Women’s History Celebration 2008 at UMaine: ‘Women Speaking Truth to Power’

Contact: Angela Hart, 581-1228

ORONO — The University of Maine Women in the Curriculum and Women’s Studies Program has announced a slate of 17 talks, films and performances to commemorate Women’s History Month this month.

All events in the program, “Women’s History Celebration 2008: Women Speaking Truth to Power,” are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.

The program is as follows:

Tuesday, March 18

Suffragists, Deputy Husbands and Asylum Inmates

A panel of history doctoral students will present their research including “The True Case Concerning Said Thomas Choat: Rape, Bribery and Justice in Essex County” by Abigail Chandler, “‘Mr. Editor, Have We Digressed?’: John Neal and the 1870 Woman Suffrage Debate” by Shannon Risk, and “‘Madness’ in Quebec Women, 1890-1940: An Analysis of Women’s Ambivalence Toward Culturally Prescribed Roles” by Mary Okin.

12:15 p.m., Bangor Room, Memorial Union

Wednesday, March 19

Women of Color: The UMaine Experience

(a rescheduled WIC lunch presentation)

Karina Fernandez, master’s student in higher education; Laila Sholtz-Ames, undergraduate in journalism; Mae Walters, undergraduate in liberal studies; Elana Mugdan, undergraduate in theatre and new media; (Co-sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Programs).

12:15 p.m., 101 Fernald Hall

The Women’s Movement against Sexual Harassment

In a keynote address, Carrie N. Baker, activist, lawyer and visiting assistant professor of women and gender studies at Smith College, will give a slide lecture on her recently published book of the above title, which examines how a diverse grassroots social movement placed sexual harassment on the public agenda in the 1970s and 1980s.

3:15 p.m., University Club, Fogler Library

“Slim Hopes”

and “What a Girl Wants” (films/discussion)

Today’s media provide a narrow definition of who women and girls are and what they can do. Two short films take an unflinching look at female bodies in the media and include startling, brutally honest interviews with girls about the images they see every day; (Sponsored by the Women’s Resource Center, Safe Campus Project, Hardy Girls/Healthy Women, and Boys to Men).

7 p.m., 101 Neville Hall

Thursday, March 20

Suffering for Beauty: Women, Technology and Body Care in American History

Rebecca Herzig, associate professor of women and gender studies at Bates College and author of Suffering for Science: Reason and Sacrifice in Modern America, will speak on the relationship between technology and freedom in the U. S., focusing on the invention and rapid spread of new forms of women’s body care at the turn of the 21st Century; (Part of the History Department Colloquium Series).

3:15 p.m., Bangor Room, Memorial Union

New Writers Series

Poets Jennifer Moxley and Elena Rivers will read their work

Moxley, UMaine assistant professor of English, is the author of several books of poetry. Her poem “Behind the Orbits” was included in The Best American Poetry 2002. Rivera’s most recently published collections include Mistakes, Accidents and the Want of Liberty (2006) and Suggestions at Every Turn (2005); (Sponsored by the English Department and the National Poetry Foundation in collaboration with the Honors College).

4:30 p.m., Soderberg Auditorium, Jenness Hall

Monday, March 24

Toxic Action: Maine Women Speaking Truth to Power

Toxic waste activists Joanne Twomey, mayor of Biddeford, Hillary Lister, president of Citizens Against Pollution in Town, and Debbie Gibbs, founding member We, the People will talk about the challenges they face, the actions they have taken and the vision they have for a cleaner Maine environment; (Sponsored by the Maine Studies Program).

12:15 p.m., Coe Room, Memorial Union

Tuesday, March 25

“I Was a Great Deal Alarmed”: Women Experiencing Illness and Caring for the Sick in the Mid-Nineteenth Century South

Marli Weiner, Adelaide C. and Alan L. Bird Professor of History, will draw from her research on the different ways that people experienced and dealt with illness in the antebellum South.

12:15 p.m., Bangor Room, Memorial Union

“Tough Guise: Violence, Media and the Crisis of Masculinity”

(film/discussion)

Men in pop culture are shown as aggressive, dominating and in control. Jackson Katz, former all-star football player, examines the relationship between what it means to “be a man” in American culture and the widespread violence in our society; (Sponsored by the Women’s Resource Center, Hardy Girls/Healthy Women, Safe Campus Project, and Boys to Men).

7 p.m., 101 Neville Hall

Wednesday, March 26

Is there a Jewish Mother in Jewish Folktales?

Dan Ben Amos, professor of folklore and of Asian and Middle Eastern studies, University of Pennsylvania, is the editor of The Folklore Series at Indiana University Press and senior editor of the award-winning Mimekor Yisrael: Folktales of Israel; (Sponsored by the Maine Folklife Center).

12:15 p.m., Bangor Room, Memorial Union

Red Hope: Race, Power and Decolonization through My Waponahki Lens

Rebecca Sockbeson of the Penobscot Nation and Ph.D. candidate at the University of Alberta, will share her beliefs and understandings as a Waponahki woman engaging with indigenous scholarship and lived Waponahki experiences.

3:15 p.m., Multipurpose Room, Memorial Union

“It’s Not That Simple”

(Readers’ Theatre)

A mixed genre performance piece built around the subject of abuse, with dance, poetry, and dramatic scenes. Donations will be accepted to benefit Spruce Run Association and Rape Response Services; (Organized by the Safe Campus Project and the School of Performing Arts).

7:30 p.m., Minsky Recital Hall

Thursday, March 27

Book Exhibit

New books and periodicals concerned with Women’s Studies, feminism and all aspects of women’s lives will be on display. Publishers’ catalogs and order forms for many of these items will also be available; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 101 Fernald Hall (Exhibit continues Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.).

“Germany, Pale Mother”

(film)

This feature film portrays the life of a young German woman in the aftermath of WWII, as she supports her young daughter. It shows the hardships she confronts, as well as the independence and self-reliance she gains. It also raises hard questions about gender issues and about the moral responsibility of civilians and combatants in war. Discussant: Imke Schessler-Jandreau, graduate student in communication; (Chosen by the Student Women’s Association as part of the MPAC Film Series).

7 p.m., 140 Little Hall

Friday, March 28

Publication Celebration

Campus authors of recent books on women and gender issues will be celebrated.

12:30-2 p.m., 101 Fernald Hall

Saturday, March 29

Annual Spruce Run Chocolate Buffet and Silent Auction

This benefit event will also feature live music. Tickets are $15 per person. For more information please call Spruce Run at 945-5102.

7-9 p.m., Buchanan Alumni House

Wednesday, April 2

“Hip Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes”

(f
ilm/discussion)

Byron Hurt pays tribute to hip hop while challenging its exploitation of women, glamorized violence, and homophobia; (Sponsored by the Women’s Resource Center, Safe Campus Project, Hardy Girls/Healthy Women, and Boys to Men).

7 p.m., 101 Neville Hall

The website for Women in the Curriculum and the Women’s Studies Program is at www.umaine.edu/wic/.