Bennett College for Women News January 9, 2015 Bennett Professor is First Speaker at the Faculty Research Seminar hosted by the Anna Julia Cooper Center at Wake Forest University Dr. Valerie A. Johnson, Mott Distinguished Professor of Women's Studies and Director of Africana Women's Studies at Bennett College, was the first speaker at the Faculty Research Seminar hosted by the Anna Julia Cooper Center at Wake Forest University. The seminar was held recently in the Benson Center building on Wake Forest University's campus. Dr. Johnson presented her working paper, "To Dance With A Stranger: Self-Defense As Choreographed Reality." Melissa Harris-Perry was the respondent for Dr. Johnson's presentation. Harris-Perry, host of MSNBC's "Melissa Harris-Perry," is founding director of the Anna Julia Cooper Project on Gender, Race, and Politics in the South. Named for the foundational black feminist intellectual, activist, and educator of the early 20th century, the Anna Julia Cooper Project supports related programs, courses and research. The project moved to Wake Forest when Harris-Perry was appointed to the Presidential Endowed Chair in Politics and International Affairs at Wake Forest University. Dr. Johnson holds a Ph.D. in Medical Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley, a B.A. in Sociology from Spelman College and a M.A. in Sociology from Clark Atlanta University. Scholarly interests in bioethics, health care and gender issues led to fieldwork in various places, such as Costa Rica, Zimbabwe, the Seychelles Islands, Tanzania, Eritrea, and the United States. A servant leader, Dr. Johnson serves as Chair of the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission and President of The NC League of Conservation Voters Foundation. An advocate for environmental justice, she also holds membership in the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network, and the Academics, Community, Agencies Network (ACA-Net). She recently presented on the topic, "Considering the Legacy of the Subjugation of Black Women's Bodies in the Advancement of Medical Science," at the American Public Health Association 142nd Annual Meeting and Exposition in New Orleans, Louisiana. The session highlighted emerging public health issues for black women and girls living in the Southeastern United States. The Anna Julia Cooper Center hosts a monthly seminar series for Piedmont-Triad area faculty members whose research and teaching interests focus on gender, race and politics in the South. The seminars are interdisciplinary and engage scholarship from multiple fields, perspectives and methodological approaches. Through the seminars, the Center hopes to create a central meeting place for research and scholarly engagement with race, gender and politics while building cross-institutional support. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.