The symposium commemorates 50+ years of global feminism by marking key moments in that history, including: 1975 International Women’s Year, the first UN World Conference on women convened in Mexico City in 1975, and the 30^th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on women convened in 1995 in Beijing that produced the Beijing Plan of Action. 

 

Thursday, March 13th 4:00pm, KC 2263:

Jocelyn Olcott

“The World Will Not Be the Same”: How the United Nations International Women’s Year Shaped Transnational Feminisms” (LIB 100 Approved)

In this talk, Dr. Jocelyn Olcott will discuss her book International Women’s Year: The Greatest Consciousness Raising Event in History and the game-changing role the IWY conference played in altering the culture of transnational women’s activism that would continue to grow over the following three decades.

 

Dinner and Discussion to follow the keynote at 6 p.m. in the Thornapple Room RSVP  

 

Friday, March 14- Morning and Afternoon Sessions

We have several concurrent sessions of speakers, joining us virtually.

Morning Sessions 9 am- 12, KC 2266 and 2270

8:30am Coffee and light breakfast

KC 2266

9am

Dr. Jallicia Jolly 

Title: " Black Feminist Futures: Care, Community, and Transnational Reproductive Justice."

 

11am

GVSU Panel: Conveners: Andy Schlewitz, Aaron Eddens, Polly Diven

Title:  The UN Decade for Women and its justice cascade.

 

KC 2270

9am

Carmen Diana Deere 

Title: “1975 and the Emergence of WID and GAD: Perspectives of a Latinamericanist”

 

10am

Heather Switzer

editor of “Girls in Global Development”

 

11am

Durba Mitra

Title: Third World Feminism and the Paradoxes of the UN Year and Decade for Women

 

Afternoon Sessions-Luncheon Mary Idema Pew Library Multipurpose Rm

12pm

Anna Gollub

Title: Becoming UN Women

The presentation  will discuss the historical context of Bejing Platform for Action from the perspective of UN Women, provide an insider's view of various UN processes related to Beijing +30, and reflect on what it means to be a professional feminist in the changing world.

 

1:15pm

Kavita Ramdas

Title: Feminism Remains Foreign: Ideals vs Practice for Gender Justice

Kavita N Ramdas just completed a six month fellowship at the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin, Germany, where she looked closely at the question of feminist foreign policy both in Germany and other parts of the world. Her talk will share some of the observations and lessons learned during her research and reflect on why feminism - as an ideology and aspirational set of ideals and values -  remains unintegrated into policies both at home and in relations with the rest of the world.