By Jenny Wells

Karen Tice, associate professor in the University of Kentucky College of Education Department of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation, recently authored her new book, "Queens of Academe: Beauty Pageantry, Student Bodies, and Campus Life," published by Oxford University Press.

Tice, who also holds a joint appointment in the UK College of Arts and Sciences Department of Gender and Women's Studies, will lecture on the topic from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 18, in the President's Room at the Singletary Center for the Arts. A reception will follow. Tice also will be at Morris Book Shop on East High Street for a book signing from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 26.

From the Oxford University Press site:

"In 'Queens of Academe,' Karen W. Tice asks how, and why, does higher education remain in the beauty and body business and with what effects on student bodies and identities. Drawing on archival research and interviews as well as hundreds of hours observing college pageants on predominantly black and white campuses, Tice argues the pageants help to illuminate the shifting iterations of class, race, religion, culture, sexuality, and gender braided into campus rituals and student life. Moving beyond a binary of objectification versus empowerment, Tice offers a nuanced analysis of the making of idealized collegiate masculinities and femininities, and the stylization of higher education itself."

For more information on the book, visit the publisher's official website. A podcast with Tice also is available on the Arts & Sciences website.