Women’s History Month 2001

Friday Feb 23  7:00 pm Living Room, KC Magdalen Hsu-Li Performance & Workshops  sponsored by the Union Board & Women’s Center  An acoustic/pop/alternative song writer and singer.  A Chinese-American who moves beyond our limited views and appeals to a ‘wide-spectrum’ of people.  According to her website, Magdalen “…cannot be categorized.  …Her spectacular live shows are high energy, consciousness raising, events featuring: piano, vocal and and drumset duos, impromptu standup and theatre, thought provoking poetry readings, and spiritually rousing percussion and drum improvisations.”  Magdalen writes and sings universal, personal, and political songs that stretch the boundaries of our consciousness, while appealing to a wide spectrum of people. Magdalen is a consummate performer, visual artist, and free spirit with a world vision who cannot be categorized. Audiences across America are raving about her powerful live performances.

Friday, Feb 23 9:30 pm (approximately) Living Room, KC   An interactive, diversity-awareness workshop featuring group discussion, role-play, and diversity problem solving techniques.  Facilitated by Magdalen Hsu-Li co-sponsored with Asian Awareness Group, Umbrella Group and Multicultural Affairs.

Friday, March 2  8:00 pm Elvira Kurt – Stack  Union Board & Women’s Center        Performing to audiences all over the world, Elvira Kurt's comedy has taken the world by storm.  As a veteran stand-up comic, she has been featured on programs such as Comedy Central's "Out There II" and the Discovery Channel's special "Wired Women."  Currently, Kurt is using her exceptional comedic writing skills as a member of the writing team for Canada's number one comedy show, "This Hour Has 22 Minutes."  However, she has continued to appear world-wide, showcasing both her acting and writing talents.  Kurt uses her smooth, down-to-earth style to "connect" with her audiences.  Combined with an animated and highly energetic performance, Kurt has even been compared to comedy legend Carol Burnett.

Saturday, March 3  8:30-3:30 Goodrich, Rob Hall, and Norris 101  Sleight High School Women’s Conference   This event recognizes high school junior women for their contributions to their schools and communities.  It is a one-day program that includes a keynote speaker and leadership skill workshops led by Albion College student leaders, staff, and faculty members.  The conference stresses personal interaction with female role models and provides an opportunity to meet with other outstanding high school student leaders.

Saturday, March 3  10:30 pm singer: Lisa Hunter at Coffee House  Coffee House & Women’s Center   Lisa Hunter's music is a combination of folk and rock with a "splotch of funk," and her sound has been compared to Ani DiFranco, Suzanne Vega and Shawn Colvin -- a seemingly odd combination but one that details her distinctive blend of musical influences.  A native of Michigan and a graduate of the University of Michigan, Hunter is a relative newcomer to the music scene, playing her first solo show in 1996. Since then, she has self-produced and released three CDs, opened for Kristen Hirsh, been a finalist in Lilith Fair Talent Search and picked up 10 Detroit Music Award nominations. She has previously performed at our Coffee House to packed houses!

Tuesday, March 6  Noon KC Table: Students in Women’s Studies will work tables over the lunch hour in the Kellogg Center sharing information and resources.  Free gifts will be distributed.  Topics will include: Women & Violence, Women in Leadership   . 

Monday, March 5  Women’s Clothesline Project in KC Stack   Student ‘peer-educators’ will display the t-shirt clothes line that helps women who have been abused share their stories and prevent future violence.  Co sponsored with Safer Sex Peer Educators).

Thursday, March 8  Noon KC Table.  Students in Women’s Studies will work tables over the lunch hour in the Kellogg Center sharing information and resources.  Free gifts will be distributed.  

Thursday, March 8     6:00 African Dinner KC: Stack  A meal of African Food cooked by women from the Methodist Church to raise money for an orphan girl in Zimbabwe.  co-sponsored with BSA and the United Methodist Women.  Tickets are $4. 

Thursday, March 8     8:00 pm Voices of Africa   KC: Stack  co-sponsored wt Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Sigma Alpha Iota, United Voices of Albion College, CISEGG, & Center for International Ed.   An internationally acclaimed, all women’s a cappella and percussion ensemble who perform unique blends of soul-stirring a cappella harmonies and African percussions.  They play the Sekere, Sakara, and Samba drums and Agogo bells.  Voices of Africa’s music includes sounds from across the African Diaspora and has a powerful message about African American culture and traditions!

Thursday, March 8     International Women’s Day (FYI)

Monday, March 19  Noon KC Table: Women’s Health   Students in Women’s Studies will work tables over the lunch hour in the Kellogg Center sharing information and resources about women’s health issues.  Free gifts will be distributed.

Tuesday, March 20  Noon KC Table  Students in Women’s Studies will work tables over the lunch hour in the Kellogg Center sharing information and resources.  Free gifts will be distributed.

Tuesday, March 20 7 pm   Herrick Center Theatre  Yinger Lecture by: playwright Carol Wright Krause, Ph.D. from University of Missouri: Columbia  Title: Charlotte Cushman, Early American Actress.  Co-sponsored with the Theatre Department.

Wednesday, March 21  Film Festival 9 pm Bobbitt    Divorce Iranian Style (80 minutes)   Women fighting the patriarchal judicial system in Iran?  This film reveals the personal stories of 6 women in one divorce court in Tehran.  The women involved share their personal experiences with witty, heartbreaking, and revealing comments.  See each case unfold in front of the judge.  To quote a recent review of this film, “The would-be divorcees manipulate the repressive system with an outspoken, indomitable spirit and humor. Though there are few ‘happy endings,’ we are still inspired by the women’s extraordinary determination—and the fact that this film actually got made, and screened, in Iran (Irina Leimbacher).    “Hilarious, tragic, stirring, this fly-on-the-wall look at several weeks in an Iranian divorce court provides a unique window into the intimate circumstances of Iranian women’s lives” (Women Make Films).  San Francisco Int'l Film Festival, Grand Prize for Best Documentary.

Wednesday, March 21  10:40 pm But I’m a Cheerleader (81 min)    An hilarious comedy about a naïve teenager whose conservative parents and friends send her to a ‘gay rehab’ camp because they fear she is a lesbian.  Just because she is a vegetarian, hates kissing her boyfriend, and likes Melissa Ethridge!  Outrageous, riotous satire!

Thursday, March 22  11 am Anna Howard Shaw Convocation Goodrich   Dr. Nawal El Sa’adawi will present a speech entitled:  “Women’s Politics, Religion and Creativity.”  For more than three decades, the novels and books of prolific writer and psychiatrist Nawal El Sa’adawi have had a deep effect on young women of the Middle East and the world. As a result of her literary and scientific writings, El Sa’adawi has had to face numerous difficulties: In 1972, she lost her job in the Egyptian government; Health, a magazine she founded and edited for more than three years, was closed down; and in 1981, she was imprisoned by President Sadat and released only after his assassination.  In 1991, the government closed down the Arab Women’s Solidarity Association over which she presided.  Dr. El Sa’adawi is a pioneer fighting for women’s rights and the winner of national and international literary prizes.  Her works have been translated from the original Arabic into more than 16 other languages. (co-sponsored by Meaning & Values, The Ford Institute, and the Chaplain’s office).  

Thursday, March 22  12 noon lunch with Dr. Nawal El Sa’adawi New Briton Rm (co-sponsored by Meaning & Values)   An informal time for members of the El Sa’adawi Coterie to ask questions and converse.

Thursday, March 22  Noon KC Table  Students in Women’s Studies will work tables over the lunch hour in the Kellogg Center sharing information and resources.  Free gifts will be distributed.

Thursday, March 22  4 pm student tea with Dr. Sa’adawi Wendell Wills Room

An informal time for students and faculty to dialogue with Dr. Nawal El Sa’adawi. 

Friday, March 23  Film Festival   8 pm Bobbitt Divorce Iranian Style (80 minutes) & 9:40 pm  But I’m a Cheerleader (81 min) (repeat of 21st presentations at a different time).  

Monday, March 26  1-2:30 pm KC: Alumni Conf Rm  Pacesetting Women of the Twentieth Century (60 min),  (co-sponsored with Political Science Department and Sleight Leadership Program)   A film done by Doris Kearns Goodwin about the important women of 20th century with a special focus on Eleanor Roosevelt.  Participants will view the film and have a discussion afterwards.   

Tuesday, March 26  12-1 KC Table  Students in Women’s Studies will work tables over the lunch hour in the Kellogg Center sharing information and resources.  Free gifts will be distributed.  

Wednesday, March 28   Film Festival 9 pm Bobbitt: Black, Bold, and Beautiful (40 minutes)   Hair carries a social message for African Americans.  Few issues cause so many battles between parents and daughters.  To leave hair ‘natural’ or not?  Film raises questions about norms and rebellion, pride and cultural identity.  “Today, trend-setting teens happily reinvent themselves on a daily basis, while career women strive for the right "professional" image, and other women go "natural" as a symbol of comfort in their Blackness. Filmmaker Nadine Valcin meets a diverse group of black women who reveal how their hairstyles relate to their lives and life choices. "Black, Bold and Beautiful" celebrates the bonds formed as women attend to each other's hair while exploring how everyday grooming matters tap into lively debates about self-determination and society's perceptions of beauty” (Women Make Films).  Columbus International Film and Video Festival, Honorable Mention.

Wednesday, March 28   Film Festival 10 pm  Wing Chung (94 minutes)   The top female martial arts actress, Michelle Yeoh, plays Yip Wing Chun, in a complete farce!  The story is about Wing Chun and her Aunt Abucus (who is a shrewd, sharp-tongued businesswoman.  Wing Chun wants to ward men away so she becomes a great martial arts fighter.  A gorgeous widow, Charmy, comes to town and really helps build up the Auntie’s tofu business by attracting male customers.  However, the neighborhood bandit also is drawn in and kidnaps Charmy to take as a wife.  You can imagine the resulting fights as Wing Chun must return Charmy. 

Thursday, March 29  Noon KC Table  Students in Women’s Studies will work tables over the lunch hour in the Kellogg Center sharing information and resources.  Free gifts will be distributed.

Thursday, March 29  Women’s Sports Games for Greek Week   Women are take part in fun sports activities such as relay races.  Co-Sponsored by the Panhellenic Council and Women’s Studies.  

Friday, March 30    3:00-5:00 pm Faculty Students Literary Tea – Wendell Will Rm   Albion College faculty and gifted students will present readings of their poetry and other creative writing.   

Friday, March 30    Film Festival 8 pm    Bobbitt:  Black, Bold, and Beautiful (40 minutes) & 9 pm Wing Chung (94 minutes) (repeat of 28th presentations at a different time).

For information contact: Deana Henry, Trisha Franzen, or Alexis Snyder. 

The costs of Women’s History Month are being underwritten by:  Anna Howard Shaw Women's Center, Anthropology & Sociology Department, Center for Interdisciplinary Study of Contemporary Expression in the Arts, Center for Interdisciplinary Study of Ethnic, Gender & Global Studies, Center for Interdisciplinary Study of History & Culture, Center for Interdisciplinary Study of Meaning & Values, Center for International Education, Coffee House, Economics Department , English Department, Ford Institute, History Department, Honors Institute, Liberal Arts at Play, Music Department, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Philosophy Department , Political Science Department, Pre-Med and Health Career Services Inst, Psychology Department, Shurmur Education Institute, Sigma Alpha Iota, Sleight Leadership Program, Speech/Communication Department, Umbrella Group, Union Board, and United Voices of Albion College (UVAC).