Everyone is invited to join the Northern Illinois University Women’s Studies Program and the numerous other sponsors listed below for Women’s History Month! Our theme for 2005, Body Waves, explores the growing debate between different generations, or waves, of women about the relationship between body display and feminism. All events are open to the public and (unless otherwise noted) are free. Sign language interpreters will be provided upon request; call (815)753-6515 (one week’s notice is preferred). For further information, call the Women’s Studies Program at (815)753-1038, or visit http://womenshistorymonth.niu.edu.

Download the calendar in Word.

Download the poster in Adobe (larger file).

February 24-27, March 2-6
“Far Away.” The NIU Theatre Department presents a play about a girl who visits her eccentric aunt on a mysterious farm. For more information on tickets and show times, visit: http://www.niu.edu/theatre/season2004/season.htm.

Tuesday, March 1
7:00 p.m. “Beyond Charlie's Angels: The New World of the Action Heroine.” Sherrie Inness, Professor of Composition and Rhetoric and American Literature at Miami University of Ohio, shows how tough women are challenging traditional roles for females and some ways these roles are contained. Sponsors: Department of Teaching and Learning, University Libraries, Women’s Studies, and Graduate Colloquium Committee. Holmes Student Center, Heritage Room.

Wednesday, March 2
10:00 a.m. “The Enchantment of Mixing-Spoons: Cookbooks for Girls and Boys.” Sherrie Inness, Professor of Composition and Rhetoric and American Literature at Miami University of Ohio, argues that juvenile cookbooks do more than teach how to grill a steak or bake a cake; they demonstrate to boys and girls the attitudes society expects them to adopt toward cooking. Sponsors: Department of Teaching and Learning, University Libraries, Women’s Studies, and Graduate Colloquium Committee. Founders Memorial Library, Staff Lounge, Lower Level.

4:30-6:30 p.m. Women’s History Month Art Show Opening Reception. Group exhibit by NIU School of Art women faculty and graduate students. Call (815)758-1351 for gallery hours. The show runs from March 1 to 30. Sponsors: DeKalb Area Women’s Center, School of Art, Women’s Studies, and Museum Studies. DeKalb Area Women’s Center, 1021 State Street, DeKalb.

Thursday, March 3
4:30 p.m. “100 Years of Evening Dresses: A 20th-Century Journey of Body Adornment and Body Display.” Barbara Cole Peters, private collector of women’s twentieth-century fashions, will showcase several evening dresses. Peters will demonstrate how they provide an insight into 20th century concepts of beauty, style, and self-expression while illustrating major changes in social attitudes and tastes. Reservations are required. Call (815)753-1038. Space is limited. Sponsors: Office of the President and Women’s Studies. President’s Residence, DeKalb.

Tuesday, March 8
12:15 “I, Doll.” A satirical documentary about the most popular doll in America, Barbie. Lois Self, Associate Professor and Chair of Communication, will lead a discussion afterward. Bring a brown bag lunch. Sponsor: Women’s Studies. Reavis Hall, Room 211.

4:30 p.m. “Shakespeare’s Sisters: Panel Series. Part 1.” Karley Adney, Caresse John, and Kelley Wezner, graduate students in NIU’s English Department, will discuss women and women’s writing during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Panel moderated by Billy Clem. Sponsor: Department of English. Reavis Hall, Room 211.

Wednesday, March 9
11:30 a.m. International Women’s Day Luncheon. “Here to Tell a Story: Surviving as a Woman.” Gulsat Aygen, Assistant Professor of English, shares her personal history in the social and political contexts of Turkey and the U.S. Sponsors: Women’s Resource Center and Presidential Commission on the Status of Women. $8.00 fee for lunch. Adams Hall, Chandelier Room.

Friday, March 11
“This is What a Feminist Looks Like” Sticker Day. Stop by Reavis 103 to pick up a sticker and wear it today with pride! Stickers are available after March 1.

Sunday, March 20
3:00-5:00 p.m. Women’s History Month Herstorical Tea. Call (815)758-1351 for information. Sponsor: DeKalb Area Women’s Center. Admission fee. DeKalb Area Women’s Center, 1021 State Street, DeKalb.

Tuesday, March 22
4:30 p.m. “Shakespeare’s Sisters: Panel Series. Part 2.” Cortney Barko, Valerie Guyant, and Lise Schlosser, graduate students in NIU’s English Department, will discuss women and women’s writing during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Panel moderated by Kristy Bowers. Sponsor: Department of English. Reavis Hall, Room 211.

7:00 p.m. “The Body as a Vehicle for the Expression of Emotion and Self-Identity.” NIU counselors Cassandra Downs, Melanie Hetzel, and Anne Kubal will participate in a panel discussion on the multiple ways women use their bodies for expression, through such activities as eating patterns, deliberate self-harm, cosmetic surgery, tattooing, and body piercing. Sponsor: Counseling and Student Development Center. Holmes Student Center, Room 505.

Wednesday, March 23
12:00 p.m. “Privilege and Power.” The panel discussion will highlight implications of privilege and access for women in higher education arena. Sponsor: Human Resources. Human Resources, AADR training rooms.

4:00 p.m. “Trying Out For Womanhood: The Cheerleader as the Embodiment of the Ideal Girl.” Natalie Guice Adams, Associate Professor, the University of Alabama, discusses how cheerleaders are both vilified and glorified, how cheerleading enacts both wholesome and erotic facets of American femininity, and how cheerleading reflects our shifting beliefs about sports and gender. Sponsors: Women’s Studies and Graduate Colloquium Committee. Holmes Student Center, Heritage Room.

Thursday, March 24
11:00 a.m. “Cheerleaders, Tomboys, and Girlie Girls: Athleticism and Girlhood in the 21st Century.” Natalie Guice Adams, Associate Professor, the University of Alabama discusses how today's girl must negotiate the expectation that she is both a tomboy—assertive and athletic—and a girlie girl—attractive, slim, and heterosexual. Sponsors: Women’s Studies and Graduate Colloquium Committee. Holmes Student Center, Heritage Room.

Monday, March 28
3:30 p.m. “What Does a Young Feminist Look Like?” A diverse group of NIU female students answer questions on what appearance and body display mean to them as young feminists. Sponsor: Women’s Studies. Reavis Hall, Room 211.

4:30 p.m. Women’s History Month Essay Contest Winners Recognition. Sponsors: Women’s Studies and University Bookstore. Reavis Hall, Room 211.

Tuesday, March 29
12:00 p.m. “Celebrating Women Through Dance.” Faculty and students will perform a variety of dance forms, from Caribbean to Latin to modern ballet. Sponsor: Department of Kinesiology. Atgeld Hall, Auditorium.

4:30 p.m. “Gender in Hispanic Modernism.” Lou Charnon-Deutsch, State University of New York at Stony Brook, will speak about gender representation at the turn of the twentieth century in Hispanic Modernist literature. Sponsors: Center for Latino and Latin American Studies, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Women's Studies, and Graduate Colloquium Committee. Watson Hall, Room 110.

4:30 p.m. “Shakespeare’s Sisters: Panel Series. Part 3.” Caroline Conley, Elena Haliczer, and Dieter Zeschke, graduate students in NIU’s English Department, will discuss women and women’s writing during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Panel moderated by Kathy Wright. Sponsor: Department of English. Reavis Hall, Room 211.

Wednesday, March 30
6:00 p.m. “The Good Body.” An informal reading of Eve Ensler’s new play followed by a discussion with Dr. Alexandra Bennett, NIU Assistant Professor of English. Voluntary donations will be collected for a local women’s shelter. Sponsors: Women’s Studies and the Student Association. Holmes Student Center, Diversions Lounge.

6:00 p.m. "Lessons Not Learned from the Spanish-American War." Lou Charnon-Deutsch, State University of New York at Stony Brook, will argue that political cartoons equate masculinity with America’s “humanitarianism” and use race to demonize opposing governments, both in the Spanish-American war and in the current war in Iraq. Sponsors: Center for Latino and Latin American Studies, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Women's Studies, and Graduate Colloquium Committee. Center for Latino and Latin American Studies.

Friday, April 1
7:00 p.m. "Feminist History and the Future of Film Studies." Lauren Rabinovitz, Chair of the American Studies Department and Professor of Cinema, the University of Iowa, gives the keynote presentation at the Midwestern Conference on Literature, Language, and the Media. Sponsors: Department of English, Department of Communication, Graduate Colloquium Committee, and Women’s Studies. Gabel Hall, Cavan Auditorium.

Sunday, April 10
2:00 p.m. Bread and Roses 10th Anniversary Concert Celebration. A local women’s chorus will perform music from its past and present repertoires, featuring several new pieces. Admission is free, optional donations to Family Service Agency. United Methodist Church, 321 Oak Street, DeKalb.

Also watch for these annual events, with more information to come: “The Vagina Monologues” and “Vagina Seminar: Re-imaging Women’s Bodies.” Sponsored by Women’s Alliance.

---

Graphic Artist: Anna Tovello

Poster Sponsor: NIU Presidential Commission on the Status of Women.

Northern Illinois University is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, marital status, national origin, disability, or status as a disabled or Vietnam-era veteran. The Constitution and Bylaws of Northern Illinois University afford equal treatment regardless of political views or affiliation, and sexual orientation.