Leading author to discuss masculinity on college campuses

RELEASED: September 25, 2008

DANVILLE, KY—According to Dr. Michael Kimmel, "Over the past three generations, women's lives have been utterly and completely transformed—in politics, the military, the workplace, professions and education."

However, it hasn't been the same for men. "During that time, the ideology of masculinity has remained relatively intact. The notions we have about what it means to be a man remain locked in a pattern set decades ago, when the world looked very different."

Meanwhile, Kimmel says, "The single greatest obstacle to women's equality today remains the behavior and attitudes of men."

Kimmel will discuss his views at Centre College on Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. in Newlin Hall of the College's Norton Center for the Arts. The event is free and open to the public.

Kimmel is the author of 12 books and countless articles on men and masculinity, including The Gendered Society, which was used in Centre's gender studies class taught by Dr. Sarah Goodrum, assistant professor of sociology, in 2007. Kimmel's most recent publication, Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men (2008), discusses the social development of 16 to 26 year olds in the United States, including on college campuses.

"We're very excited to be bringing leading sociologist and gender scholar Dr. Michael Kimmel (SUNY-Stony Brook) to Centre College as a Humana Series Lecturer," Goodrum says. "Kimmel argues that social norms tend to emphasize the differences between men and women, but empirical research tends to find that men and women are much more alike than they are different."

She continues: "His research is culturally relevant and timely, and his talk's focus on men's and women's relationships on college campuses will be particularly appropriate for the Centre College community."

- end -

Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.