March 14: Our 25th Anniversary Event!

On March 14, the Huntington Women's Studies Seminars will mark a milestone--25 years of programs bringing quality humanities scholarship on women to a diverse and discerning audience. Join us for a special all-day program (details below), and a lunchtime reception.

Where Are We Now:
A Discussion on the Impact of Feminism on Women's Studies
Saturday, March 14, 2009
9am-10am

Speakers:
Inderpal Grewal, Women's Studies, University of California, Irvine
Dianne Bartlow, Gender and Women's Studies, California State University, Northridge
Gail Livings, Social Science, Santa Monica College

Moderator:
Ricky Manoff, Gender and Women's Studies, California State University, Northridge


Reflections on Women’s History: Looking Back, Looking Forward
Saturday, March 14, 2009
10:15am-12:15pm

Panelists:
Mary Beth Norton, Mary Donlon Alger Professor of American History, Cornell University, and Los Angeles Times Distinguished Fellow, The Huntington Library

Karen Offen, Senior Scholar, Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research, Stanford University

Vicki Ruiz, Professor of History and Chicano Latino Studies, and Dean, School of Humanities, University of California, Irvine

Moderator:
Kendahl Radcliffe, Assistant Professor, Afro-Ethnic Studies, California State University, Fullerton


Women Changing the Face of the Middle East
Saturday, March 14, 2009
1:30pm--3:30 pm

Keynote Speaker: Nayereh Tohidi
Chair, Gender and Women’s Studies, California State University, Northridge
The Women’s Movement and Democracy in Iran: A Comparative Perspective



The Case of Syria
Anne Bennett
Assistant Professor of Anthropology, California State University, San Bernardino

Women’s Self-representation and Use of Media in Turkey
Ece Algan
Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, California State University, San Bernardino


Transcending the Obstacles: Women in Saudi Arabia
Ferial Masry
Author, Running for all the Right Reasons: A Saudi-born Woman’s Pursuit of Democracy



Moderator: Wendy Smith
Member, Huntington Library Women’s Studies Seminars Steering Committee
Associate Professor of English, California State University, San Bernardino

Sue Castagnetto contributed a great deal to organizing this panel. Thanks Sue!

January 31: American Catholic Nuns in Historical Perspective

Join us at the Huntington Library on Saturday, January 31, 9:30am-12noon, for a trio of presentations spanning centuries and coasts:

Community Ministry, Community Change: American Catholic Nuns in Historical Perspective

The Daughters of Charity as Advocates for the Sick Poor in Los Angeles, 1856-1878
Kristine Ashton Gunnell
Ph.D. Candidate, History, Claremont Graduate University

The Harlem Franciscan Hand Maids of Mary: A Community of Women, A Community of Hope, 1916-1931
Kendahl Radcliffe
Assistant Professor, Afro-Ethnic Studies, California State University, Fullerton

Creating Community at the Edge: One Sister's Journey
Sister Terry Dodge, SSL
Executive Director, Crossroads, Inc.

Moderator: Donna Schuele, Lecturer, Department of Criminology, Law & Society, University of California, Irvine

Sneak peek at 31 January 2009 program

Just had word that the 31 January 2009 program in the Huntington Women's Studies Seminars will be about nuns as agents of social change. Exact titles and speakers are still being worked out, but that's the topic--share the news with anyone who might be particularly interested in women and religious life.

November 22: The Promise of Women's Political Leadership

[Image description: Hillary Clinton on a stage during her campaign for the Democratic nomination in 2008; an audience member is holding up a yellow handwritten sign that reads "IRON MY SHIRT"]

Join us at the Huntington Library on Saturday November 22, 9:30am-12noon, for a roundtable discussion on the historic 2008 candidacies of women for the highest offices in the United States.

The Promise of Women Leaders in Politics

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Ellen DuBois
Professor of History and Women’s Studies, UCLA
Author, Through Women’s Eyes: An American History with Documents
Curator, Huntington Exhibit: Votes for Women: Unfinished Business

Caroline Heldman
Assistant Professor of Politics, Occidental College
Co-Author, Rethinking Madame President

Rebecca Loegering
Campaign Semester Student, Politics, Occidental College

Lori Cox Han
Professor of Political Science, Chapman University
Co-Author, Rethinking Madame President

Glenna Matthews
Historian
Author, Running as a Woman: Gender and Power in American Politics

Moderator: Karon Jolna
Chair, Huntington Library Women’s Studies Steering Committee
Research Scholar, UCLA Center for the Study of Women

9:30-10am--Registration
10-12noon--Program
12noon--Lunch

Bring a sack lunch or buy a sandwich lunch ticket at registration (limited supply). We will eat together outdoors on the Garden Terrace, weather permitting.

THERE IS NO CHARGE FOR THE SEMINAR AND NO RESERVATION IS REQUIRED.

When is the next program?

Mark your calendars for November 22--and watch this space for the program, which will be ready sometime in September.

Into our 25th year...and into the 21st century!

As the Huntington Women's Studies Seminars move into our 25th season of programs, the steering committee has also decided to set up a blog. We'll be using this space to publicize programs and speakers, and to welcome comments and questions from the community. Welcome to our new presence online, and stay tuned for our exciting plans for 2008-2009. And...if you subscribe to this blog's RSS feed, you'll never miss an announcement.

2007-2008 Programs

3 November 2007
On the Inside, On the Outside: Women and Prison

"A World of Women: Prisoners, Reformers, and the California Institution at Tehachapi"
Kathleen Cairns, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, History and Women's Studies

"The Inside Story"
Gloria Killian, Action Committee for Women in Prison

"Women in Transition from Prison: Observations on Reentry Challenges"
Marta Lopez-Garza, California State University-Northridge
Women's Studies and Chicana/o Studies

Moderator: Marilyn Montenegro, California Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers Women's Council Prison Project

12 January 2008
"New Writing" by Women

Emily Rapp, Antioch University, will discuss writing about disabilities and read from her memoir, Poster Child.

Susan Suntree, East Los Angeles College, brings together science, art, spirituality, poetry, and drama in her reading from Sacred Sites: The Secret History of Southern California.

Sholeh Wolpé, born in Iran, is a multinational writer, translator, and anthologist of literature from the Muslim world. She will read from her recent translation of the poetry of Forugh Farrokhzad and from her own poetry.

Terry Wolverton is author of six books and fourteen anthologies, including Embers, a novel-in-poems and Insurgent Muse: Life and Art at the Woman's Building. She is the founder of Writers At Work, a creative writing center in Los Angeles.

1 March 2008
Feminisms in the Twentieth Century: Lessons for the Twenty-first Century
A Roundtable Discussion in honor of Women's History Month

Jennifer Abod, Research Scholar, UCLA Center for the Study of Women

Marisela Chavez, Assistant Professor of Chicana/o Studies, CSU Dominguez Hills

Laura Harris, Associate Professor of English, World Literature, and Black Studies, Pitzer College

Caroline Heldman, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Occidental College

10 May 2008
Family Secrets: Documenting the Lives of our Kinswomen

"No more cookies or cake now 'C'est la guerre'": An American Nurse in Turkey, 1919 to 1920"
Kathleen Sheldon, Research Scholar, UCLA Center for the Study of Women

"Secret Strength: Five Generations of Fuentes Women in Los Angeles"
Christina Chavez, Assistant Professor, Liberal Studies, Cal Poly Pomona

"The Red Flag and Me: Opening the Pandora's Box of My Family's Activist History"
Judy Branfman, filmmaker and Research Scholar, UCLA Center for the Study of Women

Moderator: Penny L. Richards, Huntington Women's Studies Steering Committee and UCLA Center for the Study of Women