November 5th, 4:00pm, Library Browsing Area:

Beyond Binaries: Identity and the Sexuality Spectrum with Speaker, Teacher, Writer, Activist, & Workshop Leader Robyn Ochs

Like snowflakes, no two people are exactly alike. Robyn Ochs will provide an interactive program in which we can explore our sexual orientation identities. How do we assign labels to our complicated and unique experiences? What relationship exists between experience and self-identity, and between our self-identity and the way others see us? Is identity fixed for everyone, or do some individuals experience change over time? What generational changes are we experiencing around labeling?

Gender in a global frame:  A film and discussion series presented by the Women’s Studies Program

Join WMS affiliate faculty and friends for these provocative films that explore some of the complexities of gender and sexuality in different cultures and contexts. Faculty members will introduce the films they have selected and lead discussion following.

Weds, Nov. 4, 4 p.m.      Black Girl (1966)

The first feature-length film by Senegalese director Ousmane Sembène, the father of African film, dramatizes a young Senegalese woman's psychological struggle against the dehumanizing racism of the white Frenchwoman who employs her. The conflict between the two women highlights the complexities of the relationship between gender and exploitation in post-colonial society.  Presented by Dr. Stephanie O’Hara

Thurs Nov 12, 2 p.m.     Born Into Brothels (2005)

This documentary by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman, looks at the children of Calcutta's red light district.  Presented by Dr. Anupama Arora

Weds. Nov. 18, 4 p.m.  Mardi Gras Made in China (2006)

David Redmond’s award-winning documentary follows the path of Mardi Gras beads from the streets of New Orleans during Carnival – where women bare their breasts in exchange for beaded necklaces – to the disciplined factories in Fuzhou, China – where teenage girls live and sew beads together all day and night.  Presented by Dr. Lisa Maya Knauer

Weds. Dec. 9, 4 p.m.  Me, You, Them (Eu, Tu, Eles) (2000)

Director Andruchka Waddinton based her bittersweetly comic film on the true story of a peasant woman in the dry, impoverished northeast of Brazil, who lived with her three husbands, all under the same roof. Presented by Dr. Dario Borim

Light refreshments will be served at all screenings.  This program was organized by Dr. Lisa Maya Knauer for the Women's Studies Program and is supported by funds from the Provost’s Departmental Colloquium Series