\u201cMonsanto and the Patenting of Life: Is Biotechnology a New Form of Primitive Accumulation in the 21st Century,\u201d<\/em> is an eco-feminist analysis that parallels the appropriation and use of women\u2019s bodies for capital accumulation by the church and state during the mid-century European witch trials with the use of the bodies of seeds for capital accumulation through biotechnology and genetic engineering by corporations, such as Monsanto.<\/p>\n\u201cJennifer has produced a thoughtful, insightful and well written Major Research Paper,\u201d says her\u00a0supervisor and Sociology and Women and Gender Studies professor Ana Isla. Bonato presented this research at the International Rural Sociology Association\u2019s World Congress at Ryerson in August and is currently considering avenues of publication.<\/p>\n
Feminism and social justice has been a major part of Bonato\u2019s life both personally and academically.<\/p>\n
\u201cFeminism is just a way of looking at the world through a lens that attempts to incorporate the gendered dimension that has been historically excluded,\u201d she explains. \u201cAt the same time, feminism isn\u2019t a single thing, and it has different meanings to different people. It asks questions and politicizes the most personal aspects of our social experiences while reclaiming history (\/herstory) and actively seeking changes to inequities that shape our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was very important for Bonato to work with a feminist organization like the YW to continue to empower and support women and commit to her passion for social change. She has been involved with the YW since volunteering at the No Fixed Address event in the summer of 2013 and became a board member in 2015. Bonato is excited and honoured to become the next President of the Board of Directors and to continue her work in the organization.<\/p>\n
As part of her involvement, Bonato is one of the organizers behind the YW\u2019s third-annual Niagara Leadership Summit for Women that is taking place Saturday, October 22 at Brock University with the theme of \u201cInnovating Leadership\u201d. The summit is a full day conference designed to inspire, build community connections and recognize women\u2019s leadership in Niagara and features a variety of guest speakers, workshops and discussions about innovative approaches to leadership.<\/p>\n
The program will feature a keynote address by Brock University Chancellor Shirley Cheechoo and a diverse variety of speakers and workshop leaders, including Brock\u2019s Communication, Popular Culture & Film professor Karen Smith and other inspiring Brock faculty, staff and students and influential community members.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether it is navigating a work environment that has historically been exclusive of female leadership, developing tools to distribute knowledge within your community, committing to intentional self-care, or learning how to be a supportive leader, these are all types of innovative leadership,\u201d says Bonato. \u201cWe hope that attendees will leave the day feeling motivated and empowered, with new knowledge and a sense of shared community support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brock University is excited to be a part of this event and is proud of Jennifer\u2019s contributions and successes as she enters her new role as the YWCA Niagara Region Board of Directors President. Bonato advises students to become involved in issues and organizations on and off campus. \u201cUniversity allows you to develop ways of thinking and seeing, but it\u2019s important to find ways to apply these skills and to carve out your niche. Graduate school is a great way to shift from consumer-of-knowledge to producer-of-knowledge, so finding ways to share your knowledge becomes more and more important.\u201d<\/p>\n
To learn more about graduate studies at Brock, visit brocku.ca\/graduate-studies<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Recent Brock University graduate Jennifer Bonato is on a mission to empower, inspire and support women across Niagara.
\nBonato is the current Board of Directors Vice-President for the YWCA Niagara Region, a non-profit organization that provides safe, supportive housing and programs for women across Canada, and will be the new Board of Directors President this coming new year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":41671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3319,1,4,38],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41660"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41660"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41660\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41673,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41660\/revisions\/41673"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}