Anti-sexism activist Jackson Katz will speak on the topic "Tough Guise: Violence, Media & the Crisis in Masculinity," at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 13 in the Barbieri Courtroom at the Gonzaga University School of Law. The event is free and open to the public.
The lecture topic is based on Katz' new movie by the same name, which discusses the impact media have on violence in high school- and college-age males, specifically in the areas of school shootings,bullying and teen dating. Clips from the film will be shown during the presentation to examine the relationship between pop culture imagery and the social construction of masculine identities.
Earlier that day, there will be two allied events for GU faculty, staff and students and members of the Northwest Alliance for Responsible Media, which is housed in the GU School of Professional Studies. Those two events, which require an RSVP, are a men's luncheon at 12:10 p.m. in the Washington/California Room in the COG, followed by a workshop and meeting in the Spokane Room of the COG.
In 1993, Katz founded the multiracial, mixed-gender Mentors in Violence Prevention Program (MVP) at Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society. MVP is the first large-scale attempt to enlist high school, collegiate and professional athletes in the fight against all forms of men's violence against women. Today, MVP is the most widely used gender violence prevention program in college athletics. For the past six years, MVP has been used by the New England Patriots of the NFL.
The Northwest Alliance for Responsible Media is one of the main sponsors for the events. Other sponsors include University Ministry and the vice president for mission. The nonprofit organization promotes and disseminates research on media effects and media literacy. Its main goal is to educate the region about media literacy and explore positive solutions to the influence of media on the lives of children.
For more information on Jackson Katz, visit his website at www.jacksonkatz.com. For information on the events - or questions on teaching media literacy - contact GU communications arts Professor John Caputo at (509) 323-3578 or e-mail the alliance at NW-ARM@gonzaga.edu