National Women's History Month

03/05/2008 - Blue Grit: Making Impossible, Improbable and Inspirational Political Change in America with author Laura Flanders

Laura Flanders is the host of "RadioNation" heard on Air America Radio and syndicated to non-commercial affiliates nationwide. She is the author most recently, of Blue Grit: Making Impossible, Improbable and Inspirational Political Change in America (Penguin, 2008) and BUSHWOMEN: Tales of a Cynical Species (Verso, 2004), an investigation into the women in George W. Bush’s Cabinet. Publisher’s Weekly called Flanders’ New York Times best-seller, "fierce, funny and intelligent." She wrote on Hillary Clinton in The Contenders (Seven Stories Press, 2007) and The W Effect: Sexual Politics in the Age of Bush, an essay collection compiled by Flanders, appeared in June, 2004 from the Feminist Press. Her writing appears in The Nation, Alternet, Ms. Magazine, and elsewhere and her op-ed pieces have appeared in papers including The San Francisco Chronicle. Flanders was founding director of the Women’s Desk at the media watch group, FAIR and for more than ten years she produced and hosted CounterSpin, FAIR’s nationally-syndicated radio program. She is also the author of Real Majority, Media Minority; the Cost of Sidelining Women in Reporting (Common Courage Press, 1997) about which Susan Faludi wrote, "If only there were a hundred of her." Katha Pollitt called it "Funny, angry, fact filled and brilliant."

Location:	Konover Auditorium, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center
Time:	06:00:00 PM

03/19/2008 - LUNAFEST
A Celebration of International Women’s Day

Filled with stories of reflection and whimsy, hope and humor, grace and perseverance, LUNAFEST films are renowned for celebrating the talents and stories of women. Our films include many off the traditional “festival circuit.” Collectively, LUNAFEST films captivate audiences, compel dialogue and arm those who participate with both the knowledge and the motivation to make a difference in their communities.

Proceeds will benefit The Breast Cancer Fund and the Women’s Center, Asian American Cultural Center, Puerto Rican Cultural Center, African American Cultural Center, International Center, and the Rainbow Center.

Tickets for the filmfest are $5 for students and $7 for staff, faculty, and community members. Reception to follow.

Co-Sponsor:	SUBOG
Location:	Student Union Theatre
Time:	07:00:00 PM

03/20/2008 - Am I A Dirty Word? Young Women Explore Feminism Through Art

Beth Barbeau, curator, describes the show this way, “Feminism has become a dirty word in the minds of many contemporary Americans, including many educated, liberal, progressive women and men. I do not believe the claims from popular culture that feminism is dead or has out-grown its usefulness. I know that I am not the only person out there who still claims the word ’feminist’ as their own and finds power and inspiration for their work through this identity. For myself, and the other women struggling through this, I needed a context of other artists who come to their work from a similar place. This show has grown out of my desire to gather these artists together and give them a space to show how feminism has informed and inspired their artwork. The work shown is the result of critical engagement of feminism. I wanted to give young women the opportunity to show how they take feminism into their work and deal with issues such as sexuality, body image, gender and identity. Each participant has self-identified as a feminist and chosen a piece of work they consider to be informed by their feminism. By putting our work out there, we are engaging in a tradition of feminist artists/activists sharing themselves and their stories in an effort to initiate a conversation about issues we consider very important and very personal. We hope you enjoy the show!”

Location:	Student Union Art Gallery
Time:	07:00:00 PM
Contact:	Beth Barbeau - elizabeth.barbeau@uconn.edu

03/26/2008 - $mart $tart Workshop

$tart $mart Workshop will cover the following topics:

• The personal consequences of the gender wage gap: what a $1.2 million loss over one’s working lifetime means.
• Resources for benchmarking reasonable salaries and benefits: learn about job titles, their functions and salary ranges, the impact of market realities on salaries; compare skills and accomplishments to job requirements and market to target a realistic salary range.
• Negotiation: how to aim high and be realistic; practice negotiation through role play exercises.
• Know your bottom line: develop a "bare bones" budget to pay rent, buy groceries, repay student loans, and other basic expenses.

  This is a free workshop, but pre-registration is required.

Co-Sponsor:	Career Services
Location:	Puerto Rican Latin American Cultural Center
Time:	06:00:00 PM
Contact:	Kathy Fischer - kathy.fischer@uconn.edu

03/27/2008 - Thursday Night at the Movies - Constructing Public Opinion: How Politicians and the Media Misrepresent the Public

The media regularly use public opinion polls in their reporting of important news stories. But how exactly do they report them and to what end? In this insightful and accessible interview, Professor Justin Lewis demonstrates the way in which polling data are themselves used by the media to not just reflect what Americans think but instead to construct public opinion itself. Addressing vital issues (e.g., the role the media play in "manufacturing consent" for political elites, what polls really tell us about public opinion, what Americans actually think about politics), Constructing Public Opinion provides a new way to think about the relationship between politics, media and the public.
Exploding the myth that most Americans are moderate or conservative, Constructing Public Opinion demonstrates the way in which political elites help to promote the military industrial complex and how the media sustains belief in an electoral system with a built-in bias against the interests of ordinary people. Well illustrated with graphics and many examples of media coverage, it is the first film of its kind to present a critical analysis of media and public opinion.

Location:	Women’s Center
Time:	07:00:00 PM