 |
 |
|
House, all between 5 and 10
p.m.
The intergenerational conver-
sation, ably led by Dianna
Hunter, was another huge
success. Age groups from the
teens to the sixties, except for
the 30-something generation
(which warrants another con-
versation all by itself), were
represented among the
roughly 40 participants, among
whom many WS students.
Like the last time, we ran out
of time, so much there was to
talk about: Are there really all
these different and distinct
waves of feminism? What
issues are the same (too many
to mention)? What issues set
us apart (none that I can re-
member)? None of us wanted
to miss hearing Ellis (she and
Terry also participated) per-
form. She drew a crowd larger
than I have seen in a long time
at the coffee house. How won-
derful to see so many young
women there. The Times They
Are A-changing? By the way,
check this newsletter for fu-
ture intergenerational conver-
sations. There’s talk of having
them on a monthly basis, just
prior to the performance.
The Women’s History Month
Committee did it again! See
inside for the schedule--chuck
full with wonderfully interest-
ing events on and off campus:
don’t forget to mark your
calendar, and bring a friend!
See you there, I hope.
G
reetings! It is nice to be
back in the proverbial
“chair,” except ours is a com-
fortably easy chair. I want to
thank Beth Bartlett for all her
encouragement and support
that have helped make it so
uncomplicated for me to take
over from her. She has left our
department in excellent shape.
Thank you, Beth! For the lead-
ership you have provided so
passionately for the past 6
years. I am finding that
Women’s Studies is more
resilient than ever before.
How did you do it? For, alas, I
am also finding out that our
institutional resources have
become even more limited and
harder to come by than they
were in the past.
Like the fist that is more than
the simple sum of the individ-
ual fingers, Women’s Studies
at UMD has many interde-
pendent players: our marvel-
ous departmental staff (thank
you, Ann and Geraldine)--the
glue that keeps us all together
in body and spirit--, all our
magnificent students, our
dedicated faculty (thank you,
Angie, Beth, Cindy, Joan,
Njoki, and Susana), the
Women’s Resource and Ac-
tion Center (thank you Kris,
Liana and Susana), the femi-
nist activist student organiza-
tion, called FACE (thank you,
all), all our collaborating col-
leagues and friends on the
Women’s Studies Advisory
Board (thank you, Linda and
Susan for chairing), Jodi Carl-
son, our WS reference librar-
ian, and our loyal supporters in
the numerous Twin Ports
feminist organizations, too
many to mention, all of whose
voices and maybe even faces--
thanks to our newly acquired
digital camera--you will en-
counter in these pages. I look
forward to working with all of
you.
Towards the end of fall se-
mester our entire department
was treated to another one of
those awfully mean spirited
direct attacks, courtesy our
very own student newspaper.
As often happens, the backlash
turned into its opposite. Over-
night, a loud and crystal clear
grassroots PR campaign
erupted to promote the impor-
tance of Women’s Studies that
is still going strong. Brilliant
letters of support, especially
from our alumnae and current
students, meetings, hallway
conversations, a flurry of email
exchanges, not only helped put
the writer and his ilk into their
place but also contributed to
more students enthusiastically
signing up for Women’s Stud-
ies.
Three feminist events over-
lapped at the Duluth Building
for Women, February 4. A
chili fundraiser for Aurora. A
Northland Lesbian Center; the
3rd Intergenerational Conversa-
tion between Twin Port femi-
nists; and the one and only
Ellis at the Women’s Coffee
FROM THE DEPARTMENT HEAD BY TINEKE ®ITMEESTER
UMD DEPARTMENT
OF
WOMEN
’S
STUDIES
FEBRUARY 2005
VOLUME 18, ISSUE 2
NORTH
SHORE
VISIONS
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
CALL FOR PROPOSALS/
UPCOMING CONFERENCES
2
VISITING POET
2
2005 NOBEL PEACE
PRIZE WINNER
3
WOMEN’S HISTORY
MONTH CALENDAR
4&6
MAJOR REFLECTIONS
5
ABOUT FACE
6
Apr. 1-3. “From Abortion
Rights to School Justice:
Building the Movement
for Reproductive Free-
dom,” the 19th Annual
Conference for student and
community activists, Hamp-
shire College, Amherst, MA.
For more information or to
register, go to
Apr. 15. Women for Women
International seeks submis-
sions for the autumn 2005
edition of its bi-annual aca-
demic journal, Critical Half.
Deadline: Apr. 15. Submis-
sion guidelines at
May 20-22. Fifth National
Conference on Gender
and 10th National Gender
Lobby Day in Arlington,
VA. Keynote speakers Eve
Kosofsky Sedwick and Anne
Fausto-Sterling. For more
information or registration go
to www.gpac.org or call
(202) 462-6610.
June 9-12. NWSA 26th An-
nual Conference, Orlando,
FL. Registration forms avail-
able in the WS department
office.
June 19-21. IWPR 8th Inter-
national Women’s Policy
Research Conference, When
Women Gain, So Does the
World, Washington, D.C.
For more info, email confer-
ence@iwpr.org. For more
conferences, go to the NWSA
website: www.nwsa.org
CALL
FOR
PROPOSALS
/UPCOMING
CONFERENCES
VISITING AWARD-WINNING POET, DRAMATIST
and "White," (Wick
Chapbook, Kent State,
1997). Her new collec-
tion "Tampon Class" has
just been released by
Pavement Saw Press.
Weems' has also pub-
lished one educational
text "Public Education
and the Imagination-
Intellect: I Speak from
the Wound in my
Mouth" (Peter Lang,
2003), a collection of essays,
poems, and stories titled
"Working Hard for the
Money: America's Working
Poor" (Bottom Dog Press,
2002) and "Poetry
Power" (Silvermoon Press,
2003) a book/workbook de-
signed to introduce middle
school students to the art of
poetry. She is currently an
adjunct professor in the Eng-
lish Department, at John
Carroll University.
Her schedule is as follows:
Apr. 18. Welcome dinner
and reception, including
poetry reading and Q & A
session from 4-8 p.m.
Please check posters
around campus for the lo-
cation.
Apr. 20. “I Speak from the
Wound in My Mouth: De-
veloping the Imagination-
Intellect” from 7:30-10
p.m., Library Rotunda.
This campus-wide formal
presentation is open and
intended for the general
public.
Her visit is sponsored by
the UMD Commission on
Women and the 2004-05
Diversity Initiative Fac-
ulty-in-Residence Pro-
gram.
Mary E. Weems, is an
award-winning African
American poet, dramatist,
performer, and researcher.
She models and stimulates
a level of civic engage-
ment in part, by using her
performance texts to en-
courage empathy, imagina-
tion-intellectual thinking,
and political activism
against racism and all
forms of social injustice.
Weems has published four
collections of poetry in-
cluding Black-
eyed" (Blackeyed, 1994)
IF YOU GIVE TO
THE UMD FUND
AND DESIGNATE
WOMEN
’S STUDIES
TO RECEIVE YOUR
GIFT
, WE DO
RECEIVE IT
AND
ARE VERY
GRATEFUL
.
YOUR DONATIONS
HELP US FUND
GREAT
FEMINIST
SPEAKERS
,
PROGRAMMING
,
ETC
.
PAGE 2
VOLUME 18, ISSUE 2
W
estern media rarely
deliver any success
stories from the African con-
tinent. Most often, the stories
reported from Africa are usu-
ally gut wrenching. We fre-
quently read or hear about
corrupt governments, ethnic
wars, extreme poverty, fam-
ine, primordial traditions, and
customs, diseases, human
degradation, and victimiza-
tion of women. Rarely do we
hear about African people’s
creativity, resourcefulness,
strength, or courage, espe-
cially women’s. However, it
is encouraging to know that
there are individuals and or-
ganizations that recognize and
acknowledge African peoples’
contributions to the world,
their struggles and positive
strides. I was inspired to hear
that a fellow Kenyan woman
was awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize; Professor Wangari
Muta Maathai, founder of the
Greenbelt Movement. I first
met this intrepid women
when she visited my high
school to lead a tree planting
ceremony and again when I
interviewed her for my doc-
toral thesis.
In the late 70’s Maathai vis-
ited my school where she
planted a tree. The tree plant-
ing ceremony, as I remember,
was a simple one. She
stressed the need for us, the
students, to do our very best
in our studies and not forget
to nurture our earth. Maathai
exhorted us to tend the trees
that were planted and to al-
ways remember that our
wellbeing is tied to the
growth of those trees.
Professor Wangari Maathai
founded the Green Belt
Movement in 1977 as a grass-
roots response to Kenyan
women’s needs. The women
would come to her when she
was an official with the Na-
tional Council of Women of
Kenya and would provide her
with a catalogue of problems.
These problems included dis-
eases, lack of nutritious foods,
need for clean drinking wa-
ter, fodder for their animals,
firewood, and building mate-
rials. Maathai would carefully
listen to the women’s prob-
lems and then ask them where
these problems came from.
Quite often, the women
blamed the government. True
to Paulo Freire’s model of
conscientization, Maathai
would lead the women to
discover for themselves that
these problems were symp-
toms of environmental degra-
dation, broken social struc-
tures, bad governance and
women as well, were part of
the problem and solution. For
example, the women realized
that they were forced to par-
ticipate in degrading the envi-
ronment when they felled
trees for wood fuel or culti-
vated the hillsides. Maathai
led the women to come up
with solutions to their own
problems: we’re deforesting;
we’re polluting, then we start
replanting.” The women felt
empowered. They identified
their problems and realized
they could do something,
which they did. To date, well
over 30 million trees have
been planted, thousands of
women have been employed
by the organization and doz-
ens of African countries have
replicated the Green Belt
model.
In its nascent years, the
Green Belt Movement was an
environmental group that
restored indigenous forests
and assisted rural women by
paying them to plant trees in
their communities. Over the
years, Green Belt Movement
evolved to become a multi
issue movement and a key
role in the democratization of
Kenya in 2002 General elec-
tions. Maathai was elected
with a landslide victory of
98% of votes that were cast,
in her Tetu constituency in
Nyeri district, Central prov-
ince, Kenya. Currently,
Maathai is the Assistant Minis-
ter for Environment and
Natural Resources in a gov-
ernment she helped bring to
power in 2002.
Professor Wangari Maathai
is an indomitable spirit. She is
resilient and fits in the tradi-
tion of the bravest, most in-
dependent, and most innova-
tive women this world has
known.
To see the full article, please
Njoki Kamau is Associate Profes-
sor in the Department of
Women’s Studies.
2005 Nobel Peace Prize Winner: Professor Wangari Muta Maathai
By Njoki Kamau
PAGE 3
VOLUME 18, ISSUE 2
“We are called to
assist the earth to
heal her wounds,
and in the process
heal our own, in-
deed to embrace the
whole creation in all
its diversity, beauty
and wonder.” -
Wangari Muta
Maathai
Women’s History Month Calendar & WS/WRAC Brown Bags
PAGE 4
the Twin Ports: Grandmothers
for Peace,” KSC 268, 12 Noon.
Mar. 17. Film, "Breasts: A
Documentary," directed by
Meema Spadola (50 minutes),
KSC 268, 4 p.m.
Mar. 30. Guest speaker, Susan
Morris, UMD Professor of
Political Science presents
“Women and Globalization,”
KSC 355-57, 12 Noon.
Mar. 31. Guest speaker, Nancy
Gruver discusses her new book,
How To Say It To Girls, KSC 355-
57, 12 Noon.
Apr. 6. Guest speaker, Beth
Olson, PAVSA presents "Date
Rape Drugs 101: What You
Need To Know,” KSC 268, 12
Noon,
Apr. 7. Guest speaker, Mau-
reen Tobin Stanley, UMD
Professor of Foreign Languages
and Literatures presents "Voices
of Gendered Resistance in Neus
Català's De la resistencia y la
deportación: The Triumph of
Life, Dignity and Solidarity dur-
ing the Holocaust," Library
Fourth Floor Rotunda, 12 Noon.
Apr. 8. Guest speaker, Sara
Evans presents "Tidal Wave:
How Women Changed America
at Century's End," Weber Music
Hall, 3 p.m. Sara Evans is a pro-
fessor of History and Women’s
Studies at the University of Min-
nesota Twin Cities.
Apr. 12. Film, “Maria Full of
Grace” in KSC 273, 4 p.m.
Apr. 14. Guest speaker, Gesa
Zinn, UMD Professor of For-
eign Languages and Literatures
presents "The Life of the Gyp-
sies: Roma and Sinti in Germany
Today," Library Fourth Floor
Rotunda, 12 Noon.
Apr. 18-25. Guest speaker,
Mary Weems on campus for a
week of poetry, workshops and
discussions. See article on Page 2
for more information.
VOLUME 18, ISSUE 2
Apr. 20. Guest speaker, Tineke
Ritmeester, UMD Professor of
Women's Studies presents
"Witches of the Medieval Euro-
pean Burning Times,” KSC 268,
12 Noon.
May 4. Guest speaker, Njoki
Kamau, UMD Professor of
Women's Studies presents
"Everyday Racism in the Acade-
mia," KSC 268, 12 Noon.
May 5. Meditation, Relaxation
Exercises, a workshop by Marc
Langelfel, UMD Professor of
Psychology, KSC 268, 12 Noon.
May 5. Guest speaker, Joyce
Benson presents "Common
Women, Uncommon Lives: The
Changing Role of Women in Rus-
sia," Kirby Rafters, 12 Noon.
Joyce Benson is a community
activist and long-time resident of
Duluth.
OTHER UPCOMING
EVENTS
ON-CAMPUS
Feb. 24. A film, "The Edge of Each
Other's Battles: The Vision of Audre
Lorde" at 6 p.m., in KSC 273. This
powerful documentary is a mov-
ing tribute to legendary black
lesbian feminist poet Audre Lorde
(1934-1992).
Feb. 28. Sponge Bob Square Pants
reception in KSC 273 to defend his
“promotion of homosexuality,” as
reported on CNN. Refreshments
served. Enter a drawing to sup-
port a fund to purchase books for
Duluth K-12 “Gay and Lesbian
Families” collection.
Apr. 2. Drag Show, Kirby Ball-
room, 7 p.m. Sponsored by
Queer Students Union.
Apr. 5. Female-to-Male Trans-
man, James Halleman speaking at
7 p.m., Kirby Ballroom.
Apr. 9. Twin Cities Gay Men’s
Chorus benefit concert, Weber
Music Hall, 3 p.m. Tickets: $20.
Call Angie Nichols at (218) 726-
7300 for tickets/info. Benefits
Cruden-Riggs GLBT Scholarship.
Apr. 30. Gay Prom, 7 p.m., Kirby
Ballroom. Open to high school and
college students. For info, call
QSU at (218) 726-7041.
OFF-CAMPUS
*University of Wisconsin-Superior
Women’s History Month events:
Mar. 1. Women of Color Awards
Reception and Ceremony, Noon-
1p.m., UWS Multicultural Center,
232 Old Main.
Mar. 8. International Women’s
Day Open House, Reception and
Office Warming, 4-5 p.m., 143
Sundquist Hall, UWS.
Mar. 9. Words on Women, a literary
reading of origininal and other
remarkable writing on women
from Noon-1 p.m., UWS Multi-
cultural Center, 232 Old Main.
Mar. 11. Reception and showing of
No Secret Anymore: The Time of Del
Martin & Phyllis Lyon, Reception at
6:30 p.m., with 7 p.m. showing,
UWS Multicultural Center, 232
Old Main.
Mar. 15. Performance by local
singer-songwriter, Sara Thomsen
from 11:45 a.m.-1p.m., UWS
Rothwell Student Center Snack
Bar.
Contact Dianna Hunter at 715-
394-8405, or Deborah Schlacks at
715-394-8235, for more informa-
tion.
*Northcountry Women’s Coffee-
house Events, Building for
Women, 32 E 1st St, Duluth:
Mar. 4. Music performance by
Deidre McCalla at 7 p.m. Cost:
$6/members and $9/Others.
Apr. 1. Performance by the Re-
bekka Fisher Trio
May 6. Performance by Terrol &
Jane
Continued on Page 6
Mar. 2. Guest speaker, Candy
Harshner presents Feminism in
the Twin Ports: The History of
the Movement Against Sexual
Assault in Duluth, KSC 268, 12
Noon.
Mar. 3. Film, "Beah: A Black
Woman Speaks," directed by
Lisa Gay Hamilton (90 minutes),
KSC 268, 4 p.m.
Mar. 3. Women’s History
Month Keynote Speakers
Jacquelyn Zita and Judith
Roy present "Why
Women's Studies Is for Eve-
rybody," Kirby Ballroom, 7
p.m. Jacquelyn Zita is president
of the National Women's Studies
Association, Professor of
Women's Studies, University of
Minnesota Twin Cities. Judith
Roy, President-Elect, National
Women's Studies Association,
Program Coordinator, Women's
Studies, Century College.
Mar. 7. Film, "Damned If you
Don’t," directed by Su Friedrich
(42 minutes), Kirby Rafters, 6
p.m.
Mar. 8. International Women’s
Day Celebration with FREE
music and food, Kirby Lounge,
12 Noon.
Mar. 9. Guest speaker, Re-
becca St. George presents
"Feminism in the Twin Ports:
History of Violence against Na-
tive American Women,” KSC
268, 12 Noon. Rebecca St.
George is from Mending the
Sacred Hoop.
Mar. 10. Women’s night in the
Climbing Wall! From 6-9 p.m.
Cost: $5 UMD Students and $10
Others. We provide instruction,
climbing equipment. You pro-
vide comfortable, flexible cloth-
ing.
Mar. 15. Female Open Mic,
UMD Coffee House, 7 p.m.
Mar. 16. Guest speaker, Janet
Provost presents “Feminism in
Feminists Advocating for Change Etc., or FACE is a
feminist student group on campus open to all UMD
students. FACE has been very active this school year.
Fall semester FACE sponsored the Celebration of
Women, a free event in the Kirby Lounge. Seven
local musicians donated their time and talents for the
event, which helped awareness of the Women’s Stud-
ies Department, WRAC and FACE.
FACE has been putting together discussion groups that are open to the campus. Spring semes-
ter the discussions will be weekly. Upcoming topics are “Women and the Iraqi elections,” “Let’s
Talk about Sex,” and “The Politics of Makeup.”
Recently we have started a campus-wide campaign to promote feminism and raise awareness of
issues of sexism. This will entail posters around campus and tabling in the Kirby Student Center.
FACE members are also active in the Duluth community, adding a feminist perspective to volunteer work.
Some volunteer activities include volunteering at the Life House for their Valentine Dance and serving on
committees for Take Back the Night.
For more information, contact Beth Bartlett at 218-726-8284.
sometimes it seems i
am only one. one.
what can one do? but i
will raise my fist! i
will RISE UP! MY
HANDS ARE NOT
CLEAN. they are
stained with the pain
and sorrow of my sis-
to my sisters,
what is there to say of
the strength
of you strong women,
so taken for granted?
nothing i can say could
offer enough consulta-
tion, enough remorse.
but i will SPEAK UP!
ters. for our culture,
for my role in it, for
your suffering i am
sorry. i am sorry. with
my deepest regret, i
am sorry. thus, i dare
say, hope is on its way.
~taryn runck
A JOURNEY THROUGH WS 3000: OH, SO THIS IS THE LIGHT AT THE END
BY TARYN RUNCK
I am a new taryn.
Empowered, alive, defying the impossible with a new spectrum of possibilities.
Now I see society for what it is.
No longer blinded by the status quo.
No longer delicate, helpless
Not meager,
Nor merely domestic.
“taryn” ...meaning innocent. Innocent?
Now free from the ideas of patriarchy, yet bound by a society still full with it.
And so it seems...this is what feminism feels like:
“no one is free when others are oppressed”
PAGE 5
VOLUME 18, ISSUE 2
About FACE
Nonprofit Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit No. 705
Duluth, Minnesota
University of Minnesota Duluth
475 Humanities
1201 Ordean Court
Duluth MN 55812
Phone: 218-726-7953
Email: ws@d.umn.edu
Website: www.d.umn.edu/ws
UMD DEPARTMENT OF
WOMEN
’S STUDIES
ence will be from 1-4:45pm.
Cost: $10 in advance, $15 at
the door. For more informa-
tion, contact Susan Engel at
(218) 722-7425.
Apr. 5. Ramsey County
Women’s Political Caucus’s
Founding Feminist Festival. For
more information, email
women@mnwpc.org or call
(651) 228-0995.
For more events, go to
Continued from Page 4
*Others:
Mar. 11&12. The Art of Peace
will be at the “Coppertop,”
First United Methodist
Church, 230 E Skyline
Pkwy, begins with the art
exhibit Mar. 11, 6-8 p.m.,
and continues Mar. 12 with
an opening ceremony at
12:30 p.m. Performing art-
ists from 1-5 p.m., and con-
cludes at 7 p.m. with a per-
formance. Free and open to
the public.
Mar. 18. The YWCA and
The Northland Foundation
present “Knowledge is Power,” a
conference for empowering
young women ages 14-18.
Registration at 12:30pm,
Friday, Mar. 18. The confer-
THURSDAY
March 3, 2005
Women’s Studies’ Annual Women’s History Month
Keynote Speakers JACQUELYN ZITA and JUDITH
ROY present:
Why Women's Studies Is For Everybody!
Kirby Ballroom, 7 p.m.
Jacquelyn Zita is president of the National Women's
Studies Association, Professor of Women's Studies,
University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Judith Roy,
President-Elect, National Women's Studies Associa-
tion, Program Coordinator, Women's Studies, Cen-
tury College.
WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH CALENDAR & WS/WRAC BROWN BAGS
THE UNIVERSITY
OF
MINNESOTA IS
AN
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EDUCATOR
AND EMPLOYER
.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR!!!!