Women's History
Month film series bringing movies and speakers
Kara Hodge
Entertainment Beat
The theme for
Women's History Month (March) 2001 is "Celebrating Women of
Courage and Vision." The theme will emphasize the joy in recognizing
women's accomplishments. Honoring women's courage and vision in
March, Appalachian State University will hold the annual Women's
History Month film series from Feb. 21 through Mar. 28.
The film series
consists of five films dealing with women's issues like childbearing,
education, gender roles and women's rights. Dr. Neva Specht will
lead a discussion after each film.
On Feb. 21 "Two
Dollars and A Dream" will show. The film is a biography of
Madame C.J. Walker, the child of slaves who became America's first
self-made millionaress. After the film, Trudier Harris, the J. Carlyle
Sitterson Professor of English at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill, will speak.
"Love,
Women and Flowers" is a story of hazardous labor conditions
for the 60,000 women who work in the Colombian flower-fields. Cyndi
Melon, consultant for the Center for Women's Global Leadership at
Rutgers University will speak after the film. "Love, Women
and Flowers" will run Feb. 28.
Living in a
society of male dominance in China, women must do anything they
can to overcome the pressure put on their everyday lives. "Nu
Shu: A Hidden Language of Women in China" tells the story of
how feudal Chinese peasant women develop a separate written language.
Cathy Silber,
Bunting Fellow of Radcliffe College and assistant professor of Chinese
Studies at Williams College will speak after the film on Mar. 7.
Ellen Dobrovir,
assistant professor of swimwear design for the Fashion Institute
of Technology in New York, and Joanne Arbucke, co-chair of the apparel
and fashion design department, will lead discussion after "Beauty
and the Beach."
The film plays
Mar. 21 and combines fun and social commentary in a documentary
detailing the history of women through the evolution of women's
swimwear styles.
On Mar. 28,
a film about the biggest women's issue today -- feminism -- will
play.
"Step by
Step: Building a Feminist Movement, 1941-1977," is a story
about how feminism began before the 1960s and that its stars were
not just white middle class. The film follows the lives of eight
Wisconsin women, six of whom became the founders of the National
Organization for Women.
A panel discussion
with the university and Watauga County feminist activities and a
25th anniversary reception will follow.
All films will
be shown on Wednesday nights in the I.G. Greer Auditorium at 7 p.m.
All events are free and open to the public.
For more information
about Women's History Month or the film series, contact William
Purcell at purcellwh@hotmail.com or stop by the Women's Center across
from Tradewinds Coffeehouse in Plemmons Student Union.
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