UNC Asheville Celebrates Women’s History Month

Press release:

During March, Women’s History Month, UNC Asheville will present a variety of events with the theme, “Our History is Our Strength.” From deconstructing social gender roles, to examining wage disparities and the intersectionality of feminist movements, these events are presented by UNC Asheville’s Multicultural Student Programs and the university’s Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program to educate, enlighten and inspire.

Women’s History Month events at UNC Asheville are free and open to the public:

• Through March 31 –New Exhibition: The Struggle of Everyday Living – Paintings by Sahar Fakhoury – Fakhoury graduated from the Kuwaiti Institute for Computer Studies before moving to the U.S. and earning a BFA at UNC Asheville. Her works will be on exhibit at UNC Asheville’s Highsmith Art and Intercultural Gallery throughout the month of March. A reception with the artist will take place from 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 23.
• March 15 –Lunch-N-Learn – Wage Disparities for Women – Facilitated by Gwendolyn Whitfield, assistant chair and associate professor of management, this discussion will explore the wage disparity that exists for women, and how that impacts our society. Noon-1 p.m. in UNC Asheville’s Intercultural Center in Highsmith Union.
• March 15 –Feminisms and Trans*Formation: Gender Liberation Through a Critical Trans Politic – Talk by TJ Jourian. Jourian was featured in the 2005 docu-series TransGeneration, is a member of the Brown Boi Project Training Team, managing editor of the Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education and Student Affairs and co-creator of the Higher Education Trans Advocacy Board. 7 p.m. in UNC Asheville’s Karpen Hall, Laurel Forum.
• March 17 – I, Too, Am Feminism: Conversation on Intersectionality in Feminist Movements– This student-led panel will discuss the intersectionality that exists within feminism, explore the way women of color have defined their own feminism, and how feminist thinkers can be more inclusive in their fight for equality for all women. 6-7:30 p.m. in UNC Asheville’s Highsmith Union room 221.
• March 21 – F*-Word Film Festival (*F for Feminist)– Day one of this annual event features two films: Three to Infinity: Beyond Two Genders, a documentary by Lonny Shavelson on people living in a spectrum of gender possibilities. Followed by On Beauty, a documentary by Joanna Rudnick that follows a photographer who left the fashion industry to use his lens instead on changing the way we see and experience beauty. A panel discussion will follow the films. 7 p.m. in UNC Asheville’s Karpen Hall, Laurel Forum.
• March 22 – F*-Word Film Festival (*F for Feminist)– Day two of this annual event features filmmaker Maha Marouan, who will screen her short documentary, Voices of Muslim Women from the U.S. South and participate in a post-screening discussion. This film asks: How do Muslim female students carve a space in a culture that thinks of Muslims as terrorists and Muslim women as backward? 7 p.m. in UNC Asheville’s Karpen Hall, Laurel Forum.
• March 29 – Poetry Slam and Open Mic Night – Word to Your Mother – 6-8 p.m. in UNC Asheville’s Karpen Hall, Laurel Forum.

For more information, see msp.unca.edu for Multicultural Student Programs, and wgss.unca.edu for the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program.