Upcoming Events

SPRING 2013

October 1, 7 p.m. Public Showing of documentary, The Invisible War. University Center Exhibit Hall B-C

Women’s Studies will partner with POWER (the Women’s Studies student club), the UAH Veteran’s Network, and AAUW-Huntsville to sponsor a free showing of the 2012 documentary The Invisible War on Tuesday, October 1, at 7 p.m., in the University Center Exhibit Hall B-C.

A film by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, The Invisible War exposes the problem of sexual assault in the U.S. military. Representatives from Army Community Service at Redstone Arsenal will give a pre-show lecture at 7 p.m., followed by the film at 7:30 and then will answer questions after the film. Chanley Pickard is Sexual Harassment/Assault Response Program (SHARP) Manager, and Jennifer Blatter is SHARP Victim Advocate, Army Community Service.

According to a Pentagon report covered by the Huffington Post in May 2013, “the number of sexual assaults reported by members of the military rose from 3,192 to 3,374 in 2012, while the department estimates that as many as 26,000 service members were assaulted, based on anonymous surveys” (Richard Lardner, 5/07/13). Interviews with more than 100 people, including both retired and active service members, tell a horrific tale. Women in the military are sometimes required to report assaults to the perpetrator himself, and women who are raped by married men are often themselves charged with adultery while the men go unpunished. It is a culture designed to “let women get raped better,” says one Army criminal investigator. Members of Congress from both parties are also interviewed, as are Defense Department officials, but it is the testimony of survivors (not all of them women) that are at the heart of the film.

Fortunately, the Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is acting to correct this problem, and the Pentagon has issued new rules about reporting sex crimes.

Invisible War was one of four feature-length documentaries nominated for the Academy Award in 2013, and it has been nominated for many other awards. Time Magazine called it one of the “Ten Best Films of the Year.” Kirby Dick’s other documentaries include Outrage (2009, about closeted gay politicians who support anti-gay legislation), This Film Is Not Rated (2006, a humorous look at the film ratings system), and Twist of Faith (2004, about child abuse among Catholic priests).

This is AAUW’s monthly program, which includes a dinner that requires advance reservations by September 25 to Lois Guendel at lois.guendel@knology.net or (256) 880-8643. AAUW members are happy to pick up the cost of meals for students.

Both the film and the pre-show lecture are free and open to the public. For information, email womensstudies@uah.edu or call (256) 824-6210. Visit the film website at invisiblewarmovie.com.

October 24, 7:30 p.m. "Birth Control and Abortion: Why Still So Controversial? An Historical View." Wilson Hall Theater (room 001)

October 24, 11:10 a.m. "Visual Democracy: How Dorothea Lange Used Photography to Promote Equality." Honors Lecture Series. Shelby Center 107.

Dr. Linda Gordon, University Professor of the Humanities and Florence Kelley Professor of History at New York University, will visit UAH in October as a Humanities Center Short-Term Eminent Scholar. Gordon is one of the foremost experts on the history of women and gender and of social policy in the United States.

She will give two public lectures. Her keynote lecture will be, “Birth Control and Abortion: Why Still So Controversial? An Historical View,” on Thursday, October 24, at 7:30 p.m., in Wilson Hall Theater (room 001). She will give a second public lecture, “Visual Democracy: How Dorothea Lange Used Photography to Promote Equality,” on Thursday, October 24, at 11:10 a.m., in Shelby Center 107 as part of the Honors Lecture Series. Gordon will also discuss her research with students in two history classes and one political science course.

Gordon’s keynote lecture is drawn from her 1976 book, Woman’s Body, Woman’s Right: The History of Birth Control in America (revised and republished as The Moral Property of Women in 2002), which remains the definitive history of birth control politics in the United States. Her Honors lecture is based on her most recent and prize-winning book, Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond Limits (2009). Gordon earned her Ph.D. from Yale University in Russian history in 1970, before moving into the field of U.S. women’s history, an outgrowth in part of her active participation in the women’s movement. Before moving to NYU, she taught at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she was awarded the university’s prestigious Vilas Research Chair.

Gordon earned her Ph.D. from Yale University in Russian history in 1970, before moving into the field of US women’s history, an outgrowth in part of her active participation in the women’s movement.Before moving to New York University, she taught at the University of Massachusetts / Boston and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was awarded the university’s most prestigious chair professorship, the Vilas Research Chair. 

For further information, email molly.johnson@uah.edu or call (256) 824-2566.

October 18, 6:00 p.m. Reception / 6:30 p.m. Performance. Coffeehouse Writers Series, Word-Xpress. Salmon Library Art Gallery.

Women’s Studies and the Salmon Library are continuing the popular Coffeehouse Writers Series with programs featuring local writers reading their work. The fall series begins Friday, October 18, at 6:00 p.m., with Word-Xpress.com: Alabama’s Got Arts! The members of this progressive social hub for creative people will inspire and entertain through poetry, spoken word, and stories. They encourage all to attend—community, faculty, and students—to experience “some of this area’s hidden treasures” and to support your local arts. “This is an opportunity to be a part of something that’s going to be big! Art is Life!” A reception will be hosted at 6:00 p.m., and the performance will begin at 6:30 p.m. 

Readings last about an hour and are held at the Salmon Library Art Gallery on the ground floor. Admission is free. For information or to suggest a program, contact marylyn.coffey@uah.edu or(256) 824-6114.

December 9, 6:00 p.m. Coffeehouse Writers Series, UAH Creative Writing Students. Salmon Library Art Gallery.

Women’s Studies and the Salmon Library are continuing the popular Coffeehouse Writers Series with programs featuring local writers reading their work. On Monday, December 9, at 6 p.m., UAH Creative Writing students of Dr. Anna Weber will present original poetry and fiction.

Readings last about an hour and are held at the Salmon Library Art Gallery on the ground floor. Admission is free, and Charger Brew will be open before the Monday night reading. For information or to suggest a program, contact marylyn.coffey@uah.edu or (256) 824-6114.

If you have any questions about our upcoming events, please contact the Women's Studies Program Office at 256-824-6190 or womensstudies@uah.edu.