2000-2001 Events

Women's Lives Series
"Exploring Feminisms: Re-imagining Our Lives"

Do you assume that men and women should each:

• have the right to vote and hold political office?
• be allowed to apply for any job for which they are qualified?
• get equal pay for equal work?
• be able to enter into a romantic relationship without fear of coercion or violence?
• have the right to decide if and when to have children?
• share equitably the tasks of rearing children and doing housework?

If you answered YES to one or more of these questions, your values and way of thinking have been profoundly influenced by the U.S. women's movement.  Yet today the word "feminism" provokes strongly conflicting feelings among the very people who enjoy its achievements.  That is why this year's Women's Lives Series, in cooperation with the Men's Lives Series, has chosen to explore the meanings of feminism and the history and significance of the U.S. women's movement.  Our aim is to help the men and women of CSB/SJU better understand how the women's movement has transformed men's and women's expectations of themselves and each other.

 

Monday, September 25, 7:30 p.m., Alumnae Hall, HCC
Sara Evans

"Feminisms in late 20th-Century America: Second or Third Wave?"

Women's rights activits proudly proclaimed their sisterhood in the 1960s, as they began a movement that, by advancing the cause of women's equality, radically transformed the world in which we live.  What have been the legacies of the women's rights movement?  How inclusive has this movement been of men, women of color, gay and lesbian people, and the working class?  Do we still need feminism in the 21st century?  Prof. Evans helps us understand the place of feminism in our own lives by providing an overview of the successes and struggles of the U.S. women's movement from the 1960s to today.

Professor Evans is a Professor of History at the University of Minnesota and author of Born for Liberty: A History of Women in America and Personal Politics: The Roots of Women's Liberation in the Civil Rights Movement and the New Left.

 

Wednesday, October 4, 7:30 p.m., BAC
Maura Cullen

"Gender Benders vs. Gender Defenders"

Greater equality of opportunity for men and women, at work and at home, has been accompanied by confusion about gender roles and expectations, especially as we try to communicate.  Simple tasks such as opening a door or paying the restaurant bill become occasions for debate and are often stress producing.  How then are men and women to join forces to deal with more serious and higher risk issues?  This program examines a theory on how the genders relate and process differently so that we can empathize, not blame one another.  We will discuss real life frustrations and insights in an effort to move us closer to understanding.

Dr. Maura J. Cullen is an educational consultant who designs and implements training programs for private and public industry.  She has consulted to over 300 colleges and universities.  Cullen received her doctoral degree in Social Justice and Diversity Education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

 

Monday, October 23, 7:30 p.m., SJU Alum Lounge

"Masculinities/Feminisms: What do they mean for Saint Ben's/Saint John's Students?"

How do gender expectations in the media, from my peers and from my professors affect my life on these campuses?  Am I treated differently because of my gender?  How does gender interact with other aspects of my personality?  Do I think feminism is a positive or negative influence in my life?  Come explore, interact and learn with the panel members.

Student speakers:  Brian Smith, Anna Selmecki, Kate Hedlund and John Zobitz
Moderators:  Anne M. Walters, CSB Senator; Nancy Hynes, OSB, Professor of English

 

Wednesday, March 21, 7:30 p.m., BAC

Concert:  VIDA

VIDA is an a cappella quartet that combines four distinct and powerful women's voices.  Drawing on the folk music of Central Europe, Africa and the U.S., they have been known to absolutely flatten an enormous crowd with the intensity and spirit of their harmonies.  VIDA has opened for and played with many artists, including Bob Dylan and Ani Difranco.

 

Wednesday, April 4, 7:30 p.m., O'Connell's

"Women and the Catholic Church"

many women wonder whether it's possible to be a faithful Catholic and disagree with some of the church's teachings (e.g. on birth control, women priests or homosexuality).  Others see a strong concern for women in Catholic social teachings concerned with economic and social justice.  Come listen as Catholic women struggle to locate themselves within the Catholic tradition and engage in a lively discussion of what it means to be a woman in the Catholic Church today.

Moderated by Prof. Mara Faulkner, OSB

 

Wednesday, April 25, 7:30 p.m., Alumnae Hall, HCC
Chandra Talpade Mohanty

"The Ethics and Politics of Women's Work and Global Capitalism"

Western, white, middle class women often view increased opportunities to engage in paid work outside the home as one of the greatest achievements of the U.S. women's movement  Third world women workers, however, more often experience paid work as exploitative than as libratory.  Professor Mohanty will demonstrate how restrictive definitions of women's work contribute to the exploitation of the Third-World women workers in different regions of the world.  She will lay out a vision for the future, in which democracy is re-envisioned and practiced from a gender-sensitive, anti-capitalist standpoint.

Prof. Mohanty teaches feminist and antiracist studies at Hamilton College and works with two grassroots organization: Grassroots Leadership of North Carolina and Awareness of Orissa, India.  She is coeditor of Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism (1991) and Feminist Genealogies, Colonial Legacies, Democratic Futures (1997).  Among her best-known essays is "Under Western Eyes," a powerful critique of the exclusions and the blind spots of Western liberal feminism.