Women's History Month March 2006 Celebrating 25 Years of Women's Studies at NIU: Re-Imagining Sisterhood

 

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 2006, “Celebrating 25 Years of Women’s Studies at NIU: Re-Imagining Sisterhood,” offers us an opportunity to reconsider sisterhood, a theme that was popular when our program began. Our programs and activities will examine the many faces and forms of sisterhood, including coalitions, collaborations and constellations of diverse women. 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.

Tuesday, February 28
4:30 p.m. Women’s History Month Essay & Poster Contest Winners Recognition. Syndicated talk-show hosts Sally Higginson and Betsy Bring will host the recognition ceremony. Sponsors: Women’s Studies and University Bookstore. Reavis Hall, Room 211.

Wednesday, March 1
All day. “This is What a Feminist Looks Like” Sticker Day. Stop by Reavis 103 to pick up a sticker and wear it with pride! Stickers are available after February 14, 2006.

3:00-5:00 p.m. “Lady in Red & Black: Ode to Northern Illinois University.” Barbara Cole Peters, private collector of women’s twentieth-century fashions, will display a selection of red and black garments. The exhibit will be set in the context of what NIU women were doing and wearing during this period. Nancy Jacobs will discuss how the situation for women in DeKalb has changed over the past seven decades. Reservations are required. Call (815) 753-1038. Space is limited. Sponsors: Office of the President and Women’s Studies. President’s Residence, DeKalb.

5:00-7:00 p.m. Women’s History Month Annual Art Exhibit 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 1-29. Sponsors: DeKalb Area Women’s Center, School of Art, Women’s Studies. DeKalb Area Women’s Center, 1021 State Street, DeKalb.

Thursday, March 2
12:00 p.m. "Celebrating Sisterhood Through Dance." Faculty and students will perform a variety of dances, choreographed by NIU faculty and students. Sponsor: Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education. Anderson Hall, Room 135.

4:30-6:00 p.m. “Women & Literature Panel Series: Part 1.” Organized by Caresse John & Karley Adney, this will be the first of three thematically organized panels, which will focus on women in literature. Sponsors: English Department, Women's Studies. Reavis 211.

Friday-Sunday, March 3-5
4:00 p.m. Friday & Satruday, 2:00 p.m. Sunday, “The Vagina Monologues.” Women’s Alliance is sponsoring this annual theater performance. Sponsor: Women's Alliance. The House, 263 E. Lincoln Highway, DeKalb.

Monday, March 6
3:30 p.m. “Building Bonds of Sisterhood: Panel Discussion.” Sherry Fang, Associate Professor with FCNS; Sylvia Fuentes, Director of the Latino/a Resource Center, and Laverne Gyant, Director of the Center for Black Studies, will participate in a panel discussion on the ways that bonds of sisterhood can be forged across racial and ethnic lines. Sponsor: Women's Studies Program, Center for Black Studies. Center for Black Studies.

Tuesday, March 7
7:00 p.m. “Middle Eastern Feminism: The Challenges of Islamism, Imperialism, and Authoritarian States.” Dr. Valentine Moghadam, Chief, Gender Equality and Development, Social & Human Sciences Sector, UNESCO, will focus specifically on feminism in the Middle East. For more information about Dr. Moghadam, visit her web page on the UNESCO website. Sponsors: Women’s Studies; Departments of Literacy Education, History, Economics, Sociology; Center for Southeast Asian Studies, School of Law, and Graduate Colloquium Committee. Holmes Student Center, Heritage Room. (Tentative)

Wednesday, March 8
10:00 a.m. “Sisterhood and Strange Bedfellows: Feminisms in an Age of Empire.” Dr. Valentine Moghadam, Chief, Gender Equality & Development, Social & Human Sciences Sector, UNESCO, examines the challenges facing feminists today. Specifically, she will focus on how feminists create and maintain bonds of sisterhood across racial and ethnic lines in an era of capitalist globalization. For more information about Dr. Moghadam, visit her web page on the UNESCO website. Sponsors: Women’s Studies; Departments of Literacy Education, History, Economics, Sociology; Center for Southeast Asian Studies, School of Law, and Graduate Colloquium Committee. Holmes Student Center, Heritage Room. (Tentative)

11:30 a.m. International Women’s Day Luncheon (tentative). Dr. Valentine Moghadam, Chief, Gender Equality & Development, Social & Human Sciences Sector, UNESCO, will talk about feminism, legal reform, and women’s empowerment in the Middle East. Sponsors: Women’s Resource Center and Presidential Commission on the Status of Women (possibly more to come). Adams Hall, Chandelier Room.

Thursday, March 9
4:30-6:00 p.m. “Women & Literature Panel Series: Part 2.” Organized by Caresse John & Karley Adney, this will be the second of three thematically organized panels, which will focus on women in literature. Sponsors: English Department, Women's Studies. Reavis 211.

Tuesday, March 21
4:00 p.m. “Mapping Collective Memory in Chicana Literature: The Politics of Belonging.” Kelli Lyon Johnson, Assistant Professor of English, Miami University-Hamilton, will discuss the way in which Latina authors recover a sense of belonging and sisterhood in their literature through collective memory. For more information on Dr. Johnson, visit her website. Sponsors: Women’s Studies, English Graduate Student Association, Latino & Latin American Studies, Foreign Languages & Literature, Graduate Colloquium Committee. Holmes Student Center, Heritage Room. (Tentative)

Wednesday, March 22
10:00 a.m. “Finding the Way Home: The Map in Native American Women’s Writing.” Kelli Lyon Johnson, Assistant Professor of English, Miami University-Hamilton, will address issues of belonging, particularly in regard to geography and the environment in Native American women’s literature. For more information on Dr. Johnson, visit her website. Sponsors: Women’s Studies, English Graduate Student Association, Latino & Latin American Studies, Foreign Languages & Literature, Graduate Colloquium Committee. Reavis Hall, Room 211. (Tentative)

Thursday, March 23
4:30-6:00 p.m. “Women & Literature Panel Series: Part 3.” Organized by Caresse John & Karley Adney, this will be the last of three thematically organized panels, which will focus on women in literature. Sponsors: English Department, Women's Studies. Reavis 211.

7:00 p.m. “Voices Rising Monologues.” Written by Sandra Karolus, an undergraduate English student, the monologues focus on five women—a Haitian, Kenyan, Afghani, Indian, and Native American—and the views that each woman has on an issue that is significant in her culture. Location: TBA.

Friday, March 24
8:00 p.m. “Women Composers Recital.” Alumni and current members of Sigma Alpha Iota, Beta Mu chapter, will perform pieces composed by women composers. Biographical information about the composers will be provided and discussed. Sponsors: Sigma Alpha Iota- Woman's Professional Music Fraternity, Music Department. Music Building, Recital Hall.

Sunday, March 26
3:00-5:00 p.m. Women’s History Month Herstorical Tea. Call (815) 758-1351 for information. Sponsors: DeKalb Area Women’s Center and Women’s Studies Program. Admission fee. DeKalb Area Women’s Center, 1021 State Street, DeKalb.

Monday, March 27
1:00 p.m. “Gendering the Wage Gap: Panel Discussion.” Rosemary Feurer, Associate Professor of History; Virginia Wilcox-Gök, Associate Professor of Economics; and Catherine Harned, Senior Research Associate with the Regional Development Institute, will participate in a panel discussion on the wage gap. Sponsor: Women's Studies Program. Reavis Hall, Room 211.

Tuesday, March 28
7:00 p.m. "Vagina Seminar: Re-Imagining Women's Bodies." What you always wanted to know but were afraid to ask. Sponsors: Women's Alliance and Women's Studies. Location: T.B.A.

Thursday, March 30
7 :00 p.m. “Triple Goddess.” A staged reading of Sara Keely McGuire’s play followed by a discussion led by the playwright. Sponsors: Women’s Studies Program and the Student Association. Holmes Student Center, Diversions Lounge.

Friday, March 31
8:00 p.m. "Little Women" School of Music Opera Workship performance of Mark Adamo's musical "Little Women." Music director, Brett Mitchell; stage director, James Tucker. There is an admission charge. Call (815) 753-1841 or 753-1546. Sponsor: School of Music. Music Building, Concert Hall.

Saturday, April 1
T.B.A. 14th Annual Midwestern Conference on Literature, Language and Media (MCLLM). Susan Gubar, Distinguished Professor of English, Indiana University, Bloomington, gives the keynote presentation at the MCLLM. For more information on the conference, visit the MCLLM website. Sponsor: Department of English. Location: T.B.A.

T.B.A.
"Networking Luncheon." All NIU women faculty, staff and students are invited to come together over lunch. For more information, call the Women's Resource Center at (815) 753-0320. Sponosrs: NIU Presidential Commission on the Status of Women and the Women's Resource Center.

Also watch for the “Vagina Seminar: Re-imaging Women’s Bodies,” an annual event, with more information to come. Sponsored by Women’s Alliance.

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Graphic Artist: Andrew Williams

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.