Why do conversations about men and women often slip into something like a boxing match, with one gender in each corner?Seniors Miriam Biber and Scott Pryor are working to change the dynamics of such conversations; they are looking to create an honest and open dialogue on the subject of gender, beyond defenses and alienation and towards understanding.

By means of the Hazelnut Scholarship Grant, through the Peace and Conflict Studies program, Biber and Pryor are hosting a conference in early October entitled “Understanding Men, Understanding Women.”

“It started as focusing more on men and their views on sexism and feminism,” Biber said, “but changed into focusing on creating a dialogue between men and women about what the concept of gender means for both sides.”

Focusing on how social codes affect both sexes, Biber feels that the conference will offer much to participants as well as to the community as a whole.

“It’s a good starting place for getting people to understand what it means to live with gender,” Biber said. “It’s about communicating with yourself and others and figuring out what to do with this knowledge.”

“The hope is to help participants foster a commitment to be continually engaged in that dialogue,” Pryor said of the conference. “And we’re hoping to recruit a wide variety of people to come.”

Both Biber and Pryor emphasized the open nature of the conference. They are encouraging and expecting a diversity range of participants.

While the exact schedule of panelists is still in the works, the conference will bring to light a number of different topics within this field. “Understanding Men, Understanding Women” will begin Friday, Oct. 5, with a panel and then move to open discussion and small group work (from 7-9 p.m.).

The events on Saturday, Oct. 6, will include small-group work and sharing as well as time for personal reflection and reevaluation of personal commitment. Saturday’s participants will need to preregister. For more information, or to register, contact Miriam Biber ([email protected]) or Scott Pryor ([email protected]).