Women's Heritage Month focuses on 'Women's Voices'
To celebrate Women’s Heritage Month, Minot State University will showcase this year’s theme of "Women’s Voices." Events will focus on the variety of voices through which women speak, sing, shout or share their hopes, fears, dreams, concerns, memories and wisdom.
Speakers and individuals from MSU and the surrounding community will combine to offer a variety of events calling attention to women’s voices and accomplishments. All events are free and open to the public.
On March 4 at 2 p.m. in Minot State’s Conference Center (Student Center, third floor), the Women’s Heritage Committee will offer "Women Talking Together: A Consciousness-Raising Workshop." This participatory event’s objective is to raise awareness of the similarities and differences that women have. All that is required is to be able to talk to other women about the experiences of one’s own life. All women are welcome, and a lively session is anticipated.
In "The Horizontal World: Bridging History" on March 8, author and musician Debra Marquart will discuss her memoir, "The Horizontal World: Growing Up Wild in the Middle of Nowhere," and other works. Marquart, a Napoleon native, is a professor in the Department of English and the Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing and environment at Iowa State University, Ames. This evening of readings, conversation and song begins at 6:30 p.m. in Aleshire Theater. She will also give a presentation March 7 in the Taube Museum of Art, 2 p.m.
On March 11 at 7 p.m. in the Beaver Dam, "Many Voices Celebrating Womyn’s Music" will feature local performers, including Jazmine Wolff and Melissa Spelchen, and an open-mic session. Womyn’s music, defined as music by women, for women and about women, originally served as the musical expression of the second-wave feminist movement. This event is co-sponsored by the Student Activities Committee.
Stage works by Eve Ensler will be performed March 11-13, as a part of Women’s Heritage Month. "A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, and a Prayer," which features a male and female cast, will be presented March 11. "Vagina Monologues," which has a female cast, is slated for March 12-13. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. in Aleshire Theater. This project is also in conjunction with the International V-Day celebration with 90 percent of the proceeds going to the Minot Domestic Violence Crisis Center and 10 percent to the national V-Day campaign. For the national campaign this year, funds are being sent to the women of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Because of the charitable nature of these productions, MSU students cannot get in free with their IDs. Tickets are $10 for every person.
On March 24 at 7 p.m. in the Aleshire Theater, the Northwest Art Center and the Women’s Heritage Committee will offer a lecture titled "Life Lessons: Indigenous Women, Indigenous Storytelling" by Alyce Spotted Bear and Jennifer Young Bear of the Three Affiliated Tribes. The stories of indigenous peoples of America are rooted in their intimate relations with the land. Spotted Bear and Young Bear will discuss this tradition in the context of contemporary indigenous life.
On March 30, Women’s Heritage Month activities will conclude with the Women’s Heritage Month student poster session from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Student Center Atrium. MSU students are encouraged to submit posters, in any discipline, that focus on women’s heritage. Prizes will be awarded for best design, best content, best overall and to the poster selected as the popular favorite. The awards ceremony, including a performance by the MSU Women’s Chorus, is at 1 p.m. The deadline to register for the session is March 24. Posters from the 2009 session are on display at the Gordon B. Olson Library.
The Women’s Heritage Month Planning Committee includes Bethany Andreasen, Linda Benson, Harry Hoffman, Ruth Kihm, Deb Kunkel, Diane Meneses, Linda Olson, Chelsea Starr, Kelly Warren, Johnna Westby and Brandy Wilson.
The sponsors for Women’s Heritage Month activities are the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Northwest Arts Center, the Division of Humanities, the Division of Social Science, Student Activities Committee, the North Dakota Humanities Council, the Native American Cultural Awareness Club, Chartwells and the YWCA.
For additional information on Women’s Heritage Month activities, visit the WHM Web site at www.minotstateu.edu/women or contact Andreasen at 858-3243 or bethany.andreasen@minotstateu.edu.
02/25/10