floor of Alumnae Hall, employees at the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women have a perfect view of the former all-women's campus.
Established in 1981, just 10 years after the all-female Pembroke College merged with the men's college, the center's location is a constant reminder of society's changing views of gender roles. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, it is hosting a series of lectures and roundtable discussions designed to further investigate the cultural values assigned to gender.
"Unlike a lot of other feminist research centers, the Pembroke Center questioned gender from the beginning," said Elizabeth Weed MA'66 PhD'73, the center's director and one of its founding members. "It was an absolutely scandalous thing to do in the 80s."
Advised by a diverse group of faculty representing disciplines ranging from biology to modern culture and media, the center seeks to create a better understanding of gender through research and seminars.
The 25th-anniversary lecture series, titled "The Future of Critique," brought philosopher Judith Butler to campus last month. The lecture series will not only focus on gender issues but will also delve into concerns of scientific and social critique. The series will continue in April with two colloquia that will include professors from across the country.
When asked about the importance of critiquing society, Weed said the practice "enables one not to settle down in the complacency of truth." The critique allows scholars to identify "the conditions of possibility for knowledge," something the center has always strived to do, she said.
Thanks to alumni donations and grants from organizations such as the Ford Foundation, the center is also currently sponsoring two research initiatives. "Embodiment," led by Professor of Biology Anne Fausto-Sterling PhD'70, explores the development of sex differentiation in children. The project has found that from the moment a child is born, both nature and nurture act simultaneously to shape a child's future behavioral patterns.
The second initiative, "Gender and the Politics of 'Traditional' Muslim Practices," is aimed at understanding gender customs in Middle Eastern countries.
"The practice of veiling looks disturbing to the West," Weed said, "But we've found that it doesn't just have to do with gender, but with notions of public and private and religion."
The center also publishes the theoretical journal "differences" as a means of identifying and addressing political and social discrepancies. Compiled three times a year, Weed said the publication has become one of the country's premier theoretical journals. Its latest installment, titled "Indexicality: Trace and Sign," is guest-edited by Professor of Modern Culture and Media Mary Ann Doane and will focus on problems in representational theory.
While wrestling with modern gender issues, the center also manages to uphold its ties to the past. The Pembroke Center Associates, a predominately female group of Brown and Pembroke alums, created and maintain the Christine Dunlap Farnham Archives in the John Hay Library. The archives contain an extensive collection of diaries, newspapers and photographs documenting the activities of Rhode Island women in the 20th century.
The Pembroke Center Associates also puts out pamphlets on the history of women at Pembroke and Brown. Their latest synopsis covers the development of female athletic programs and contains a host of quirky facts. For instance, Sayles Gym - now Smith-Buonanno Hall - originally housed two bowling alleys in addition to its basketball court. The pamphlet also states that the sinking of the Titanic prompted Brown administrators to institute a mandatory swim test in 1913 for all men. The stipulation did not apply to women until 1931.
The Pembroke Associates will soon have another item for their histories - relocation is on the center's horizon. In the fall of 2008, the Pembroke Center will move to renovated offices in Pembroke Hall, leaving behind its headquarters in Alumnae Hall.
According to Weed, Pembroke Hall was constructed in 1894 as the first building for "the women's college of Brown University." Weed said she couldn't think of a more fitting place for the Pembroke Center to call home.
