Talks by Erica Misako Boas
Post-secondary institutions' obligations vis-a-vis sexual assault prevention and response generat... more Post-secondary institutions' obligations vis-a-vis sexual assault prevention and response generates frequent attention by the media, student activism, government action and debate. Over the past few years, there has been a spate of interest in the adequacy of institutional responses to assaults, and on examples of egregious failures. This has generated further trauma among survivors, scrambling by administrators, legal action, fines, protests and vigorous calls for reform. Indeed, much work remains to improve approaches to these difficult situations. Yet, focusing on responses should not overtake efforts to prevent them, nor on critically interrogating the social order that enables them.
The presenters recently completed a constructivist qualitative study in which a group of students at a nearby university offered candid accounts of their social and sexual experiences during their entire first year in college. A major goal of the research has been to develop a contemporary grounded theoretical understanding of how students navigate their amorous relations, and to inform efforts to reduce coercive and non-consensual sexual encounters. We will report on participants' accounts of their experiences and beliefs regarding sex, relationships and hooking up, and air some "dirty laundry" requiring critical reflection, deliberation and reform of programs, policies, and practices.
Jason Laker Professor and Chair in the Department of Counselor Education, San José State Univers... more Jason Laker Professor and Chair in the Department of Counselor Education, San José State University
Erica Boas Doctoral candidate in the Graduate School of Education’s Social and Cultural Studies Program, UC Berkeley
The technological phenomena of social media, texting, and camera phones bring with them a culture of immediacy, self-disclosure, and voyeurism that may be shocking to some. In this era of rapidly developing technologies, the quality of sexual and platonic relationships is also undergoing accelerated changes. Research is thus challenged to keep pace with new realities associated with experiences and definitions of abstinence, sex, and dating. In addition, from our perspective, the literature has not yet adequately dealt with notions of consent, coercion, and force in peer relationships. Current approaches pursued by post-secondary institutions aimed at prevention of coercive relationships, gender violence, and sexual assault (or compliance with campus environment requirements of Title IX for that matter) fail to incorporate the nuances required for effectively addressing gendered sexual violence on college campuses. We are currently conducting a constructivist qualitative study in which college students at a nearby university are offering candid and complex accounts of their lived experiences of these issues. A major goal of the research is to develop a contemporary grounded theoretical understanding of how students navigate their amorous relations -- which are rarely straightforward and often rife with ambiguity -- with the intention of reducing harm. In this presentation, we will explain the study in greater detail and offer some primary observations and reflections from the first round of interviews. We are interested in attendees' feedback, suggestions, and insights as we continue to analyze the data and prepare for the next series of interviews.
Books by Erica Misako Boas
Papers by Erica Misako Boas
Halloween as celebrated in US elementary schools provides a rare opportunity to explore the more ... more Halloween as celebrated in US elementary schools provides a rare opportunity to explore the more tangible manifestations of sexuality. A time of celebration, Halloween is perceived as a festive event for children, being both ‘innocent’ and fun. Yet, because it is the one school day where sexuality is on display, sexuality becomes a spectacle. Drawing on ethnographic data collected over the 2010–2011 school year at Unity Elementary School, a San Francisco Bay Area school with majority immigrant students from Latin America, this paper focuses specifically on the ways in which
elementary schools express forces of a consumer market that capitalizes on the sexualization of children on Halloween, most particularly that of girls. It illustrates the ways in which teachers make sense of these forces when they are written on the bodies
of their Latino elementary school students. Findings reveal how these elementary school Halloween celebrations bring to light entanglements and articulations of sexuality, gender, race and class in a culture that creates and exploits children’s desires.
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Talks by Erica Misako Boas
The presenters recently completed a constructivist qualitative study in which a group of students at a nearby university offered candid accounts of their social and sexual experiences during their entire first year in college. A major goal of the research has been to develop a contemporary grounded theoretical understanding of how students navigate their amorous relations, and to inform efforts to reduce coercive and non-consensual sexual encounters. We will report on participants' accounts of their experiences and beliefs regarding sex, relationships and hooking up, and air some "dirty laundry" requiring critical reflection, deliberation and reform of programs, policies, and practices.
Erica Boas Doctoral candidate in the Graduate School of Education’s Social and Cultural Studies Program, UC Berkeley
The technological phenomena of social media, texting, and camera phones bring with them a culture of immediacy, self-disclosure, and voyeurism that may be shocking to some. In this era of rapidly developing technologies, the quality of sexual and platonic relationships is also undergoing accelerated changes. Research is thus challenged to keep pace with new realities associated with experiences and definitions of abstinence, sex, and dating. In addition, from our perspective, the literature has not yet adequately dealt with notions of consent, coercion, and force in peer relationships. Current approaches pursued by post-secondary institutions aimed at prevention of coercive relationships, gender violence, and sexual assault (or compliance with campus environment requirements of Title IX for that matter) fail to incorporate the nuances required for effectively addressing gendered sexual violence on college campuses. We are currently conducting a constructivist qualitative study in which college students at a nearby university are offering candid and complex accounts of their lived experiences of these issues. A major goal of the research is to develop a contemporary grounded theoretical understanding of how students navigate their amorous relations -- which are rarely straightforward and often rife with ambiguity -- with the intention of reducing harm. In this presentation, we will explain the study in greater detail and offer some primary observations and reflections from the first round of interviews. We are interested in attendees' feedback, suggestions, and insights as we continue to analyze the data and prepare for the next series of interviews.
Books by Erica Misako Boas
Papers by Erica Misako Boas
elementary schools express forces of a consumer market that capitalizes on the sexualization of children on Halloween, most particularly that of girls. It illustrates the ways in which teachers make sense of these forces when they are written on the bodies
of their Latino elementary school students. Findings reveal how these elementary school Halloween celebrations bring to light entanglements and articulations of sexuality, gender, race and class in a culture that creates and exploits children’s desires.
The presenters recently completed a constructivist qualitative study in which a group of students at a nearby university offered candid accounts of their social and sexual experiences during their entire first year in college. A major goal of the research has been to develop a contemporary grounded theoretical understanding of how students navigate their amorous relations, and to inform efforts to reduce coercive and non-consensual sexual encounters. We will report on participants' accounts of their experiences and beliefs regarding sex, relationships and hooking up, and air some "dirty laundry" requiring critical reflection, deliberation and reform of programs, policies, and practices.
Erica Boas Doctoral candidate in the Graduate School of Education’s Social and Cultural Studies Program, UC Berkeley
The technological phenomena of social media, texting, and camera phones bring with them a culture of immediacy, self-disclosure, and voyeurism that may be shocking to some. In this era of rapidly developing technologies, the quality of sexual and platonic relationships is also undergoing accelerated changes. Research is thus challenged to keep pace with new realities associated with experiences and definitions of abstinence, sex, and dating. In addition, from our perspective, the literature has not yet adequately dealt with notions of consent, coercion, and force in peer relationships. Current approaches pursued by post-secondary institutions aimed at prevention of coercive relationships, gender violence, and sexual assault (or compliance with campus environment requirements of Title IX for that matter) fail to incorporate the nuances required for effectively addressing gendered sexual violence on college campuses. We are currently conducting a constructivist qualitative study in which college students at a nearby university are offering candid and complex accounts of their lived experiences of these issues. A major goal of the research is to develop a contemporary grounded theoretical understanding of how students navigate their amorous relations -- which are rarely straightforward and often rife with ambiguity -- with the intention of reducing harm. In this presentation, we will explain the study in greater detail and offer some primary observations and reflections from the first round of interviews. We are interested in attendees' feedback, suggestions, and insights as we continue to analyze the data and prepare for the next series of interviews.
elementary schools express forces of a consumer market that capitalizes on the sexualization of children on Halloween, most particularly that of girls. It illustrates the ways in which teachers make sense of these forces when they are written on the bodies
of their Latino elementary school students. Findings reveal how these elementary school Halloween celebrations bring to light entanglements and articulations of sexuality, gender, race and class in a culture that creates and exploits children’s desires.