Women's
History Month goes international
YPSILANTI — Eastern Michigan
University goes international with this year’s
Women’s History Month (WHM) celebration.
The schedule of movies, lectures, activities and
discussions will highlight the trials and successes
of women’s rights movements cross-culturally.
“EMU’s
Women’s and Gender Studies (WGST) program
is pleased to serve as the organizing point for
our campus month-long celebration of Women’s
History Month” said Carol Haddad, interim
director of the WGST program. “Thanks to
the vision and dedication of our faculty and graduate
student planning committee, and to the many faculty,
students, and artists who are conducting activities,
we have an exciting, diverse array of events this
year.”
Documentary
filmmaker Kum-Kum Bhavnani is the Women’s
History Month keynote speaker. Bhavnani is a
professor of sociology at the University of
California-Santa Barbara.
Her
research has covered racism, feminism, women in
prison and development studies—focusing
mostly on Third World countries.
Bhavnani
will show and discuss her award-winning film, “The
Shape of Water,” Thursday, March
8, 7-9 p.m., Student Center Auditorium.
The
film depicts the grassroots social change work
of women activists around the world. The women
in her movie are abandoning female genital mutilation
(Senegal); tapping for rubber to protect the rainforest
(Brazil); protecting the biodiversity of the planet
(India); and opposing military occupations (Jerusalem).
Bhavnani’s
presentation exemplifies the theme of this year’s
WHM celebration: “The Commonality of Difference:
Women’s Lives in the Global Community.”
“We
have chosen this theme in order to draw attention
to women’s experiences across cultures and
nations, at a time when the world is in great
need of dialogue and common purpose,” said
Haddad. “We are particularly grateful for
the strong support received from various campus
offices, colleges, departments and other co-sponsors.”
Other Women’s History Month events
include:
- Show off your artistic side in the WHM
2007 Poster Contest, now through
March 26. Participants will create a poster
related to this year’s WHM theme. Various
artistic media may be used (paint, ink, mixed
media, computer graphics, etc.) to create
a poster between 11”x17” and 18”x24.” Contestants
need to submit a hard copy of the poster to
be shown in a gallery setting. The first place
winner’s poster will be duplicated and
sold for WGST fundraising purposes. All levels
of artistry are welcome. For more information
and specific contest guidelines contact Katherine
Anderson at kander23@emich.edu or
stop by 714 Pray-Harrold.
- The Women’s and Gender Studies Student
Association (WGSSA) will show popular cultural
films that introduce main characters from varied
cultural backgrounds. A moderator-led discussion
of feminist themes shown in the film will follow
to enhance the viewing experience. “Bend
it Like Beckham” will be shown
Monday, March 5, 6-8 p.m., room 300, Halle Library. “Real
Women Have Curves” will be shown
Monday, March 19, 6-8 p.m., Halle Library Auditorium.
- “Feminism in Bangladesh,” a
report of a conversation with the director of
the women’s and gender studies program
at Dhaka University in Bangladesh, will be presented
Tuesday, March 6, 11 a.m.-noon, room 330, Student
Center. The report will be followed by a discussion
of how the experiences of the EMU WGST program
compares with the program at Dhaka, and the
commonality and differences between feminists
involved with each of the programs.
- Observant Jewish and Muslim women will share
differences and commonalities of their respective
religious cultures at “Under One
Roof: Jewish and Muslim Women Coming Together,” Tuesday,
March 6, 7-9 p.m., room 310-B, Student Center.
The goal of the program is to put aside political
differences and come together under the universal
feeling of being minority women in a culture
that does not always promote modesty. EMU Hillel
and the EMU Muslim Student Association sponsor
this event.
- The EMU Library faculty will host a series
of films set in foreign countries on the theme
of women and courage. The following movies are
scheduled: “Signs of Our Time:
The Story of Archaeologist Marija Gimbutas,” Tuesday,
March 6; “Whale Rider,” Tuesday,
March 20; and “Sisters in Law,” Tuesday,
March 27. All films will be 4-6 p.m. in 300
Halle Library.
- “Women Making a Difference:
Gender and the Millennium Development Goals” will
discuss women’s roles in global efforts
to reduce poverty and promote development
worldwide, Wednesday, March 7, 10-11 a.m.,
Halle Library Auditorium. The workshop will
focus on women as global partners in the context
of the Millennium Development Goals, which
form a blueprint agreed to by all of the world’s
countries and leading development institutions.
- A cross-cultural luncheon, entitled “Women’s
Histories and Challenges Around the World,” is
scheduled Thursday, March 8, noon-1:30 p.m.,
room 301, Porter Building. The luncheon will
feature a panel discussion by women from a
broad range of countries who will describe
the challenges facing women in their respective
homelands, and the organizations and methods
women use to overcome those challenges. The
emphasis will be on identifying commonality
and differences in women’s experiences
and feminist movements cross-nationally.
- Linda S. Anderson, owner of Sew Elegant Quilt
Shoppe, will show her collection of historical
quilts, discuss the history of women’s
artistic expressions via quilting, and provide
machine and hand sewing lessons at “WHM
Quilt 2007: Piecing Together Identity.” Participants
will receive a pre-cut piece of fabric on which
they can paint, glue or stitch representations
of themselves. All blocks will be quilted together
to create a quilt that is a diverse expression
of what it means to be a woman. Stop by Thursday,
March 8, 1:30-4 p.m., room 330, Student Center;
Monday, March 12, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Student Center
Lobby; or Tuesday, March 13, 1-4 p.m., room
300, Student Center.
- A 40-year retrospective of Ruth Weisberg’s
work will be shown at the University
Art Gallery March 12-April 27. Weisberg was
one of the first American artists to take
a self-consciously feminist approach to art.
A Jewish artist, her work treats such subjects
as the Holocaust and Jewish rituals in an
attempt to build cross-cultural understanding
with non-Jewish viewers. The internationally
recognized painter/printmaker will visit EMU
Monday, March 12, for a reception, 5-7 p.m.,
and a lecture, 7 p.m., in the Student Center
Auditorium.
- “Black Women on the Front: Michigan
Welfare Rights” presents the
work of Sylvia Ordeino and Karen Schaumann-Beltran,
who collected oral histories from activists
around Michigan. Their video on the Welfare
Rights Movement in Michigan will be shown
Thursday, March 15, 2-3:15 p.m., 204 Pray-Harrold.
Viewers will glimpse the struggle over a 40-year
time span.
- “Crossing Boundaries in the
Fight for Civil Rights” includes
the 75-minute film, “Home of the Brave” and
a discussion Thursday, March 15, 6:30-9 p.m.,
Halle Library Auditorium. The film tells the
story of Viola Liuzzo, the only white woman
murdered in the civil rights movement. The
39-year-old mother from Detroit was killed
in 1965 after participating in the third Voting
Rights March, from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.
Professor Haddad will moderate a discussion
on how gender and racial stereotypes discredited
her contribution to social justice, and the
implications for today. Professor Solange
Simoes will present information on how the
U.S. civil rights movement has inspired liberation
movements in Brazil and other countries. Representatives
from student organizations are invited to
contribute to the panel discussion.
- The film, “The Bandit Queen,” will
be shown Friday, March 16, 2-5 p.m., Halle Library
Auditorium. A roundtable discussion on the theme
of the woman as a warrior (the participation
of women in armed conflict) will follow.
- “Zeitouna,” a
film documenting the work of a local Arab-Jewish
women’s dialogue group of the same name,
will premiere at the Michigan Theater in Ann
Arbor, Sunday, March 18, 7 p.m. The group is
devoted to cross-cultural understanding and
common work for peace and justice at home and
abroad.
- In “The Good, Bad, and Ugly:
Women’s Physical Education and Athletics
Before Title IX,” a panel of
women who worked at EMU in women’s physical
education and/or athletics before 1972 will
tell their personal stories Tuesday, March
20, 9:30-10:45 a.m., room 330, Student Center.
Topics discussed will include: program description
and “specialness;” relationship
of women’s and men’s physical
education and sports; how resources were allocated;
how decisions were made; opportunities and
challenges; and disappointments and high points.
The panel will include a current women’s
sports official and four-to-six former EMU
women in physical education or athletics.
- “Sporting Women in the Middle
East” will highlight the gains/losses
that women in the Middle East have experienced.
It also will compare some of these gains and
losses to what women in the U.S. have experienced.
This lecture is scheduled Wednesday, March
21, 1-3 p.m., room 310-A, Student Center,
- “The Concept of Sexual Harassment
in Turkey” will explore the
influence of the United Nations and the European
Union on the development of sexual harassment
law in Turkey. This lecture is scheduled Thursday,
March 22, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., room 302, Halle
Library.
- A multi-ethnic cast of Muslim women explore
the “mysterious” lives behind the
veil through the dramatic performance of poems,
narratives and ensemble pieces in “Unveiled:
Stories from the lives of Muslim Women,” Thursday,
March 22, 8-9:30 p.m., Student Center Auditorium.
- A round table dialogue, entitled, “Technology
Degrees: Expectations & Challenges in
Global Job Market,” will feature
female students engaged in technology-related
educational programs, Thursday, March 29,
11 a.m.-noon, room 320, Student Center. The
discussion will focus on expectations and
challenges facing those seeking to enter the
global job market in technology fields.
For
more information about Women’s History Month,
or any of these events, contact the EMU Women’s
and Gender Studies Program, 487-1177, or visit
www.emich.edu/wstudies.
Complete information on Women's History Month
is here: www.emich.edu/wstudies/whmonth.html.
Eastern Michigan University is a public, comprehensive
university that offers programs in the arts, sciences and professions.
EMU prepares students with the intellectual skills and practical experiences
to succeed in their career and lives, and to be better citizens.
Editor's Note: Looking for an expert source for a story? Check out
EMU's Eastern Experts online at www.emich.edu/univcomm/easternexperts.
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