Marking Women's History Month
Calvin College will offer a variety of events in March to mark Women's History Month, including a film series and a trio of lectures.
A pair of the lectures will be offered by Calvin professors.
Christina VanDyke, a professor of philosophy, will speak on "I'll Have a Salad and a Diet Coke: Eating as a Gendered Act" on Monday, March 6 at 3:30 pm in the Meeter Center Lecture Hall at Calvin.
Lisa VanArragon, an assistant professor of art history, will speak on "Gender and Contemporary Art: Matriarchal Aesthetic and After" on Monday, March 13 at 3:30 pm in the Meeter Center Lecture Hall.
The third talk will be given on Monday, March 27 at 3:30 pm in the Meeter Center Lecture Hall by Hermina Joldersma on "Religious Song and late-Medieval Women in the Low Countries and Northern Germany." She is a University of Calgary professor and a 1977 Calvin graduate.
VanArragon says her talk will address the emergence of feminist art in the 1970s in relationship to larger discussions of gender and culture during that period. It will also look at the subsequent legacy of feminism for contemporary artistic practice.
"We will look at examples of art from the 1970s to the present," she says, "and consider how power relations might be embedded in images, what are current issues being addressed by women artists and whether all art by women is feminist."
The film series will feature three films all to be shown in the Bytwerk Theater at Calvin. On Wednesday, March 8 at 7 pm the series begins with Million Dollar Baby and the following week, Wednesday, March 15 at 7 pm, Girlfight will be shown. The series takes a week off for Calvin's spring break and then concludes on Wednesday, March 29 with a 7 pm showing of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. A time for discussion will follow each film.
Calvin communications professor Kathi Groenendyk is organizing the film series and says there are important issues surrounding women and film.
"Does a female director's storytelling differ from that of a male director," she asks. "Does it matter that only five percent of film directors are women? Do women screenwriters, who are also in a distinct minority, shape their characters differently than male screenwriters? In the film series, we will view three films with similar subject matter told by different genders and cultures."