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The annual Global Conference on Women and Gender at Christopher Newport University is one of the featured events of this year’s commemoration of Women’s History Month.
The conference was established in 2016 to provide a forum for scholars from around the world to collaborate on important issues affecting women. Organizers choose a theme each year that has historic and contemporary significance. This year’s theme is “Revitalizing Ecofeminism: The Intersection of Gender and Nature.”
“For more than half a century, scholars have tried to understand the connections between patriarchy and the subsequent subjugation of women and nature to man’s designs,” said Vice Provost Lori Underwood, one of the conference founders. “Never has this field of ecofeminism been more important. As the impacts of climate change increase, historic inequalities multiply, and women and girls bear the greatest burdens and suffer the greatest threats from climate change and climate disasters. The time for change is now.”
Held on campus March 21-24, the conference features a range of speakers, presentations of academic papers, and opportunities for discussions by participants. The keynote address will be offered by Dr. Aimee Carillo Rowe of California State University, Northridge. It attracts scholars, students and interested attendees from outside higher education. She works across writing genres as a memoirist, feminist theorist, and culture critic. Registration is open to all with discounted rates for students.
Other highlights of the observance of Women’s History Month at CNU include:
- A talk by Dr. Victoria Sanford on gender balance and migration in Guatemala. The presentation is scheduled for 6 p.m. March 18 in McMurran 101 and is open to all. Sanford is Professor of Anthropology and Founding Director of the Center for Human Rights and Peace Studies at Lehman College.
- The Trible Library is offering a curated collection of readings and videos touching on various aspects of women’s history. One of the features is a video that includes a reference to jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, a Newport News native who came to be known as the “First Lady of Song.”