UT will celebrate Women’s History Month this month with multiple events acknowledging the professional accomplishments of women past and present and discussing current topics that impact women every day.
Among the events happening around campus to celebrate Women’s History Month:
Lecture: “Sports, Sex, and God: Evangelical Female Athletes and the Policing of Sexual Desire”: Annie Blazer, assistant professor of religious studies at the College of William and Mary, will talk about female athletes in the United States and the scrutiny and presumptions they face regarding their sexuality. The lecture will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, March 2, in the Lindsay Young Auditorium of Hodges Library. The event is free and open to the public.
First Friday Open House at the McClung Museum: As a part of a recurring series, the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture will host its March First Friday Open House in honor of Women’s History Month. UT staff, faculty, and students, as well as museum members, are invited to attend this casual drop-in event to explore objects from the museum’s arts and culture collection that feature women as makers of objects and makers of history. The open house will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday, March 3, at the McClung Museum. Visitors should meet museum staff in the Object Study Room, Room 53, upon arrival.
Women in Business, Entrepreneurship and Leadership Summit: The Women in Business, Entrepreneurship and Leadership Summit is a half-day interactive learning and professional development event for UT students hosted by the Haslam College of Business. Participants will be able to connect with many female professionals and attend workshops about leading in the global marketplace. Featured keynote speakers include Mintha Roach, president and CEO, Knoxville Utility Board, and Meghann Erhart, vice president of supply chain strategy and customer sales, Pilot Flying J. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday, March 3, in the Haslam Business Building. Registration is open only to UT students. Students can sign up for the event here.
Lecture: “The Paradox of Women in Islam”: Author, journalist, and speaker Asra Nomani was born into a conservative Muslim family from India. Her presentation will provide a glimpse inside the Islamic feminist movement and how she has pushed for the rights of Muslim women. Nomani will share her personal story of empowerment, in which she walked through the front door of her mosque in Morgantown, West Virginia, in 2003 and gathered up the strength to go into the main hall reserved for men only. The lecture will be held from 7:30 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, March 7, in Room 32 of Alumni Memorial Building. The event is free and open to the public.
Public Performance: “I Can’t Keep Quiet,” the Anthem of the Women’s March: A public performance of the Women’s March anthem, “I Can’t Keep Quiet,” will be held at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 8, in the Powell Recital Hall of the Natalie L. Haslam Music Center. Trained musicians will lead the song and teach each part. This event is open to everyone and will be filmed and uploaded in coordination with the “I Can’t Keep Quiet” Campaign. To attend, RSVP to icantkeepquietknox@gmail.com.
Reading and Panel Discussion: “Top Girls and Busy Bodies: Spotlight on Women’s Issues”: In a collaboration with UT’s Commission for Women and the Department of Theatre, the Clarence Brown Theatre will feature a brief staged reading from their productions The Busy Body and Top Girls followed by a panel discussion with artists and scholars whose work centers on women’s issues. The reading and panel discussion will be held from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 9, at the Ula Love Doughty Carousel Theatre. The event is free and open to the public.
The Busy Body: A Comedy, a witty and fast-paced farce packed with memorable characters, runs through March 12 at the Ula Doughty Carousel Theatre. Top Girls, a feminist play that considers the conflicts that come with the pursuit of success, will run from March 29 through April 16 in the Lab Theatre. On Saturday, April 9, there will an actor talkback after the matinee. To purchase tickets to either of these plays, visit the Clarence Brown Theatre website.
Third Annual Women in STEM Research Symposium: Students, postdocs, faculty, and staff will present their research findings from each of the more than 50 science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields at UT. In addition to poster and oral presentations, there will be a keynote lecture and panel discussion with prominent women in STEM. The symposium will be held all day on Tuesday, March 21, in Hodges Library. The event is free and open to the public.
Lecture: “Lesbian Modernity: Sapphic Subjects from Absolutism to Austen”: Susan Lanser, a professor from Brandeis University, will present a talk on her book The Sexuality of History: Modernity and the Sapphic, 1565—1830. This study was the winner of the American Historical Association Joan Kelly Memorial Prize. The event will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 21, in McClung Tower Room 1210. Sponsored by the Transatlantic Enlightenment Seminar within the UT Humanities Center, this event is free and open to the public.
Miss Representation Movie Screening and Panel Discussion: This film explores how mainstream media contributes to the under representation of women in influential positions. Following the screening, panelists Julie Andsager, professor of journalism and electronic media, and Regina Dean, director of WUOT, will lead a discussion of the film as it relates to media and society. The screening will be held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, March 21, in the Lindsay Young Auditorium in Hodges Library. The event is free and open to the public.
Lecture: “Playing in the Dark: What We Can Learn from Girls’ Gamelans in Bali, Indonesia”: Sonja Downing, associate professor of ethnomusicology from the Lawrence Conservatory of Music, will present a lecture on her research in gender and music. She will reference the recent emergence and development of instrumental female music groups in Bali. The event will be held from 11:15 to 12:05 p.m. on Wednesday, March 22, in the Natalie L. Haslam Music Center, Room G25. This event is free and open to the public.
Knoxville Monologues: The Women’s Coordinating Council will celebrate Women’s History Month with an event inspired by Eve Ensler’s Vagina Monologues. The event will feature storytellers from the Knoxville community who will write and perform their own work surrounding the themes of gender sexuality, race, love, and self-discovery. The event will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, March 23, in the Natalie L. Haslam Music Center, Orchestra Room. The event is free and open to the public.
Love Your Body Week: From March 27 through 31, the Women’s Coordinating Council will be on the Johnson-Ward Pedestrian Walkway to challenge assumptions about beauty and body image. They will host a screening of Embrace from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, March 31, in Alumni Memorial Building Room 210. This movie follows body image activist Taryn Brumfitt’s crusade as she explores the global issue of body loathing. The event is free and open to the public.
Lecture: “When States ‘Come Out:’ The Politics of Visibility and the Diffusion of Sexual Minority Rights in Europe”: Phillip M. Ayoub, assistant professor of politics at Drexel University, will present a lecture on the recent history of the transnational LGBT movement in Europe. The lecture will be held from 12:10 to 1:25 p.m. on Monday, March 27, in Hodges Library Room 605.
Bad Feminist at Books Sandwiched In: Rebecca Klenk, lecturer in UT’s Department of Anthropology, will discuss Bad Feminist: Essays by Roxane Gay at Books Sandwiched In. The event is sponsored by the Friends of Knox County Public Library and will be held from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 29, at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S Gay St. Light lunches will be provided for the first 30 attendees. The event is free and open to the public.