History
The Brace Center for Gender Studies at Phillips Academy was opened in 1996 with a generous gift from Abbot Academy alumna Donna Brace Ogilvie '30, contributions from others and a start-up grant from the Abbot Academy Association. Its aim is to provide resources to enhance and strengthen Phillips Academy as a coeducational and multicultural institution by examining the complex issues related to gender, including sexuality, race and ethnicity.

Statement of Purpose
As part of an academic institution that wishes to foster excellence in all its students, the Brace Center strives to advance an understanding of gender, and its influence on individual achievement. As part of a secondary school, the Brace Center aims to address issues of adolescent growth and development and to highlight the distinctive forms of support boys and girls require in order to realize their full potential. As part of a residential school committed to discovering authentic sources of community, the Brace Center seeks to elucidate gender-related differences in a multicultural setting so that men and women, boys and girls may come to understand and respect each other more fully. As part of the Abbot campus, the Brace Center hopes to embody and extend Abbot Academy's tradition of educational innovation. In all these endeavors, the Brace Center is committed to working collaboratively with other academy constituencies (faculty, staff and students) to help all members of the school develop "what is finest in themselves and others, for others and themselves," as specified in the academy's Statement of Purpose.

General Description
The programs and resources of the Center are focused in three main areas: 1) highlighting the tri-heritage of Abbot Academy, Phillips Academy for boys and the coeducational Phillips Academy; 2) providing scholarly resources, faculty development opportunities and training for students and faculty in gender and multicultural studies; and 3) offering leadership and program opportunities for students to engage issues related to gender that directly affect their lives.

Faculty Fellows Program
The Faculty Fellows program has been a central component of area two since the founding of the Brace Center in 1996. Several faculty members have participated as Fellows by engaging in research projects in gender/multicultural studies that have covered a broad landscape of topics. Click here for a description of past projects. Thanks to another generous grant from the Abbot Academy Association, we are now able to expand and strengthen this aspect of our program by offering substantial release time to participants.

Each year up to three different faculty members are selected to pursue research projects aimed at curriculum and/or program development in gender/multicultural studies that will directly enhance the Academy. Each Fellow selected is granted a two-course reduction (or its equivalent) in the fall to enable time for research and participation in the weekly Faculty Fellows Colloquium that is convened by the director. Fellows share their findings with the community in the spring during the Faculty Fellows presentation series and it is expected that research projects will be implemented the following academic year. Possible research topics may include: rethinking the content of a course or series of courses to be more gender/multicultural inclusive; creating a new course; working with a colleague or colleagues to explore and/or expand multidisciplinary offerings; researching and implementing different pedagogical techniques that address a variety of learning styles; developing programs that further represent the coeducational and multicultural dimensions of the Academy; or engaging in institutional research to measure the strengths and weaknesses of our effectiveness in meeting the needs of a diverse student, staff and faculty community.

Application Information and Eligibility
Research proposals should be formulated in consultation with department chairs or supervisors and joint proposals are welcome. In order to address staffing needs, proposals will be solicited in early 2004, and decisions will be announced in spring 2004. The proposal deadline for 2004-05 Fellowships is Feb. 4, 2004. The selection committee comprises Vincent Avery, dean of studies; Steve Carter, dean of faculty; Margarita Curtis, chair of the Academic Council; and Kathleen Dalton, interim director of the Brace Center. These Fellowship opportunities are open to all faculty members with multiyear appointments, including those who have previously served as Brace Center Faculty Fellows under the old guidelines. Please contact Kathleen Dalton at 978-749-4653 with any questions.

Click here for an application form.

Tuesday, April 6, 1999
Elizabeth K. Schoenherr, assistant director of academic counseling
Cracking the Morse Code: Deciphering Patterns of Enrollment and Success in Mathematics at Phillips Academy
Through an exploratory analysis of quantitative data collected on four-year students in the class of 1996, Schoenherr addresses questions concerning math performance at Andover. These questions include: Are there gender differences in the SSAT scores of these students and, if so, how do these differences compare to those that exist at the national level? Are there gender differences in where students enter and exit the math curriculum? Do students who struggle with math at P.A. have any characteristics in common that might suggest useful pedagogic interventions? Does weak performance in math correlate with weak performance in other subjects? In addition to presenting her findings and any possible implications for placement and pedagogy, Schoenherr discusses avenues for future research.

Tuesday, April 13, 1999
Natalie G. Schorr, instructor in French
Simone de Beauvoir: The Second Sex at 50, Coeducation at 25
Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex has become widely recognized as a work of genius and a touchstone of modern feminism. Here de Beauvoir studied the role of women in society as a philosopher and cultural historian writing for both men and women. In her French 42 classes, Schorr studied excerpts from The Second Sex along with selections from de Beauvoir's autobiography in order to 1) introduce students to de Beauvoir's work, 2) compare different modes of writing on the same subject and 3) provide an opportunity to discuss de Beauvoir's analysis of woman as "the other" in a coeducational context. Schorr reflects on the students' responses to the readings and offer her own assessment of The Second Sex on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its publication and in the context of 25 years of coeducation at Andover.

Tuesday, April 20, 1999
Max C. Alovisetti, instructor in psychology and assistant director of psychological services
Empathy
Empathy is a central motivating force that influences moral development, levels of aggression and a range of caring behavior. The meaning of reported gender differences in the capacity for empathy is not settled. It has been viewed as a myth, a biologically determined trait and/or a result of socialization. Alovisetti addresses the development and significance of empathy with a special focus on gender. He also offers reflections regarding how schools might promote this essential emotional response and cognitive process in both male and female adolescents.

Tuesday, April 27, 1999
Leon M. Holley, Jr., instructor in biology
Identity: An African American View
As a concept, identity can be defined as the search for self in relationship to social/ historical contexts. For African Americans, that social/historical context includes the experience of confinement, bondage and resistance that complicate genealogies and defy standard categorizations of race and kin. Through explorations of his own lineage, Holley offers reflections upon this complex dynamic and the implications such an exploration holds for contemporary understandings of identity.

Tuesday, May 4, 1999
Douglas J. Kuhlmann, instructor in math
Challenging the Trend: Mathematics at SUNY Potsdam
The mathematics department of the State University of New York at Potsdam is unique and highly regarded. This school of 4,000 produces the second highest number of mathematics majors in North America and approximately 60 percent of their yearly graduates are women. In addition, more than 40 percent of the honors graduates at Potsdam are math majors as were thirteen of the last sixteen valedictorians. Eight of those thirteen are women. These statistics defy national trends regarding females and upper level math performance.

Kuhlmann visited the campus and interviewed faculty and students to learn more about this unique program and the factors that contribute to its overall success. He shares his findings and reflects upon whether there are aspects of the SUNY Potsdam experience that could be adapted to strengthen our own mathematics program in specific and secondary school programs in general.

Tuesday, May 11, 1999
Elizabeth Aureden, instructor in music
Innovations in Music Education: The Contributions of Julia Crane and Eleanor Smith
This historical study examines the teaching philosophy and classroom practice of two early 20th century prominent female music educators Julia Crane and Eleanor Smith. Both women were influential in the development and application of national progressive pedagogical trends in music education. Eleanor Smith ran the pioneering music programs at Hull House in Chicago from which the national movement of settlement music schools developed. Crane founded the first normal school for music teachers in Potsdam, N.Y., and held various leadership positions in national associations of music educators. Aureden presents an overview of the educational philosophy and pedagogy promoted by these educators and offer reflections regarding their contemporary relevance in light of current reform movements in music education.

Tuesday, May 18, 1999
Mary L. Fulton, instructor in English
"This Late Age": Four British Writers View the Great War
When the Great War ended, Vera Brittain, an army nurse, had seen numerous soldiers die before her eyes and outlived her fiancé and her only brother. The war was "an explosion which would reverberate…to the end of my days." Siegfried Sassoon, decorated for valor, was a conscientious objector threatened with execution or the insane asylum. H.G. Wells had written a novel in which the assassinations at Sarajevo "shatter nearly every landmark" in his central character's "cosmogony." Virginia Woolf, outwardly little affected by the war, placed it at the heart of seven of her nine post-war novels. These writers, two deeply involved in the war, two observing from a distance, were born into a society that rigidly divided the sexes. Yet their responses to the war suggest a rising above gender and study of these responses may contribute to the nature/nurture debate of our time. The war evoked strikingly similar feelings from all four - and often the same imagery. All believed the war was the defining event of their lives. Fulton outlines the similarities and differences of these authors' representations of the war and offers reflections regarding the significance her interpretations hold for contemporary questions about gender.

Tuesday, May 25, 1999
Ada M. Fan, instructor in English
An Informal Faculty Attrition Study
Since Phillips Academy turned coeducational 25 years ago, there has been the sense that the institution has been unable to retain certain categories of promising young teachers, most notably women and people of color. For example, in the period between 1991-96, 33 members of the teaching faculty (those who taught at least one course and were not on a one-year, non-renewable contract) chose to leave Andover. Most of them were in the 20-39 age range, 22 of them were women and 10 were people of color. In this informal study, Fan distributed questionnaires to those faculty who voluntarily left the Academy between the years of 1989-98. She hopes to determine through the questionnaire and through follow-up interviews whether there is a basis for the perceived pattern of attrition articulated above. Though this is not a formal study, Fan hopes to gather information that will be useful to the Academy in its effort to retain a talented and diverse teaching faculty.

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Brace Center Faculty Fellows Presentations - Spring 1998

Friday, April 3, 1998 Steinbach Theatre
Judith Tribo Wombwell, instructor in theatre and dance
Southern White Woman
"Southern White Woman" is a solo theatre/ dance work created by Ms. Wombwell and based loosely on autobiographical experiences. Topics explored will include motherhood, the pain of miscarriage, and the challenge of finding voice in a conservative southern culture. Also featured in this presentation is a new dance inspired by Ms. Wombwell's travels to Morocco. Photographs from this trip were on display in the Steinbach lobby. The performance incorporates a variety of music, poetry and original text and includes audience discussion and participation.

Tuesday, April 14, 1998
Robert Perrin, instructor in physics and mathematics
Mathematics as an Art Form: A Challenge to Gender Essentialism
Mathematicians, both female and male, regard their subject as a creative activity akin to art, music, and poetry. The statements made to this effect by both women and men in the field are strikingly similar and do not differ in their essential character on the basis of gender. This talk includes examples of such statements, along with biographical sketches of the mathematicians being quoted. Some mathematical background will be presented to help in the appreciation of what it is that is being said. The fact that women and men who become professionals in the field feel the same way about the subject is evidence in support of the view that there is no intrinsic difference in the way females and males think about mathematics. Some ramifications of this point of view for the teaching of mathematics are also discussed.

Tuesday, April 21, 1998
Jay Rogers, instructor in history and social science
Images of the African American Male: Representation versus Reality
Although African American men are multifaceted in their personalities and behavior, negative images ranging from the slapstick fool to the violent criminal have been persistently and pervasively represented in culture as normative. The origins of these negative images and reasons for their vitality are explored along with an analysis of the ways in which these images impact the perception of African American men.

Tuesday, April 28, 1998
Susan Perry, instructor in biology and advisor for gay, lesbian and bisexual issues
Out at School But Out of the Dorm: Why Gay and Lesbian Domestic Partners Should Serve as Residential Housecounselors
The question of whether gay and lesbian domestic partners should serve as residential housecounselors is one that is being engaged by boarding schools across the country. In this presentation, Dr. Perry outlines and analyzes the prevailing arguments and addresses the implications that restrictive policies hold for community-wide health and well-being. Though her reflections are framed in the context of Phillips Academy, the issues she addresses are broadly relevant for educators in a variety of different settings.

Tuesday, May 5, 1998
Temba Maqubela, chair of the chemistry department
Gender and the Teaching of Chemistry: "Not More Help, More Chemistry!"
National statistics still indicate that girls are less likely than boys to enroll in advanced level chemistry courses at the secondary school level. Defying schools of thought which argue that boys have more natural aptitude in the hard sciences, the chemistry department here at Phillips has made modest inroads against this trend as represented by balanced gender enrollments and successful completion of courses by both girls and boys across the full chemistry curriculum. Mr. Maqubela speaks about the pedagogical and curricular changes that the department initiated to encourage both boys and girls to become engaged in and excited about chemistry.

Saturday, Feb. 22, 1997
William Thomas leads a performance and discussion of:
Five Folksongs in Counterpoint for String Quartet composed by Florence B. Price
Performed by the Coleridge String Quartet
Florence Beatrice Price is the first African American woman to receive national recognition as a classical composer. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, she had a rich and full education in spite of the restrictions of a segregated society. This remarkable woman graduated in 1903 from Capitol High School, an all Black institution, at age 14 as valedictorian of her class. She enrolled the next year at age 15 at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Her symphonic and piano works won many awards during her lifetime. In 1932 she won the Rodman Wanamaker Foundation Award for her Symphony in e Minor and a sonata for piano. The symphony had its premiere at the Chicago World's Fair in a performance by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra June 15, 1933. The Cooleridge String Quartet performs "Five Folksongs in Counterpoint for String Quartet" and leads a discussion of Price's life and work.

Monday, April 7, 1997
John Strudwick, instructor in history and social science
Women's Organizations and Economic Development: A case study of the Aga Khan Rural Support Program in Northern Pakistan
After initially believing that women's economic development could be adequately achieved through male-centered village organizations, the Aga Khan Rural Support Program in Pakistan helped women organize women's organizations to develop programs that would target the role of women in community economic development. Strudwick describes and assesses the development of the women's organizations between 1985 and 1996 and evaluates their role in local and regional economic development. The presentation consists of three parts. In part one Strudwick outlines theoretical models of economic development, focusing on the role of local community institutions and the importance of gender-related issues. In part two he describes the case study evidence of the Aga Khan Rural Support Program. In part three Strudwick analyzes the evidence within the context of economic theory in order to evaluate the role of women's organizations and gender programs in achieving economic development.

Thursday, April 10, 1997
Carl Krumpe, instructor in classics
The Greeks and Us: Suicide and Gender
Greek culture, especially its mythology, has long been recognized as a rich source of information with which to compare our own culture. While Greek mythology, like Greek culture, does not provide us a large number of examples of suicide in either females or males, the examples we find offer us some insight into interesting gender differences in the way the two cultures view suicide and in the ways in which suicide is carried out. Do the suicides of Jocasta and Dido exhibit anything in the cause or the method that might reveal a gender construct? Is there any explanation why the males in these relationships found other responses than suicide to the situation? Do the deaths of Ajax and Hector reflect only the heroic ethic of the culture from which their stories come or do they reveal a broader gender based differences?

Thursday, April 17, 1997
Thomas Hodgson, chair of the philosophy and religious studies department
Boys Only, Girls Only, Boys and Girls Together: Gender at Work and Play at Phillips Academy
Participants join focused discussions on whether, how and to what end notions of masculinity and femininity operate in various contexts in our community. The goal is to discuss together the answers our experiences at Phillips suggest to questions about institutional practices and patterns of group and individual that arise out of recent popular and scholarly works on gender. Hodgson begins by setting a philosophical, political and pedagogical context for our discussions. Participants then choose from a variety of topics for our consideration which may include the following: What convictions underlie our institutional practices of a) separating boys and girls in dormitories, locker rooms, and (for the most part) athletics, but not in the classroom, b) preferring same sex coaches and house counselors, but not teachers, advisors or deans, and c) requiring sports and not community service? Do we find that boys and girls act differently in groups when they are in same sex contexts? Do we institutionally and individually communicate gender based expectations to our students as teachers, coaches, counselors and advisors? Which notions of gender, if any, should we seek to undermine? Which ones, if any, should we seek to promote? For what reasons?

Monday, April 21, 1997
Shawn Fulford, instructor in mathematics
Gender, Optimism and Resilience: Teaching Strategies Inside and Outside the Classroom
The presentation draws from The Optimistic Child: A Revolutionary Program that Safeguards Children Against Depression and Builds Lifelong Resilience by Martin Seligman as a resource and guide. Fulford examines the topic of resilience and the ways teachers can encourage self-esteem in adolescents. Research indicates that boys and girls exhibit different reactions to social and academic situations that challenge self-esteem, and both can benefit from an educational approach sensitive to these differences.

Thursday, April 24, 1997
Margarita Curtis, chair of the Spanish department
Gender Issues in the Hispanic World: A Comparative Pedagogy
Continuing to develop work she began last year in English 550A, The Epic Poem, Nesin explores her evolving engagement of women in the classical epic. She focuses on feminine imagery with an emphasis on weaving and women's work, creatively balancing ancient text, art and image, and responsive prose.

Thursday, May 1, 1997
Leon Modeste, director of athletics
The Benefits of Women Coaching Girls: A Panel Discussion
It is Modeste's belief that the focus of athletic programs in secondary schools should emphasize character as well as skill development. This approach recognizes the important role that coaches have in encouraging students' self-esteem and confidence both on and off the field. In this way, coaches often serve as role models for students which lends support to the belief that students are best served when men coach boys and women coach girls. For this presentation, Modeste has convened a panel of coaches and students to discuss the benefits of this approach for women. Panel members include: Kathy Birecki, Marlys Edwards, Martha Fenton, Lisa Pimentel, Aime Wilmer and current female student athletes.

Wednesday, May 7, 1997, Ropes Salon, Commons
Susan Lloyd, instructor in history and social science
Early Sexual Activity Among Immigrant Adolescents in Lawrence, Massachusetts: A Panel Discussion
The birth of children to teenage mothers and fathers continues to increase in Lawrence, as it gradually decreases in Massachusetts as a whole. Why do some adolescents delay sexual activity while others do not? How do new young parents become deeply committed to each other and to their children? What help and guidance can young people find from community institutions, ethnic traditions, and "natural support systems" such as family and friends? This topic has been one of many explored by Urban Studies Institute students in their field research projects. We need to gain context for our many interviews of young people and local service providers by learning more of scholars' and clinicians' findings. All research and writing culminate in fall 1997 in the publications of a 100- page "backgrounder" for community leaders and other concerned citizens. During this presentation, Urban Studies students and Lloyd briefly present what they have discovered from both library and field research, then lead a discussion to learn all we can from those present.

Thursday, May 8, 1997
Veda Robinson, assoc. director of college counseling
Dominant Standards of Beauty: How Do They Affect the Self Perception of Black Women?
In Black Feminist Thought, Patricia Hill Collins discusses black women and standards of beauty. "Dealing with issues of beauty-- particularly skin color, facial features, and hair texture-- is one concrete example of how controlling images denigrates African American women. [They] experience the pain of never being able to live up to externally defined standards of beauty-- standards applied to us by white men, white women, black men, and most painfully, one another." How have dominant images of beauty affected how black women perceive themselves? In this presentation, Robinson offers an historical overview of the issue, highlight some examples from fictional works (books and films) and discuss the relationship between dominant issues of beauty and the self-esteem of black women. The presentation includes an interactive shopping experience for the audience.

Monday, May 12, 1997
Susan Faxon, assoc. director & curator, Addison Gallery
Abbot Academy: Issues of Campus Design and Gender
While historical studies of schools rightly focus on issues of educational mission and pedagogy, recent scholarship had considered the landscape and architecture of institutions and has examined the interconnections between the physical campus and the school's ideals and goals. In her study of women's colleges, Alma Mater, Helen Lefkowitz proposes a direct relationship between physical plant and educational ideals in a number of early women's colleges. In A Singular School, Susan Lloyd has explored how Abbot Academy was influenced by different educational theories embodied in nearby institutions. Faxon's examination builds on her work, but shifts the focus specifically to the buildings and landscape. Faxon explores the connection between the Abbot campus and the goals of its founders and try to answer such questions as: How were decisions made about siting and design of buildings and landscape at Abbot Academy? What were the factors that influenced these choices? Did these decisions change over time? How is the Abbot campus different from that of Phillips Academy and Andover Theological Seminary? Why is this? On a broader scale, is the physical appearance of girls' schools perceptively different than boys' schools? Can the conclusions drawn by Horowitz by applied to secondary schools?

Thursday, May 15, 1997
Clyfe Beckwith, instructor in physics and Deborah Carlisle, instructor in chemistry
Balancing the Genders in the Analytical Sciences
National trends show that adolescent boys are still more likely than girls to pursue upper level courses in physics and chemistry. Though some literature suggests that this is due to a belief that boys and girls think differently and therefore have differing strengths and interests, our research and experiences in the classroom suggest that these trends reflect cultural influences rather than innate differences. This view is supported by studies that focus on teaching methods. Teachers who employ a variety of teaching techniques that include by are not restricted to the traditional lecture approach have been able to foster enthusiasm and success in the analytical sciences among both girls and boys. These successes have helped reverse the cultural effects that cause girls to feel less competent and confident than boys. The presentation includes a review of current literature, reflections on our own experiences and insights from the perspective of students.