WCSU to celebrate Women's History Month with series of events
DANBURY, CONN. — A variety of events celebrating Women’s History Month are planned at Western Connecticut State University, 181 White St. Danbury in Danbury, in March, all of which will be free and open to the public.
Women’s History Month is a national event that was first celebrated in 1911. Public schools and college campuses across the country have recognized the achievements of American women since 1987.
This year, WCSU will focus on the theme of “Women and Politics.” The university’s Women’s History Month planning committee felt that it was appropriate to emphasize women’s contributions since this is an election year.
One of the highlights of the Women’s History Month events will be “Great Women of Danbury,” a musical voyage headed by Education and Educational Psychology Professor Dr. Darla Shaw.
“The goal,” Shaw said, “is to have Danbury’s school children understand the wealth and talent that these women represent. We will be traveling to neighboring schools to present this show as well and hope they see how important women’s history is to the area.”
The month-long celebration will begin at 2 p.m. on Monday, March 3, with a reception to mark the opening of a Women's History Month exhibit in the Ruth Haas Library. Assistant Professor of History and Non-Western Cultures Dr. Leslie Lindenauer will speak in the Warner Hall Lobby on the Midtown campus.
At 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5, in the Student Center Theatre on the Midtown campus, the WCSU theatre arts department will present “The Seventh Kafana” by Dumitru Crudu, Mihai Fusu and Micoleta Esinencu, translated by Carina Tautu. In the spirit of Eve Ensler’s “Vagina Monologues,” “The Seventh Kafana” is a lyrical collage of true stories from Moldavian women who have returned home from forced sex slavery in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The department of education and educational psychology will present “Great Women of Danbury” at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11, in the Midtown Student Center Theater. This musical voyage pays tribute to 12 outstanding women in Danbury’s history ranging from Sybil Ludington to Marian Anderson, Dr. Ruth Haas to Carole King. Performers will bring each individual to life through narration and song.
The award-winning 2004 German film “Rosenstrasse” will be screened at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12, in White Hall Viewing Room 025 on the Midtown campus. The film depicts German women in 1943 Berlin who staged a peaceful protest and successfully thwarted an attempt by the Third Reich to round up their Jewish husbands for deportation to concentration camps.
Professional actor and playwright Dale Allen will stage “In Our Right Minds” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 13, in the Student Center Theater on the Midtown campus. The performance will feature the history of female leaders over the centuries.
Amy Chua, the provocative author who argues that diversity has helped the United States dominate the world, will discuss the state of U.S. powers, federal immigration policy and her own experience as a second-generation immigrant at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 25, in Room 125 of the Science Building on the Midtown Campus. Chua’s latest book is “Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance — and Why They Fall.”
Professional Writing instructor Lionel Bascom will discuss his book, “The Last Leaf of Harlem: The Uncollected Works of Dorothy West,” at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26, in Warner Hall on the Midtown campus.
WestConn will present the Midtown Coffeehouse at 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 27, in Alumni Hall on the Midtown campus.
WestConn will host a tea and poetry reading at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 30, at the Women’s Center of Greater Danbury, 2 West St. in Danbury.
At noon on Tuesday, April 1, in Warner Hall on the Midtown campus, there will be a discussion about “Sex, Race and Democracy: Rigoberta Menchu for President.” Kelly Marie Fay, from the Labor Bureau of the Office of the State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, will discuss the controversial political career of Rigoberta Menchu, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient and 2007 presidential candidate in Guatemala.
Women’s History Month events are sponsored by: Women’s Studies Program, Office of the President, Office of the Provost, Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, Dean of Arts and Sciences, Women’s Center of Greater Danbury, Graduate Student Union, WCSU History Society, department of psychology, and the department of history and non-Western cultures.
For more information, call the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486.
