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Women's Month 2023 Calendar of Programs and Events

All Month Long Programs & Events

Exhibition: Anne Samat "Follow Your Heart Wholeheartedly 2"

All month long
Wednesday-Friday, 10AM-5PM and Saturday 10AM-4PM
Ruth C. Horton Gallery, Moss Arts Center
Sponsored by Moss Arts Center
Contact: Ellery Huffman
In her fiber-based reliefs, Malaysian artist Anne Samat meticulously juxtaposes beadwork and traditional South Asian weaving techniques with common items in a project that questions the boundaries of craft and art.

Exhibition: Yanira Collado "Zafa/ A Spellworking of Temporal Geometry"

All month long
Wednesday-Friday, 10AM-5PM and Saturday 10AM-4PM
Miles C. Horton Jr. Gallery & Sherwood Payne Quillen '71 Reception Gallery, Moss Arts Center
Sponsored by Moss Arts Center
Contact: Ellery Huffman
In the face of inevitable change and displacement, memories find a home in the relic. Yanira Collado explores the ideas of migration, reliquary, and memory through contructions and ritual.

Stories: Alumnae of Fashion Merchandising and Design

All month long
Monday-Friday 8AM-5PM
Wallace Hall Atrium
Sponsored by Apparel, Housing & Resource Management
Contact: Dina Smith-Glaviana
Select garments and accessories for the Oris Glisson Historic Costume and Textile Collection donated by alumnae from what is presently known as the Fashion Merchandising and Design program will be on display.

Weeks One through Three Programs & Events: March 1-18

Women's Wellness Drive: Period Products

March 1-27
Monday-Friday 8AM-5PM
Drop off March 1-27 at VT Engage, 417 Clay St SW and VT Women's Center, 206 Washington St SW
Drop off March 13-27 at Squires Student Center and Kroger on South Main, 1322 S Main St
Sponsored by VT Engage: The Center for Leadership and Service Learning and Period@VT
Contact: Jessica McMillan
In the spirit of Ut Prosim, VT Engage is partnering with the student organization Period@VT and the community organization Agape to collect items in support of women's well-being.

Presentation: International Women's Day Recognition Ceremony

Wednesday, March 8 @ 5:30-7:30PM
403 Washington Street SW, Blacksburg
Sponsored by YMCA at Virginia Tech
Contact: Dina Ali
Celebrating women who contribute to our community and the world through their service and leadership and recognizing YMCA women who led the Y in past years. Attendance is by invitation only as space is limited.

Contest: Women's Month 2024 Theme and Graphic highlighting the 30th Anniversary of the VT Women's Center

Contest runs through April 28
Sponsored by Women's Month 2024 and the Women's Center at Virginia Tech
Contact: Jessie Meltsner
In 2024 the Women's Center will celebrate its 30 years of offering education, advocacy, and outreach in support of creating a more inclusive and equitable Virginia Tech for all students, faculty and staff. We want to mark the occasion by featuring a Women's Month 2024 theme and graphic designed by YOU! We are excited to announce the Women's Month 2024 Theme and Graphic Design Contest, open to all members of the Virginia Tech community. This is your chance to showcase your creativity and contribute to the celebration of women at VT. The winning theme and graphic will be featured prominently on all Women's Month 2024 branded materials, including flyers, posters, merch, etc.  The WoMo 2024 theme and graphic should demonstrate gender-inclusive and intersectional language/imagery and a celebratory spirit. To enter the contest, please submit your theme and graphic design to wcprograms@vt.edu no later than April 28, 2023.  The graphic element should be submitted in PDF and/or PNG formats, with at least 1920 x 1080 px. Be sure to include your name and contact information with your submission.

Speaker: Solo Travel Safety Lunch & Learn

Monday, March 13 @ 12-1PM
Newman Library Multipurpose Room
Sponsored by Global Education Office and Virginia Tech Police Department
Contact: Allie Oberoi
Traveling on your own can be great, whether it be a restorative and self-indulgent experience, or a personal challenge to achieve something new. Regardless of whether your plans are in the U.S. or abroad, there are a lot of things you can do to improve your solo travel experience and stay safe along the way. Let's talk together about some travel safety basics and be ready to venture out on your own!

Panel & Networking: Feminists of Sustainable Built Environments

Monday, March 13 @ 2-3:30PM
GLC, Meeting Room F
Sponsored by BioBuild IGEP, Meyers-Lawson School of Construction-Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Contact: Fraser Lee Hudgins and Erin Nuckols
The voices of minority genders often go unheard in a male-dominated industry like construction. The value of these voices becomes increasingly important as the field broaches the challenges of a changing climate. This program provides a platform for folks to share their experiences in a discussion, Q&A, and networking space with other gender minorities focused on praxis and practice in the field of sustainable construction.  

Panel: Virginia Tech Women in Information Technology (IT)

Wednesday, March 13 @ 4-5PM
Smithfield Room, Inn at Virginia Tech
Sponsored by Women Hokies in IT (WHIT)
Contact: Terri Pecora
Join this panel of VT women in IT as we answer your questions as well as questions about how to get started in IT, the different areas we have worked, and share our experiences.

Speaker: VTDITC vol. 42: Hip Hop & Mental Health III

Wednesday, March 15 @ 12-1PM
Black Cultural Center, Squires Student Center and VTDITC Studio Hours at True School Studios, 103 Media Building, 101 Draper Road NW in Blacksburg
Sponsored by the VTDITC: Hip Hop Studies at Virginia Tech and the Black Cultural Center
Contact: Craig Arthur and Dakotah Hamilton
Join Dr. Apryl Alexander (University of North Carolina Charlotte Department of Public Health Sciences and Virginia Tech alumna), the VTDITC: Hip Hop Studies at Virginia Tech community, and the Black Cultural Center as Dr. Alexander discusses the importance of Hip Hop as a form of healing, particularly during sociopolitical movements. Like everything we do, this event is completely free and open to the public. After the discussion, pull up to VTDITC Studio Hours at our own True School Studios (103 Media Building) for your opportunity to create amongst like-minded creatives.  Free lunch from Roots Natural Kitchen will be provided by the Black Cultural Center.  Vibrations will be provided by the VTDITC team.

Speakers: Women's History Month TedTalks

Wednesday, March 15 @ 7-8PM
Colonial Hall, Squires Student Center
Sponsored by Virginia Tech Union
Contact: Abigail Jordan
In the spirit of the global TedTalks goal of spreading ideas through short, focused, powerful talks, this program will highlight the stories of female faculty and organization leaders at Virginia Tech working in male-dominated fields to share their experience, perspective, and words of wisdom.

Speaker: Women and Gender in International Development Discussion Series featuring Jessica Spence

Thursday, March 16 @ 12:30-1:30PM
Newman Library Multipurpose Room and via Zoom, must register
Sponsored by Center for International Research, Education, and Development (CIRED)
Contact: Lumbini Barua
Jessica Spence, an ICTAS Fellow and ALCE doctoral student at Virginia Tech will discuss "Speaking for themselves: The importance of enabling Ughandan women to share their story through photography and community dialogue." Participants can join in person or via Zoom.  Snacks provided. Registration required.

Conference: Gender, Bodies & Technology

Thursday, March 16 @ 4-5:30PM
Friday, March 17 @ 9AM-9PM
Newman Library Multipurpose Room
Sponsored by Women's and Gender Studies; Office of the President; Institute of Culture, Society, and the Environment (ISCE); ICAT; Graduate School; AdvanceVT; Women's Center; Center for the Humanities; Women and Gender in International Development; Sociology; CLAHS; Religion and Culture; STS; MCLL; Economics; ASPECT; Center for the Study of Rhetoric in Society; Moss Arts Center; VT Libraries; Division of IT
Contact: Bonnie Zare
The theme of this year's GBT conference is Post-Dobbs Precarity. Come hear Disability Studies scholar Alison Kafer speak on "Disabled Life, and Death, Under the Bans: Threatening Care in Texas" and Transgender Studies and Human Security expert Toby Beauchamp take on questions of state power, science, and technology, as well as transnational flows of knowledge, bodies, and capital.

Open House: Women's Stories in the Archives

Thursday, March 16 @ 5:15-7:30PM
Special Collections and University Archives, 1st Floor, Newman Library
Sponsored by Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries
Contact: Kira Dietz
Join us for an evening open house in our reading room.  We will have materials from our historical manuscripts, rare book collection, and university archives that share/tell women's stories in their own words. Visitors can go hands-on with documents, oral histories, photographs, and more, as well as learn about our office and resources.

Poetry Reading: Archival Reproductive Poetics

Friday, March 17
6:30PM Reception
7:30PM Poetry reading & discussion
The Cube, Moss Arts Center
Sponsored by the Gender, Bodies & Technology conference
Contact: Bonnie Zare
Poet Kwoya Maples is a writer from Charleston, South Carolina and the author of Mend (University Press of Kentucky). She was a finalist for the 2019 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Poetry. Mend gives voice to several enslaved women who were experimented on by early gynecologist Dr. Marian Sims. Poet Abby Minor lives in the ridges and valleys of central Pennsylvania, where she works on poems, essays, gardens, and projects exploring reproductive politics. Her first book, As I Said: A Dissent, is a collection of long documentary poems concerning abortion, embodiment, justice, and citizenship in U.S. history.

Simulation & Discussion: Cybersecurity: it takes a team

Friday, March 17 @ 12:30-1:30PM
NCB 170
Sponsored by Department of Management, Pamplin 
Contact: Arianna Schuler Scott
Join us to explore a more human view of cybersecurity, as well as those who can contribute to it. A 'holistic' view of security takes people's behavior into account as well as technology. This session is a primer on cybersecurity as a topic and a career route. Attendees will work together to respond to a cybersecurity incident. This program welcomes those with and without knowledge of cybersecurity.

Film & Discussion: Afghanistan Undercover

Thursday, March 17 @ 2-3:30PM
Shanks 370/380
Sponsored by Women's and Gender Studies
Contact: Ayda Haydarpour
This PBS FRONTLINE documentary is an undercover investigation into the Taliban's crackdown on women in Afghanistan. FRONTLINE correspondent Ramita Navai, a British-Iranian journalist, finds women who are being punished by the regime, confronts Taliban officials, and reveals the realities of life for women under Taliban rule.  Join us for this important documentary and post-film discussion.

Workshop: Women's Wellbeing for International Students

Friday, March 17 @ 3-4PM
Via Zoom
Sponsored by Cranwell International Center, Women's Center and Schiffert Health Center
Contact: Mingzhi Li
Join us to learn about health care services that are provided by Schiffert Health Center, which are considered "routine" in the U.S. and you may want to take advantage of. Also, learn from the Women's Center about wellbeing and safety for women, and what's considered healthy boundaries in different settings (e.g. relationships, workplaces, labs, roommates, and other contexts).

Week Four Programs & Events: March 19-25

Speaker & Activities: Women's Health Day

Sunday, March 19 @ 2-4:30PM
1000 North Main Street, Blacksburg
Sponsored by YMCA at Virginia Tech
Contact: Dina Ali
A free public event to raise women's awareness about preventive medicine and healthy habits that contribute to their wellbeing. More details will be published to the YMCA's website as they become available.

Performance & Resources: Soulstice A Cappella 25th Anniversary Concert

Sunday, March 19 @ 2PM
Moss Arts Center
Sponsored by Soulstice and many VT offices, clubs, and organizations
Contact: Kate Arcia
Soulstice A Cappella is Virginia Tech's premier all-female a cappella group founded in 1998. The group consists of 16 members, ranging from first year through seniors. While music is what brought them all together, the members of Soustice come from many different backgrounds, creating a diverse group of women who sing with soul and pursue a wide range of academic endeavors. Come out and celebrate 25 years of Soulstice!

Dinner & Networking: College of Science Community Night at the Women's Center

Monday, March 20 @ 6PM
Women's Center Lower Level, 206 Washington Street
Sponsored by College of Science
Contact: Jess Hoopengardner
Join other female science students at the Women's Center to eat and be in community! Dinner will be provided. Registration required.

Display: What’s Yours, What’s Mine? Artists’ Boundaries and Balance

Beginning March 21 through April, Tuesday-Saturday @ 10AM-4PM
Alexander Black House Museum, 204 Draper Road, Blacksburg
Sponsored by The Lyric Theatre and Blacksburg Museum and Cultural Foundation
Contact: Susan Mattingly
In collaboration with Lucinda McDermott’s one-woman play, “O’Keeffe!”, McDermott’s Georgia O'Keeffe has summoned us to answer her question, "Was it me or was it my mentor?" We journey with O'Keeffe from 1915, when she tears up her work to date, and starts over in black and white abstractions, in which she developed a personal language to better express her feelings and ideas. A move to New York in 1918, where she finds recognition and fame, but the shadow of manager and husband Alfred Stieglitz looms over her. Was it his nude photographs (more than 200) of her that enticed the art world, or was it her own craft?

In 1978, O’Keeffe wrote about how distant from them she had become, "When I look over the photographs Stieglitz took of me—some of them more than sixty years ago—I wonder who that person is. It is as if in my one life I have lived many lives.”O’Keeffe rejected claims about what drove her work, but when a Stieglitz affair gets too intense, and a very large public commission collapses, her world falls apart. O’Keeffe travels to New Mexico in 1929 to escape her marriage problems and pressures. She would travel for the next few years, eventually returning to New Mexico in 1934 and begin painting the landscape works that are so well-known.

Speaker: A Pickle Problem: The Deli Revival and American Jewish Religion

Tuesday, March 21 @ 5PM
129 McBryde Hall
Sponsored by Department of Religion & Culture, Malcolm and Diane Rosenberg Program in Judaic Studies, Virginia Tech Food Studies Program
Contact: Matthew Gabriele
The sponsors are pleased to welcome Professor Rachel Beth Gross (San Francisco State University) to campus to talk about the amazing, complicated history of Jewish food in America. Building from her 2021 book "Beyond the Synagogue: Jewish Nostalgia as Religious Practice," Professor Gross will talk about the particular place of Jewish Delis and their relationship with American Jewish Religion. All are welcome to attend. Masking is requested.

Panel: Women in Math

Tuesday, March 21 @ 6PM
455 McBryde Hall
Sponsored by the Association for Women in Mathematics VT Student Chapter
Contact: Nora Heitzman-Breen
This panel discussion will explore what it's like to be a woman in the field of mathematics. Topics discussed will include educational experiences at the K-12 level, undergraduate and graduate levels, work/life balance, overcoming barriers, finding community in mathematics, and future directions to create more inclusive environments in mathematics. Bring your questions and participate in this important conversation!

Play: O'Keeffe!

Tuesday, March 21-Thursday, March 23 @ 7:30PM
The Lyrice Theatre, Downtown Blacksburg
Sponsored by The Lyric Theatre and Blacksburg Museum and Cultural Foundation
Contact: Susan Mattingly
Written and performed by Lucinda McDermott. Georgia O'Keeffe has summoned an audience to help answer the question, "Was it me or was it Stieglitz?". We journey with O'Keeffe from 1915 when she tears up her work to date, and starts over in black and white to discover her own style. She revisits key moments in her life to reveal hidden truths, but the shadow of her manager and husband Alfred Stieglitz looms heavy over her. Was it his nude photographs of her that enticed the art world to her, or was it her own excellence of craft? Would she have been noticed if he hadn't exhibited her? Georgia rejects claims by the male dominated art world about what drives her art, but when a Stieglitz affair gets too intense, and a very public commission collapses, her world falls apart. Georgia rallies, determined to survive and paint again, but some difficult decisions must be made. In the end, the truth that lies deep in Georgia's heart is revealed - and it's as devastating as it is honest. O'Keeffe! is a revealing drama about the beloved and complex American icon. A Q&A with Lucinda follows the March 22 performance. Ticket required.

Exhibition: IAWA 1x1 COLOMBIA

Wednesday, March 22-Friday, March 24
Cowgill Hall Lobby
Sponsored by the International Archive of Women in Architecture (IAWA) Center
Contact: Donna Dunay
A vast number of women across the globe have contributed throughout history to the built environment and the advancement of the disciplines of architecture and design... The international call, 1x1, seeks to collect one original two-dimensional artifact made by every woman in architecture and design worldwide. This exhibition will display the works of women in architecture from Colombia collected by IAWA Advisor, Ana María Pinzón.

Lunch & Networking: Women of Pamplin Luncheon

Wednesday, March 22 @ 11:45AM-1:30PM
The Inn at Virginia Tech
Sponsored by Pamplin's Office for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
Contact: A'me Dalton
Inviting all Pamplin College of Business women! In honor of Women's Month, we celebrate you and all you do!

Presentation: (House)Keeping Secrets

Thursday, March 23 @ 2PM
Hancock Hall
Sponsored by the International Archive of Women in Architecture (IAWA) Center
Contact: Donna Dunay
Aaron Cayer, Assistant Professor, University of New Mexico, will be presenting his prize-winning research for the 2021 IAWA Kristine Fallon Prize. The Prize recognizes the best published or publication-ready manuscript that researches a woman or women that made significant contributions to the field of architecture through their work practicing at large US firms in the second half of the 20th century.

Conference: Pamplin Women's Summit

Saturday, March 25 @ 10AM-3PM
The Inn at Virginia Tech
Sponsored by Pamplin's Office for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
Contact: A'me Dalton
This first ever women's summit is an event where women in business can gather to learn, network, build community, and exchange strategies to best advocate for themselves and build self-confidence in the workplace. The goal is for students to be empowered to build their own strategies for success, be inspired to use their voices with confidence, and continue to grow their network of strong, powerful, and inspirational women. Registration required.

Performance: The All-Seeing Sky

Saturday, March 25 @ 7:30PM
Berglund Performing Arts Theatre, Roanoke
Sponsored by Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts and Roanoke Symphony Orchestra
Contact: Annie Stevens 
Annie Stevens and Andrea Venet present the U.S. Premiere of the double concerto, The All-Seeing Sky, by New Zealand based composer, John Psathas. Performance with the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, David Stewart Wiley, music director. Annie Stevens is Associate Professor of Percussion at Virginia Tech, and Principal Timpanist, RSO; Andrea Venet is Associate Professor of Percussion at University of North Florida.

Week Five Programs & Events: March 26-31

Workshop: The Clothesline Project

Monday, March 27 through Friday, March 31
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday @ 9AM-4:30PM; Thursday @ 9AM-3PM
Women's Center, Lower Level Library, 206 Washington
Sponsored by Montgomery County NOW, United Feminist Movement, Women's Center, Women's Resource Center of the New River Valley
Contact: Susan Anderson
An effort to raise awareness of gender-based violence, this is project is a visual testimony to the shattering effects of violence and the impact it has on society. Survivors of violence - and friends and families of victims - create shirts emblazoned with direct messages and strong illustrations. The shirts demonstrate the pain and suffering of the survivors, aid in their healing process, and celebrate their strength and courage to overcome the past.  The project encourages survivors to come forward to break the silence by creating shirts to share their stories. All materials are supplied free of charge. Please consider dropping by the Women's Center to create your own shirt in a quiet, comfortable space.

Panel: Black Women and Wellness

Monday, March 27 @ 2PM
Black Cultural Center (BCC), Squires
Sponsored by Black Cultural Center, VT Center for Humanities, CLAHS-Africana Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)
Contact: Kimberly Clark-Shaw
This project delves into women's health and wellness, particularly women in the Black Community and Diaspora. Speaker Vanessa Bowers, LCSW, CCTP, MA will present and have a discussion with campus partners around issues of identity and mental health. Anyone with an interest in women’s issues, equity, belonging/inclusion and social justice are encouraged to attend. Lunch will be provided.

Display: The Clothesline Project

Tuesday, March 28 @ 9AM-5PM
Drillfield at Virginia Tech; Rain location Squires Student Center
Sponsored by Montgomery County NOW, United Feminist Movement, Women's Center, Women's Resource Center of the New River Valley
Contact: Susan Anderson
An effort to raise awareness of gender-based violence, this is project is a visual testimony to the shattering effects of violence and the impact it has on society. Survivors of violence - and friends and families of victims - create shirts emblazoned with direct messages and strong illustrations. The shirts demonstrate the pain and suffering of the survivors, aid in their healing process, and celebrate their strength and courage to overcome the past.

The shirts are hung side-by-side on a clothesline, as though the survivors were standing there themselves, shoulder-to-shoulder, bearing witness to the violence committed on a daily basis. The shirts are color coded: white for those who have died of violence; yellow or beige for survivors who have been battered or assaulted; red, pink, or orange for those raped or sexual assaulted; blue or green for survivors of incest or child sexual abuse; purple or lavender for survivors attacked because of their sexual orientation; and black for those disabled by violence. The Clothesline Project educates the public about the scope of gender-based violence and the impact it has on individuals, their families and friends, and the community.

Lecture: "It Takes the World to Make a Meal: Dinner at Cawson's 1796"

Thursday, March 30 @ 11AM-12:15PM
Brush Mountain A, Squires
Sponsored by Food Studies Program, History Department, College of Liberal Arts and Human Science
Contact: Anna Zeide
The first in a series of events with acclaimed Black culinary historian, Leni Sorensen, who has been a curator at Monticello. Dr. Sorensen stages historical dinners at her Indigo House and was featured in Netflix's High on the Hog, and was recently profiled in the New York Times. In this public lecture, she will explore the meals—and the enslaved people who performed the labor, cooking and serving—at a late 18th-century Virginia plantation as a way to illustrate eating traditions and to highlight the lives of the enslaved people who, at all levels of production, made them possible.

Discussion: Don't Stop the Flow: A conversation about periods and period poverty

Thursday, March 30 @ 12-1:30PM
Graduate Life Center Multipurpose Room
Sponsored by The Graduate School
Contact: Shania Clinedinst
The Graduate School's Office of Recruitment, Diversity, and Inclusion invites the graduate community to engage in this important conversation. All identities are encouraged to attend. Open to everyone.  Resources will be available on site and a FREE lunch will be provided. Registration requested.

Scholar in Residence Speaker: Dr. Banu Subramaniam "Alien Becomes Exotic: Race, Gender & the Practice of Science"

Thursday, March 30 @ 5PM
Newman Multipurpose Room or Zoom
Sponsored by ACEC
Contact: Nina Ha
Dr. Banu Subramaniam is Professor of Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Trained as a plant evolutionary biologist, Dr. Subramaniam engages the feminist studies of science in the practices of experimental biology. Author of Holy Science: The Biopolitics of Hindu Nationalism (University of Washington Press, 2019) Ghost Stories for Darwin: The Science of Variation and the Politics of Diversity (University of Illinois Press, 2014), Dr. Subramaniam's current work focuses on decolonizing botany and the relationship of science and religious nationalism in India.

Speaker: Recording of "Color Me Country with Rissi Palmer"

Thursday, March 30 @ 5:30PM
Cube, Moss Arts Center
Sponsored by Moss Arts Center
Contact: Ellery Huffman
As a passionate voice for country artists of color and those who have been marginalized in mainstream country music, Rissi Palmer launcher her own radio show, Color Me Country with Rissi Palmer, on Apple Music Country in 2020. Palmer is joined by Richmond, Virginia guest artist Tony Jackson to record an episode of the podcast. Rissi Palmer performs as part of Up 86, a series of performances programmed by Guest Curator Shirlette Ammons.

Event: Period@VT Packing Party

Thursday, March 30 @ 5:30-6:30PM
VT Engage House
Sponsored by VT Engage and Period@VT
Contact: Emma Yadene
Join us for this period product packing party event.  Participants will learn about period poverty and the importance of period products for those who menstruate who may not have access to the supplies they need. The period packs created at this event will go to the Blacksburg community. We would love to see you there!

Rally & March: Take Back the Night

Note Date Change Wednesday, April 26
6:30PM Pre-rally music
7PM Rally 
Henderson Lawn Outdoor Stage & through campus and downtown Blacksburg
Sponsored by United Feminist Movement
Contact: Carolina Bell
This annual rally and march is in protest of gender-based and sexual violence in our local community. All are welcome to gather and march in support of suvivors. Given the impact of sexual violence on people of all backgrounds and identities, this is event is inclusive of all people united for a community free of violence. 

Dessert & Speaker: "Tasting African American Food History: The Antebellum Roots of Chef Edna Lewis's Desserts, with Dr. Leni Sorensen"

Thursday, March 30 @ 7-8:30PM
Wallace Hall Atrium
Sponsored by Food Studies Program, History Department, College of Liberal Arts and Human Science
Contact: Anna Zeide
In the pay-what-you-can ticketed event with famed Black culinary historian Leni Sorensen, enjoy a dessert course featuring Chef Edna Lewis's bread pudding, prepared by Food Studies students, and with commentary from Dr. Sorensen. Edna Lewis was a renowned American chef, teacher, and author who helped refine the American view of Southern cooking, making the care for Black Southern cooking as the foundation of our national cuisine. All proceeds from this program support the Food Studies program's student initiatives. Ticket required.

Performance: Rissi Palmer

Thursday, March 30 and Friday, March 31 @ 8PM
Cube, Moss Arts Center
Sponsored by Moss Arts Center
Contact: Ellery Huffman
"Rissi Palmer's lefts make things right," says Guest Curator Shirlette Ammons. "Palmer's career is a series of left turns. Her 2017 twangy mid-tempo anthem, Country Girl, made her the first Black woman to grace Billboard's Hot Country charts in over 30 years. She achieved this feat by wading through the prejudices of country music while brandishing the obstinance of the genre's Black forebearers. Her podcast, Color Me Country, reminds us that there has never been an absence of Black voices in the country category, just a bigoted radio dial. Palmer's 'Southern soul' is a resounding catchall for the impellent lyrics, fervent vibrato, and palatial strings that bind her country, gospel, rock, and blues inflexions at a common crossroad." Ticket required.

Scholar in Residence Learning Lunch Series: Dr. Banu Subramaniam

Friday, March 31 @ 12-1PM
140 Squires and Zoom
Sponsored by ACEC
Contact: Nina Ha
Dr. Banu Subramaniam is Professor of Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Trained as a plant evolutionary biologist, Dr. Subramaniam engages the feminist studies of science in the practices of experimental biology. Author of Holy Science: The Biopolitics of Hindu Nationalism (University of Washington Press, 2019) Ghost Stories for Darwin: The Science of Variation and the Politics of Diversity (University of Illinois Press, 2014), Dr. Subramaniam's current work focuses on decolonizing botany and the relationship of science and religious nationalism in India.

Speaker: Paulina Yurman: Design + Research

Friday, March 31 @ 1:25-2:25PM
Via Zoom
Sponsored by Industrial Design
Contact: Martha Sullivan
Join us for a lively presentation and discussion with Paulina Yurman as she discussed design in the present and future. Drawing, making and experimenting are integral activities to Yurman's work, which is informed by critical and speculative design, and by feminist design research. Yurman has a degree in mechanical engineering, a MA in Industrial Design Engineering from the Royal College of Art/Imperial College, and a PhD from Goldsmiths. Yurman worked at LEGO in Denmark as part of a multidisciplinary team of technologists, designers and psychologists, designing play material for children; she has gone on to design houseware products, furniture and interactive play material, working with clients in Europe, Japan and the UK.