CHESTERTOWN, MD—Michael Kimmel, a sociologist well known internationally for his studies on masculinity and gender, will speak at Washington College on Monday, April 6. His lecture, Mars, Venus or Planet Earth? Women & Men on Campus in a New Millennium will take place at 7:00 p.m. in Decker Theatre, Gibson Center for the Arts. 

Kimmel is a professor of sociology and gender studies at Stony Brook University, where he directs the Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities. He has traveled the world as a lecturer and written or contributed to 15 books. For one of his most celebrated books, the 2008 best seller Guyland, he interviewed more than 400 men between the ages of 16 and 26 about topics such as “The Guy Code” and the perilous journey from boyhood to manhood. Gloria Steinem praised Guyland as a book that “could save the humanity of many young men — and the sanity of their friends and parents.” 

Kimmel’s more recent books, Angry White Men (Nation Books, 2013) and The Guy’s Guide To Feminism (Seal Press, 2011), have been praised for posing difficult questions and for balancing a reporter’s critical distance with empathy for his subjects. An article in the January/February issue of The Atlantic, titled “The Bro Whisperer: Michael Kimmel’s quest to turn college boys into gentlemen—and improve sex on campus,” reported on the sociologist’s continuing efforts to help college men ditch damaging masculine stereotypes and reduce sexual assaults on campuses across the country.   

Sponsored by the Washington College Kappa Alpha Order, Office of Wellness & Prevention Education, Student Affairs, Department of Athletics, and Career Development Center, Kimmel’s presentation is free and open to the public.