March Women's History Month

Events At Boise State University In March

March 8-10 Film Fest All shows are FREE!
Co-sponsored with Student Programming Board
All in the SPEC, BSU

March 8th 7:00pm WHALE RIDER
Celebrating International Women's Day with this classic film. A magical and deeply moving story of a young girl's struggle to fulfil her destiny, Whale Rider is an award-winning film from New Zealand filmmaker Niki Caro. In a small New Zealand coastal village, Mäori claim descent from Paikea, the Whale Rider. In every generation, a male heir has succeeded to the chiefly title. The time is now. When twins are born, and the boy twin dies, Koro, the chief, is unable to accept his granddaughter, Pai, as a future leader. A few years later, Koro is convinced that the tribe's misfortunes began at Pai's birth and calls for his people to bring their sons to him, in the hope that the new leader is among them. Pai loves Koro more than anyone in the world, but she must stand up to him and a thousand years of tradition to reveal the true way forward.

March 9th 7:00pm THE WOMEN OF SUMMER: AN UNKNOWN CHAPTER OF AMERICAN SOCIAL HISTORY
Discussion afterwards with Sandy Schackel

The National Endowment for the Humanities documentary captures an historic moment when feminists, unionists, and educators came together to pursue a common social idea. From 1921 to 1938, 1700 blue-collar women participated in a controversial and inspired educational experiment known as The Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers. The program forever changed their lives and has left a legacy meriting public awareness. Folksingers Holly Near and Ronnie Gilbert are on hand to celebrate the occasion. Time has not dimmed the spirit and intellect of the graduates, who talk with passion about their lives in factories, mills, and unions. They recount the experience of living through the Depression, the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti, and the New Deal.

March 10th 12:30pm HIGH HEELS AND GROUND GLASS: PIONEERING WOMEN PHOTOGRAPHERS
This fascinating film portrays the life and work of five outstanding women photographers born around the turn of the century who perfected their craft in an era when photography was a man*s domain. There photography is woven together with clips from new of the day and on-camera-interview to tell a story about life for professional women living in the turbulent decades of the middle of the twentieth century.

March 10th 1:15 THE ARTIST WAS A WOMAN
The history of Western art has few examples of great women artists.
This documentary uncovers the works of some gifted women, while exploring why talent such as theirs was overlooked. We learn that women were denied admission to art school, or if admitted, not allowed to study the human figure. Also, male art historians did not take their work seriously, denying them the recognition they deserved.

Monday, March 12, 2007, 7:30 pm
Medieval Women in Story and Song
Dr. Linda Marie Zaerr, English Dept.
BSU Student Union, Barnwell Room

A single silk weaver in a small town struggles to balance conflicting responsibilities. A countess lashes out against a man who no longer loves her. A princess disguises herself as a male musician to find her way back to her lover. An abbess creates a complex music drama for the women in her convent. King Arthur is forced to answer the question "What do women most desire?" Join us as we explore these and other medieval stories and songs by or about women. Many of our modern beliefs about the Middle Ages are based on limited or oversimplified information. This presentation will expand notions of medieval women, demonstrating through entertainment how similar the issues they faced were to those we face today.

Friday, March 16, 2007, 7:00 pm
Play: The Spy and the Orange Girl
BSU Student Union, SPEC

This one act play is a lively romp through the manners and mores of the English Restoration era featuring real-life characters, Aphra Behn, English Spy and first professional female playwright, and Nell Gwyn, the madcap actress and lifelong mistress to Charles II. These two women were born in the basest of circumstances and by their wit, will, and unflagging ambition rose to power in the English court.

Saturday, March 17, 2007, 7:00 pm
Film: Tres Vidas
BSU Student Union, SPEC

$10/general admission $5/student and seniors Written by Marjorie Agosin and directed by Matthew Wright. Tres Vidas celebrates the life, times, and work of three significant Latin and South American Women: painter Frida Kahlo of Mexico, peasant activist Rufina Amaya of El Salvador, and poet Alfonsina Storni of Argentina.
With storylines including Frida Kahlo's dramatic and passionate relationship with painter Diego Rivera, Rufina Amaya's astounding singular survival of the massacre at El Mozote and Alfonsina Storni's life long challenges as Argentina's first great feminist poet, Tres Vidas presents dramatic situations timeless in their emotional appeal and connection to audiences across all gender and ethnic spectrums.

Monday, March 19, 2007, 7:00pm
The Virgin Mary in History and Art

Dr. Lisa McClain, History Dept. and Gender Studies Program, and Rena Vandewater, MFA BSU Student Union, Lookout Room Many Christians assume they know Mary through her role in the Nativity, as Mother of Jesus as portrayed in portraits and images, and as powerful intercessor. Yet there is hardly any mention of Mary in Christian gospels. We'll explore the historical Mary, the symbolic Mary, and how what Mary represents has changed (and continues to change) over time.

Additional Links

Reference from Idaho State University for online Women's history research:
http://frank.mtsu.edu/˜kmiddlet/history/women.html

Idaho women's commission:
http://www.women.idaho.gov

Boise State's women’s center: 
http://womenscenter.boisestate.edu

Jennie Hughes Smith, the first African American to graduate from the University of Idaho:
http://www.lib.uidaho.edu/special-collections/dm/dm2007/jennie.htm

International Women's Day:
http://www.internationalwomensday.com/default.asp

Spokane Womens Show:
http://www.spokanewomensshow.com