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Knowing Women from Collectivist Cultures CEU Series
The School of Social Work is proud to announce a brand new continuing education series from Associate Professor Shweta Singh, Ph.D. titled "Knowing Women from Collectivist Cultures: Focus on South Asian Women and Girls." 
The series will launch on March 15 with an in-person discussion on coaching and motivating women. On April 19, we turn our focus to the role of religion and spiritual wellbeing of women and move online for the rest of the series. We will then take some time off before returning on October 11 on the topic of relationships and family dynamics for women. We'll conclude on December 6 for a discussion on conceptualizing wellbeing, health, and mental health for women. Each of the four courses will earn attendees 3 CEUs. A detailed breakdown of each session, including learning objectives is available below.
In addition to being an associate professor, Dr. Singh is also a columnist, coach, poet, social worker, entrepreneur & podcaster. Her main area of expertise is Indian Subcontinent women - their philosophies, realistic ideas, cheerful ways, & survival strength. Dr. Singh's stories, plays, poetry & self-help writing reflect her academic research, her theoretical work on ‘identities of women', her practice as a life_career coach, her Hindu spirituality, and a social worker's sensitivity & cognizance of people living in poverty.
Series Description
Course One: Friday, March 15: Coaching and Motivating Women: 1:00-4:00pm: 3 CEU’s
Location: Loyola University Chicago
Women from Asia and Africa are becoming central to the global supply chain. Their inclusion in national and global GDP needs an understanding of the underlying production worker identity question. This workshop will use global and local settings in micro and macro data to highlight the working conditions of women across formal and informal sectors. It will offer a deep understanding of blue and white collar jobs for women in global emerging economy. It will highlight key challenges and also develop knowledge around core concepts like glass ceiling, leadership, gender parity, and returns to labor, discrimination, harassment, and emerging needs of day care and second shift duties.
Objectives:
- Recognize and list several unique challenges and opportunities that accompany women joining work for income.
- Analyze the underlying value in systems that lead to oppression and discrimination against working women.
- Define and discuss social and economic justice norms and understand core concepts in global women’s work and their current operationalization such as occupational mobility, work trajectories, and sexual harassment in the workplace.
Course Two: Role of Religion and Spiritual Wellbeing of Women: Friday, April 26, 2024: 1:00-4:00pm: 3 CEU’s
Location: ONLINE
Community culture is central to how its members make their choices. Culture is expressed in common practices but experienced differently. The tradition, and religious and spiritual traditions in Indian Subcontinent – especially Hinduism and Buddhism are unique to older civilizations like India. This workshop session will explore research and practices like Yoga and Meditation as well as the differences and similarities in community culture. Interesting aspects like socializing within Diaspora will be reviewed through a review of literature and practices.
Attendees will know about foundations grounding culture within Hinduism and Buddhism and their impact on communities of women. They will understand how these traditions inform roles and identities such as, parenting practices and spousal relationships. The session will offer insights into how communities develop their unique sense of interrelationship, family, belonging and participation in the mainstream and with their ingroup.
Objectives:
- Highlight core ideas grounding culture within Hinduism and Buddhism and their impact on community and women.
- Understand the traditions informing parenting practices and spousal relationships.
- Differentiate between in group and outgroup norms from the community perspectives.
Course Three: Relationships and Family Dynamics for Women: Friday, October 11, 2024: 1:00-4:00pm: 3 CEU’s
Location: ONLINE
Women and their relationships within the Diaspora are a key component of both strengths and challenges they face, as they are away from their home communities and manage multiple cultural requirements of home and host culture. This Workshop explores the diaspora space for South Asian women in immigrant families using artifacts like movies and other media content. It will offer a comparative insight into other local immigrant groups. The workshop will draw out the pathways through which women negotiate their identity within family, community, and interpersonal intimate relationships. The workshop will also discuss the evolving conversations around stigmatized issues like divorce in South Asian communities. Culture and subcultures will be explored to identify resistance and coping and vulnerabilities of women groups over generations.
Attendees will understand the identities of resistance and vulnerabilities immigrant Asian women form as a corollary of becoming part of the ethnic diaspora. They will gain a critical perspective on the transformations in roles and demands on roles and responsibilities as women break away from standard families and communities of belonging.
Objectives:
- Understand the identities of resistance and vulnerabilities immigrant Asian women form as a corollary of becoming part of the ethnic diaspora.
- Offer a critical perspective on the transformations in roles and demands on roles and responsibilities as women break away from standard families and communities of belonging.
- Draw convincing parallels across communities to understand differences within and between communities of women.
Course Four: Friday, December 6, 2024: Conceptualizing Wellbeing, Health, and Mental Health for Women: 1:00-4:00pm: 3 CEU’s
Location: ONLINE
Women’s health and wellbeing have been a focus of work and concern over the last century and into this one. Women from the diaspora continue to suffer from higher levels of depression and anxiety and also physical concerns like anemia, high blood pressure and risk of heart diseases, amongst others. This session provides theoretical and spiritual construction of personhood and health particularly of women and families from Asia in comparison to women from Africa and Latin America. immigrant cultures, especially South Asian. Along with reviewing research on broad health concerns from hypertension and stress to pregnancy and menstruation. The session will provide an overview of barriers to access of services and pathways to facilitating it via community.
Attendees to this session will understand the cultural interpretations of personhood and wellbeing as applied to the Global South and collectivist thought. They will be able to assimilate factors in diaspora women and family health needs. They will engage in a review the state of knowledge on risks and access for diaspora health and impact of health beliefs and service utilization, particularly for women.
Objectives:
- Understand the cultural interpretations of personhood and wellbeing as applied to the Global South and collectivist thought.
- Assimilate factors in diaspora women and family health needs.
- Review the state of knowledge on risks and access for diaspora health and impact of health beliefs and service utilization, particularly for women.
