Dominican University hosts events for Women's History Month

Dominican University and Concordia University Chicago will present the third annual Gender and Women Studies Mini Conference on Saturday, March 26 from 8:15 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Concordia University Chicago, 7400 Augusta Street, River Forest. The half-day conference will feature formal paper, poster and art presentations by students, faculty and staff at both universities. All work will address the themes of gender or the study of women.

During Women’s History Month in March, Dominican University will also host two other lectures on women and gender. Local Latina activists and leaders will present a panel discussion, “Latino Community Spaces by and for Women,” on Thursday, March 17 at 4:00 p.m. in the Springer Suites of the Crown Library, 7900 W. Division Street, River Forest. The panelists will discuss the importance of activism and gender rights in community organizing and social change work.

Dr. Deborah B. Gould, assistant professor of sociology at University of California, Santa Cruz, will present a lecture on “Moving Politics: Emotion and ACT UP’s Fight against AIDS” on Thursday, March 24 at 2:20 p.m. in Parmer Hall room 108, 7900 W. Division Street, River Forest. Gould will discuss her award-winning book of the same title, which is the first to analyze the emergence, development and decline of the direct-action AIDS movement ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power). Active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, ACT UP staged acts of civil disobedience and dramatic public demonstrations to bring attention to the AIDS epidemic.

Both of the lectures are free and open to the public. The cost for the Gender and Women Studies Conference is $20. To register for the conference, visit www.dom.edu/departments/ womenandgender. For more information, contact Dr. Christina Perez, associate professor of sociology and director of the Women and Gender Studies Program at Dominican, at (708) 524-6693 or cperez@dom.edu.