Women’s History Month 2013

“Women Inspiring Transformation”

This year, Women’s History Month will focus on the transformations that women have made throughout history. Women have worked hard to change and challenge various institutions in order to create possibilities for women of the future. Women have set the bar high for future generations and laid a foundation for each and every woman to become a leader in any field or profession she chooses. Please join the Women’s History Month Planning Committee and the James Farmer Multicultural Center as we celebrate women and their contributions to society.

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A Liberal, Modern Movement towards Greater Sexual Freedom: Rethinking Sexuality in the 1950’s U.S.
March 12
7:30 pm; Combs Hall, Room 139

Dr. Joanne Meyerowitz is Professor of History and American Studies at Yale University, and the author of Women Adrift: Independent Wage Earners in Chicago, 1880-1930 and How Sex Changed: A History of Transsexuality in the United States.

Sponsored by the Women’s and Gender Studies Program (WGST), the Department of History and American Studies, and CARC.

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Women’s Research Forum
March 13
4 pm; Red Room, Woodard Campus Center

Please join UMW students as they showcase their undergraduate research in women’s studies. Cash prizes will be awarded to winners. Contact Professor Cooperman at rcooperm@umw.edu for more information regarding submitting an entry.

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Looking Almost Like A Man: Edna Ferber’s Heroines
March 14
7 pm; Lee Hall, Room 411

A scholar of Jewish representations in southern and American literature and culture, Eliza McGraw assesses how religion and gender impacted the fiction of Edna Ferber, including such twentieth-century best sellers as So Big, Show Boat, and Giant.

Sponsored by the Department of Modern Foreign Languages (MDFL) and WGST.

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The Evolving Roles of Muslim Women: Past and Present  **Cancelled**
March 18
6 pm; Lee Hall, room 412

Sister Nicole Correri, who converted to Islam in 1994, strives to bring to her audience a deeper understanding of Islam and a practical, meaningful connection to one’s spiritual life.

Sponsored by the Citizenship for Diversity Leadership Award and the Office of Student Life.

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America’s Obsession with Body Image
March 18
5 pm; Meeting Room #1, Woodard Campus Center

A roundtable discussion will focus on American’s views on body image and the “perfect” body pursuit within the population, especially among college-age women.

Sponsored by the Black Student Association.

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Women’s History Month Keynote and Cultural Awareness Series Speaker: Camille Cooper
March 19
7 pm; Great Hall, Woodard Campus Center

Women’s History Month Keynote and Cultural Awareness Series Speaker: Camille Cooper
March 19
7 pm; Great Hall, Woodard Campus Center

Camille Cooper worked as a professional actress for more than 14 years, appearing in five motion pictures, more than 10 television series, and countless print and broadcast commercials. The current Director of Legislative Affairs for PROTECT, the most powerful child protection lobby in Washington DC, Cooper delivers an engaging and often hilarious account of our culture’s obsession with male and female beauty ideals.

Sponsored by CARC.

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The Magic and Real Imaginary of Afro Cuban Female Goddesses (Orishas)
March 20
6 pm; Lee Hall, Room 412

In the Afro-Caribbean Yoruba traditions the female goddesses (Orishas) have an enormous importance in myths, legends, and on the daily ritual of believers. This event will present the characteristics of the main female goddesses in the Afro-Cuban culture by professor and artist Yesenia Fernandez Selier.

Sponsored by MDFL.

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Bilingual Reading of the Poetry of Puerto Rican Rosario Ferré
March 20
5 pm; Combs Hall, Room 139

Join professors Connie Smith and Ana Chichester as they present a series of bilingual readings of poet, Rosario Ferré . Rosario Ferré is a strong voice for women in her country and ours on political and social issues.

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Film and discussion: Call + Response
March 21
6 pm; Lee Hall, Room 411

Call + Response is a 2008 documentary film to increase awareness and support human rights activism against human trafficking and slavery on a community level. Special Agent David Rogers, FBI , Civil Rights Unit, Human Trafficking Program Manager, Ms. Sara Pomeroy, Founder and Director of the Richmond Justice Initiative, and Ms. Kate Jordan, Executive Director of Taskforce Shepherd and Justice Advocate for International Justice Mission, will facilitate a discussion after the viewing of the film.

Co-sponsored by the SGA Diversity Unity Coordinating Committee, Office of Student Life, James Farmer Multicultural Center, WGST Program, and Women of Color.

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Kyla Lacey, Poet
March 22
7:30 pm; The Underground, Lee Hall

She found her niche in the male-dominated world of spoken word by speaking as one of the few voices of women. She is primarily a poet, but infuses comedy into her showcase of her real-life situations.

Sponsored by Student Activities and Engagement.

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Passover Seder
March 26
6 pm; Faculty/Staff Dining Room, Seacobeck Hall

Cost: student=1 swipe + $2 flex; General admission: $6 (registration required)

Passover is the Jewish celebratory feast that honors the emancipation of Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. Traditionally, Jewish families gather on the first few nights of Passover for dinner and the Seder ritual, in which a family or community retells the story of the liberation.

To attend, please contact the James Farmer Multicultural Center.

Co-sponsored by the Jewish Student Association.

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Social Justice Teach-In: Domestic Violence
March 26
3:30 pm; Red Room, Woodard Campus Center

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Hidden Treasures: Family Photography and the Japanese-Canadian Interment **Canceled**
March 27
7 pm; Lee Hall, Room 411

Namiko Kunimoto, assistant professor of art at American University, focuses her research on gender and nation in 1950s Japanese art. Her recent works include “Traveler-as–lama Photography and the Fantasy of Transformation in Tibet”, published in TransAsia Photography Review, and “The Hero and Concrete Violence and Intimate Archives: Japanese-Canadian Family Photography” in the Journal of Art History.

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Muslim Women As Leaders: Changing Perceptions
March 28
5 pm; Lee Hall, Room 411

The Islamic Student Association will host a student-led panel discussion about Muslim women in power all over the world. Come learn about Muslim women who hold leadership positions in government, businesses, organizations and companies.

Sponsored by the Islamic Student Association.

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Vagina Monologues
March 29 & 30
8 pm; Great Hall, Woodard Campus Center

Cost: $3 in advance; $5 at the door

Email feministsunitedumw@gmail.com

The 10th annual UMW production of The Vagina Monologues, written by Eve Ensler, uses the arts to explore women’s issues of sex, love, rape, abuse, relationships, menstruation, and childbirth. By promoting inner beauty and self-worth, The Vagina Monologues celebrates the true essence of the vagina, femininity, and the ability to speak out against the pressures of society.

Sponsored by Feminists United on Campus.

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