The second brown bag event, “The Social Construction of Depression or It’s A Wonder More Women Aren’t Depressed” was led by Dr. Diane Hodge, of Radford University’s School of Social Work.  Dr. Hodge has a BA in Spanish and Psychology from Alma College, a MSW from the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in social work from Ohio State University.

Dr. Hodge is interested not only in depression; other areas of specialization interest or research include mental health, women’s issues, rural mental health service delivery, qualitative research and clinical social work practice. Hodge states, “Depression in women is my main topic of interest because it combines many of those elements that interest me and is so pervasive among women in my life.”

Ms. Annie Dornberg presents information about women and alcohol abuse, as well as treatment and recovery issues for women, in her brown bag entitled “Skirting the Issue: Women and Alcohol Abuse.” Anne Dornberg, LCSW Licensed Clinical Social Worker), has over ten years of experience in the field of chemical dependency treatment. In this capacity she has assessed the treatment needs of clients, and provided individual and family therapy. She has a particular interest in women’s treatment and recovery and the high rates of substance abuse among lesbian women.

In addition to chemical dependency, Ms. Dornberg’s areas of specialization include women’s issues, lesbian/gay/bisexual concerns, sexual abuse, and couple’s therapy. She also has extensive experience as a public speaker and trainer and provides clinical supervision.

WMST 101: Women in the World, an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Women’s Studies through global and multicultural perspectives, is required. It provides an overview of women through time, with attention to differences of gender, race, class, ethnicity.  This course establishes a foundation for further coursework in the Women’s Studies minor and other established courses.

Some electives this year include:
CRJU 365:  Issues of Race and Gender,
ENGL 453: The Female Literary Tradition,
HIST 335: History of Women,
NURS 450: Women’s Health,
PSYC 391: Psychology of Women, and
SOCY 436: Women in International Economic Development.

Students are strongly encouraged to fulfill an internship in Women’s Studies as a capstone experience for the Minor.  For the internship (WMST 499),  a student will be placed in an agency, department, or program that advocates the betterment of women’s lives.  In this environment, the student will participate in ongoing functions, including training.  The student will also meet regularly with a faculty advisor to process the internship experience and to relate it to texts in women’s studies.

In particular years, certain courses, such as ART 427, ENGL 314, FDSN 400, HLTH 450, MGNT 471, MKTG 471, MUSC 491, and SOWK 480, may be designed to focus on the study of women or gender issues.  When such courses are available with this focus, they will be eligible for inclusion in the minor. In addition, Special Topics 490 courses and Independent Studies 498 courses focusing on women can, with approval, be used to fulfill electives, though not more than six of the fifteen elective hours may be 490 and/or  498 courses.