GVSU is set for an array of Women's History Month observances. Grand Valley State University's Women and Gender Studies Program will host its annual women's festival this year in conjunction with Legacy, sponsored by the Grand Rapids Women's History Council.
Festival 2000 will be held March 18-21 with the theme Gender, Memory and Representation. The various events will be held in downtown Grand Rapids and at the Kirkhof Center on GVSU's Allendale campus.
Festival 2000 begins with the annual film festival, which will demonstrate the nuances of gender, memory and representation. The film festival will be held on the 18th from noon to 9 p.m. at the Eberhard Center in Grand Rapids.
The screenwriter of one of this year's featured films, the award-winning Daughter Rite, will be the keynote speaker for this year's GVSU Women Studies Festival. Noted screenwriter, producer and educator, Michelle Citron, a former GVSU faculty member, will speak at 1 p.m. March 20 in the Kirkhof Center on GVSU's Allendale campus. Citron has written and produced numerous films on women's issues.
In addition to Citron's keynote address, the GVSU Festival 2000 will include two full days of panel discussions and presentations March 20-21 on key women's issues. Topics include: literary sketches; media representations of gender and sexuality; science and gender; and gender, memory and genocide. This year's festival will also have a book exhibit and various information booths.
Festival 2000 will close with the presentations of the Maxine Swanson and Barbara Jordan awards in honor of women whose work deserves singular tribute. The Maxine Swanson Award, named for a former GVSU Board of Control member, is given to an individual who has provided leadership in the rights of women at Grand Valley. The Barbara Jordan Award is named for the late Barbara Jordan, a Texas legislator respected for her integrity and ability to inspire.
