Campus Events

Upcoming Events: 2013-2014 Speaker Series "Talking Back to Violence"

Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies sponsors and co-sponsors a variety of events throughout the year. Our 2013-2014 programming theme is "Talking Back to Violence."

Oct. 3, 2013 at 7pm in the College Union Ballroom
Story of a Rape Survivor (SOARS). A Long Walk Home, Inc. Performance
Sponsored by the Women's Center and WGS

A Long Walk Home’s website, describes SOARS as a “two hour performance about one woman’s journey to reclaim her body, sexuality, spirituality, and self-esteem after being sexual assaulted in college. Performed by a diverse cast of women and featuring photographs taken by her sister during the recovery process, SOARS uses modern dance, spoken-word, and music to educate the public about sexual violence and to ease the shame, guilt, and self-blame that rape victims too often feel with a story of hope and healing.”

Nov. 6, 2013 at 7pm in CUB 260
Lecture, "The Female Body as Contested Landscape: Historic and Contemporary Religious Responses to Domestic Violence"
Dean Nancy Nienhuis, Dean of Students & Vice President for Strategic Initiatives
Professor of Theology and Social Justice, Andover Newton Theological School

The lecture examines the various ways religious leaders, past and present, have dictated what appropriate female behavior and comportment consist of, and the impact of these beliefs on battered women. While domestic violence victims often turn to religious leaders for support during moments of crisis, too often what they find there makes the violence theirs to fix or actually blames them for it. Yet research shows that informed responses from religious leaders can have significant positive effects on survivors and batterers. This lecture explores these dynamics and focuses on how to turn religious roadblocks into resources for empowerment and survival.