BEMIDJI, Minn. (Sept. 6, 2011) — Barrie Thorne, professor of sociology and gender studies at the University of California, Berkeley, will discuss her research on how children tend to divide themselves, and others, along gender lines during games and other recreational activities.

Thorne’s presentation, “Gender Play and Beyond: The Daily Lives of Children in Elementary Schools,” will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, at the Beaux Arts Ballroom in Bemidji State University’s upper Hobson Memorial Union. The presentation is open to the public free of charge.

Breaking with familiar conventions for thinking about children and gender, Thorne’s book “Gender Play” develops fresh insights into the everyday social worlds of kids in elementary schools in the United States. Thorne draws on her daily observations in the classroom and in the playground to show how children construct and experience gender in school.

Thorne joined the UC Berkeley faculty in 1995 with a joint appointment in gender and women’s studies and in sociology. She previously taught at Michigan State University and the University of Southern California, where she was active in creating and rejuvenating interdisciplinary feminist studies programs. In 2002, she received the American Sociological Association’s Jessie Bernard Award in recognition of scholarly work that has enlarged the horizons of sociology to encompass the role of women in society. She has also received awards for teaching and mentoring.

Thorne’s appearance is sponsored by the women’s studies program at Bemidji State.

For more information, contact Colleen Greer, director of the women’s studies program at Bemidji State University, at (218) 755-2829.

LINKS
• Barrie Thorne at the University of California, Berkeley

Some information courtesy of the University of California, Berkeley