Indiana State University Newsroom

Indiana State University will be celebrating International Women's Day with a colloquium March 1 and 2.

The Our Research/Our Selves! Celebrating International Women's Day and A Celebration of Women's Studies Scholarship Colloquium will take place in the Cunningham Memorial Library's events area. The colloquium is free and open to the public.

Debra Israel, associate professor of economics, said faculty and students will be presenting on a wide variety of interesting topics this year.

"Often faculty have more opportunities to present their research at professional conferences across the US or internationally," Israel said. "What we are offering at this event is a chance for the ISU and Terre Haute community to learn about some of the research going on here."

Author and professor Elaine Lawless will serve as the keynote speaker for the event. She will speak at 3:30 p.m. on March 1 on issues addressed in her 2009, "Troubling Violence: A Performance Project." The book exposes true experiences of domestic abuse women have shared.

Lawless, an English professor at the University of Missouri, has written six books including "Women Escaping Violence: Empowerment through Narrative" which led to the performance project turned into the book she will speak about at the colloquium. She has received multiple awards for her research and instruction. Nan McEntire, associate professor of English, said Lawless is a brave researcher who was inspirational to her.

"She is willing to tackle topics that other scholars might shy away from, such as domestic violence," McEntire said.

Librarian Marsha Miller said Indiana State will celebrate International Women's Day early because the original day, March 8th, falls on ISU's Spring break week.

"International Women's day is a truly international event," Miller said. "It is celebrated much more so in other countries than the United States."

"This is an opportunity to learn how women are facing adversity and overcoming it -- dealing with the challenges faced by women CEO's, by females in technology or economics, women in leadership positions, or surviving domestic violence," Israel said. "Those attending will appreciate that women are active and exploring the world in so many different ways."

The schedule for the event is:
Tuesday, March 1:
• 10-10:45 - Walking the Fine Line: Challenges Women Still Face in Organizational Life
• 11-12:15 - Gender Diversity in Economics at Indiana State University and FIT for the Future
• 1:30-2:30 - Women in Leadership, the Binding Thread
• 3:30-4:30 - Keynote Speaker: Space and Place: The Landscape of Domestic Violence by Elaine Lawless

Wednesday, March 2:
• 9-10 - Gender, Sexuality, and Feminism: Psychology Research in Progress
• 10-11 - Book reading/signing: Radical Spiritual Motherhood: Autobiography and Empowerment in Nineteenth-Century African American Women by Rosetta Haynes
• 11-12 - Digital Primary Resources for Women's Studies Students, Scholars, and Potential Contributors
• 12-1 - Gender and Environmental Giving
• -1:45 - Seal Stories: A Feminist Look at Selkie Narratives from the Far North

Women's Studies, Interdisciplinary Programs, the Economics Department, the Social Work Department, the English Department; Joseph S. Schick Foundation, and the ISU library will co-sponsor the event.

Contact: Debra Israel, Indiana State University, associate professor of economics, at 812-237-2165 or Debra.Israel@indstate.edu

Writer: Britany Dean, Indiana State University, media relations assistant, at 812-237-3773