Events to mark Women's History Month

In commemoration of Women's History Month, several University organizations -- including the Greenfield Intercultural Center, the Women's Studies Program and the Kelly Writers House -- are sponsoring various events honoring women's contributions to history, culture and society. The events this month include a live radio broadcast, several talks, poetry readings and a commemorative awards luncheon. In marking Women's History Month, the Writers House will broadcast a special "Live at the Writers House," according to Heather Starr, the House's resident coordinator. Featuring female poets and musicians from Penn and the Philadelphia area, the show will be broadcast on the University radio station, WXPN, before a live audience on March 15. "[These events] honor and recognize the unique contribution of women," Starr said. In conjunction with the Women's Studies Department and the Young Women's Advisory Board of Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania, the Writers House is also sponsoring a poetry reading March 22 by Robin Becker, an English professor at Penn State University. Becker will share selections from her works, Giacommeti's Dog and All American Girl. And Friday, the 12th Annual Women of Color Awards Luncheon -- sponsored by various groups at Penn, the University Health System and several hospital affiliates -- will be held at the Penn Tower Hotel. At the luncheon, awards will be presented to female community members who have helped contribute to its enhancement. The annual event is held in honor of National Women of Color Day, celebrated March 1. The ceremony will be a "real large event for this month," said Afi Roberson, a staff member at the African-American Resource Center, one of the sponsors of the event. As part of its continuing public lecture series, the GIC will sponsor two female lecturers on March 22 and 23. Donna Deyhle from the University of Utah will speak on "Navajo Issues in Higher Education," and Evelyn Hu-Dehart from the University of Colorado at Boulder will give a speech entitled "Zapatistas, Sweatshop Workers and Globalization on the Pacific Rim." The Classical Studies and Women's Studies departments will also sponsor a lecture in honor of women's history on March 4, at which Froma Zeitlin from Princeton University will speak about "Politics, Utopia and Rule by Women in Aristophanes."