Women in the Curriculum Spring Lunch Series Set

Contact: Susan Young at (207) 581-3756

ORONO – Women in sports, peace and war, and the future of the historic Roe v. Wade decision will be among the topics discussed during the University of Maine’s 22nd annual Women in the Curriculum and Women’s Studies Program’s brown bag lunch series this semester.

The discussions will be held from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in the Bangor Lounge in the Memorial Union.

The lunch-time series is meant to share the work being done on women’s issues in the community, to interest students in taking Women’s Studies courses and to encourage faculty to teach such courses and to incorporate material on women into the rest of their courses. The discussions also showcase the women’s studies scholarship being done on campus by faculty, students and staff and demonstrate to the campus and the community the breadth and depth of intellectual and cultural work done on women’s issues.

This year’s series of talks is particularly significant, says Ann Schonberger, director of Women in the Curriculum and Women’s Studies Program, because it comes 30 years after three historic events. The U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion in its January 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade. Title IX, the landmark federal law mandating gender equity in college athletics, has been in effect for 30 years and Spruce Run, the Bangor shelter for abused and battered women was founded in 1973.

In addition, the program aims to be in the forefront of the discussion about peace and war in Iraq because U.S. foreign policy will have major impacts on women, Schonberger says.

The schedule of discussions is as follows:

Tuesday, Jan. 28 — 30 Years Later, Threats at the Back Door: Chipping Away at Roe v. Wade, Louise G. Roback, executive director, Maine Civil Liberties Union. This presentation is part of Civil Rights Awareness Month.

Tuesday, Feb. 4 — Transparent Inequity: The Glass Ceiling for Women at the University of Maine and in the Nation, Alice Bruce, Associate professor of Chemistry; Susan McKay, chair and professor of Physics; Marie Tessier, assistant professor of Journalism & Mass Communication.

Wednesday, Feb. 12 — Women in Sport: Title IX and the End of the Big Chill, Joan Hult, professor emerita of Kinesiology and Women’s Studies, University of Maryland. Part of Winter Carnival Week.

Wednesday, Feb. 19 — Maine Women Speak About Peace and War, A discussion with Rosalie Tyler Paul, Ilze Petersons, Lee Sharkey, Francine Stark, Stephanie Strong, and others.

Wednesday, Feb. 26 — The Making of Tres-Vidas: A Play About Three Latina Women, Marjorie Agosin, playwright, poet, and professor of Spanish, Wellesley College. Tres-Vidas will be performed on March 2 in the Minsky Recital Hall. For tickets call the Maine Center for the Arts at 581-1755.

Tuesday, March 4 — Scenes of Working Class Writing: Peyton Place and the Place of Literary Access, Ardis Cameron, associate professor of American & New England Studies, University of Southern Maine.

Tuesday, March 25 — The Black Women of Bangor, 1880-1950: Research Highlights, Maureen Elgersman Lee, assistant professor of History and Faculty Scholar for the African American Collection of Maine, University of Southern Maine.

Wednesday, April 2 — Her Past Around Us: Interpreting Sites for Women’s History, Polly Welts Kaufman, adjunct Professor of History, University of Southern Maine; Eileen Eagan, associate Professor of History, University of Southern Maine; Candace A. Kanes, assistant professor of Liberal Arts, Maine College of Art, and Katherine Corbett, public historian.

Wednesday, April 9 — We’re Here, We’re Queer, and We’ve Got Heritage: Sex and Gender at Ellis Island, Erica Rand, associate professor of Art, Bates College. Part of LGBT Pride Week.

Wednesday, April 16 –Help Wanted: Mothers Abused by Their Teenaged Children, Barbara Cottrell, community-based researcher, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Tuesday, April 22 — The Conscious Community: The California Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana, Wendy Chapkis, associate professor of Women’s Studies and Sociology, University of Southern Maine.

Wednesday, April 30 — Age, Gender, Class: Maine Women and the Value of Care, Sandy Butler, associate professor of Social Work, Elizabeth Johns, Program Associate, UMaine Center on Aging.

Tuesday, May 6 — Female Friendly Science and Technology at UMaine? Continuing the Conversation, open discussion with Katherine Carter, Laura Kenefic, and Karen Horton, summer 2002 WIC grant recipients.

For more information, call 581-1228.