To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies department at the University of Connecticut, there will be multiple events hosted between Thursday, March 21 and Friday, March 22 on the Storrs campus. An event calendar can be found here.
On Thursday, March 21, the Ballard Ballroom in the Graduate Hotel will be hosting multiple events.
At 10 a.m., there will be a celebration opening with WGSS director Sherry Zane and provost Anne D’Alleva.
From 10:15 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., writer and activist Alexis De Veaux will speak about Audre Lorde, a self-proclaimed “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet” who delivered the famous speech “The Uses of Anger” at UConn.
From 10:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., there will be a panel featuring Judith Plaskow, Chela Sandoval and Holly Smith on the uses of anger and the evolution of WGSS in the past based on the previously mentioned Audre Lorde speech.
From 2 p.m. to 3:45 p.m., there will be an event keynote in the form of a conversation between M. Jacqui Alexander and Beverly Guy-Sheftall.
From 4 p.m. to 6:15 p.m., there will be another panel featuring V Varun Chaudhry, PJ Di Pietro, Evren Savci, endawnis Spears and Jaimee Swift on the uses of anger and how WGSS can combat racism in the future. It is also inspired by Audre Lorde’s speech. This will be followed by a celebration dinner that is open to “WGSS majors and minors, students interested in becoming majors or minors, WGSS alumni, WGSS faculty, and WGSS@50 event panelists” from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
From 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., there will be a presentation by Callas Foundation founder Caroline Peters.
On Friday, March 22, there will be multiple events in various locations.
There will be an undergraduate career roundtable with WGSS alumni moderated by Morgan Keating and Kate Wagner from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the UConn Women’s Center program room in the Student Union.
From 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., there will be a workshop titled “The Uses of Anger for BIPOC Poets” by poet and creative nonfiction writer Cecilia Caballero in Herbst Hall (formerly known as Oak Hall) room 438. The event is RSVP-only, and the form closed on March 14.
At 11:15 a.m., The William Benton Museum of Art will open their exhibit celebrating WGSS’ 50th anniversary. From 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., two-spirit and transgender musician Bobby Sanchez will perform there in concert.
From 4:30 p.m. to 5:45 p.m., University of Pennsylvania’s associate professor of WGSS and philosophy Mariana Ortega will give a talk under the title “Ambiguity, Aesthesis, and Resistance: A Lugonesian Approach” at Herbst Hall room 408. It will address the theory-praxis of resistance in the work of philosopher Maria Lugones. The talk is co-sponsored by the departments of philosophy, political science, WGSS and El Instituto. The Zoom link to attend virtually can be found in the event calendar.
Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies is a relatively new field of study and department at UConn, but it helps the world become a more hospitable place for all. WGSS is eclectic in its approach, drawing upon psychology, political science, philosophy, history and many other fields with a different lens. These events are to the benefit of all UConn students. Any and all are welcome to celebrate WGSS and the work it’s done to strengthen university culture and tolerance.