Sherrie Inness, new holder of the Laura C. Harris Chair at Denison University for Fall 2001, will give a multimedia presentation, "Tough Girls in the Media," at 12 p.m. on Thursday (Sept. 13) in Slayter Auditorium on the Denison University campus. The presentation will focus on the depiction of tough women in the popular media over the last three decades and will feature discussion of characters such as Xena, Ripley ofAlienand Trinity fromThe Matrix. The presentation is sponsored by the Laura C. Harris fund.

Inness, an associate professor of English at Miami University, will also give a series of faculty writing and research workshops this semester. She will present the following topics on Thursdays at 4:30 p.m.: "Walking on a Tightrope: Balancing Teaching and Research" (Oct. 4); "Beyond the First Word: Getting Started" (Oct. 25); "Pitfalls and Perils of Publishing" (Nov. 1); "How Does This Go Together? Editing an Anthology" (Nov. 15). The final workshop, "Behind the Scenes: Negotiating the Publishing Process," will be given at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 14. All of the workshops will take place in the Faculty Lounge in Slayter Hall.

On the faculty at Miami University since 1993, Inness has also served as an instructor at the University of California at San Diego. Her areas of specialization include 19th- and 20th-century American literature and culture, gender studies, United States popular culture and children's literature and music.

Inness completed her bachelor's degree (1986) at Wellesley College. She earned her master's degree (1991) and doctorate (1993) from the University of California at San Diego. She has authored four books, edited eight books and contributed to many publications. Her books include:Dinner Roles: American Women and Culinary Culture; Tough Girls: Women Warriors and Wonder Women in Popular Culture; The Lesbian Menace: Ideology, Identity, and the Representation of Lesbian Life; andIntimate Communities: Representation and Social Transformation in Women's College Fiction, 1895-1910.

Of her more than 40 contributions to journals and books, Inness has composed material forStudies in Short Fiction, International Journal of Gay and Lesbian StudiesandNational Women's Studies Association Journal. Many of her works center around Girl Scouts, Barbie, Nancy Drew and the image of women in societies. She has been featured in the 28th and 29th editions of theDictionary of International Biography, Who's Who in Americaand theOutstanding Scholars of the 20th Century.

The Harris Professorship is provided by the Laura C. Harris Endowment at Denison, the result of a major bequest from her estate. The professorship stands as a tribute to her memory, evidence of her commitment to achievement and the enforcement of her belief in the importance of undergraduate education.

The late Laura C. Harris, who earned a bachelor's degree from Denison in 1916, was the first woman to receive a medical degree from Syracuse University. After completing post graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania, she began her medical practice in the 1920s. A pioneer medical educator among women, Harris was appointed clinical professor of pediatrics at the State University of New York Medical Center at Syracuse. Her teaching career spanned more than 30 years. In 1951, Harris was honored with a Denison Alumni Citation, and in 1981 with an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. She died in 1987 at the age of 93.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

Name

Barbara Stambaugh

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Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

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(740) 587-8575