Women’s Conference Focuses on Women in the World

The  23rd Annual All University Conference on the Advancement of Women in Higher Education will feature three speakers who will provide a world view on women’s issues.

The event, themed “Women of the World,” runs from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 23 at the Student Union Building on the Texas Tech campus. It’s sponsored annually by Texas Tech's Women's Studies Council and the Office of Women's Studies.

Throughout the years, the event has transformed from a small gathering of female researchers talking about their research to a full-blown regional conference focusing on women and women’s issues, said Esther Sundell Lichti, a coordinator for the event and the Women’s Studies Program.

“It’s become more of an academic conference instead of just an opportunity to discuss the research going on at our campus or career information just for our employees,” Lichti said. “We chose ‘Women of the World’ as our theme because we think that it’s very important for American women to understand the problems women face in other parts of the world. Those problems affect all of us as women.”

The event begins with the Academic Paper and Poster Session, which will feature studies done by Texas Tech researchers and scholars from elsewhere.

Following the luncheon and scholarship awards, Myra Marx Ferree will give the keynote address, titled “Engaging with Global Feminism.”

Ferree is the Martindale-Bascom professor of sociology and director of the Center for German and European Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She will discuss the opportunities for insight and the challenges facing teachers who do not want to make American experience the center of feminist analysis for themselves or their Women’s Studies students.

Jan Monk, research social scientist emerita in women’s studies at the University of Arizona and former executive director of the Southwest Institute for Research on Women, will speak on “Spaces for Action: From the Body to the Transitional.”

In researching and teaching about women’s lives internationally, Monk says it is important to explore women as the agents of change, even as people recognize the constraints and discrimination they face. Monk argues people should be sensitive to place, time, culture and distinctions among women.

Jane Roberts will take the podium to discuss “34 million Friends of the Women of the World: Anatomy of a Grassroots Movement.” After the Bush administration chose not to release $34 million allocated by Congress in 2002 for the United Nations Population Fund, Roberts was one of the organizers of an online, word-of-mouth movement to raise that money a dollar at a time. She will discuss the movement and its importance to women in developing nations.

Tickets for the event are $30 for faculty, staff and community members. Excluding the luncheon, students may attend all conference sessions for free. Student luncheon price is $12. Registration deadline is Feb. 19. To register, fill out the registration form.

For a complete schedule of events or for more details, go to the Conference Web site.

For more information, call 742-4335 or email womens.studies@ttu.edu.

Contact

Esther Sundell Lichti, coordinator, Office of Women’s Studies, Texas Tech University, (806) 742-4335, esther.lichti@ttu.edu or

Charlotte C. Dunham, director, Office of Women's Studies, Texas Tech University, (806) 742-4335, charlotte.dunham@ttu.edu