University hosts programs in honor of Women’s History Month
March is National Women’s History Month. To celebrate this, Marywood is holding a series of three events concerning women’s roles in history and society within the United States. A committee of nine professors from various departments within the university began planning the program in February.
The first event, held on March 14, was “Media and the Representation of Women,” which included a screening and discussion of the film “Miss Representation” presented by Ms. Carolyn Bonacci, philosophy department, and Dr. Lindsey Wotanis, communication arts department. It demonstrated and analyzed how the media often negatively represents women at all levels and the kind of impact this has on society.
Noelle Kozak, senior English major, attended the event because she knew that the subject matter was important.
“I feel like [the film] makes you look at things in such a different way because we’re going through the motions of life and we don’t always notice these specific instances [where] women are portrayed in a completely negative way,” said Kozak.
The second event will be held this Wednesday, March 20, from 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. in Media 160 with the focus on “Perspectives on Gender.” Presenters from the psychology, business, philosophy, and English departments will discuss such issues as gender stereotypes, the wage gap, academia, and pop culture.
Dr. Brooke Cannon, professor of psychology, will be presenting a documentary entitled, “Females in Film” on Monday, March 25 from 7 – 8 p.m. also in Media 160. “The film is about the role of women in the movies and chronicles the history of women as actors and behind the camera in the 20th and 21st centuries,” she stated.
Cannon said that while women have always been a part of the movie-making process as actresses and even as directors or screenwriters, they are not always seen in a healthy way or given the recognition they deserve.
“If you look at the Academy Awards, the first female best director winner was just [in 2010], Kathryn Bigelow for ‘The Hurt Locker,’” said Cannon.
Bonacci, instructor of philosophy, said it is important that the university is presenting this series, not only as an acknowledgement of Women’s History Month, but also because of the university’s unique history.
“A lot of Marywood’s identity is involved in what women have done and what [they] do to change and call us to be active participants in our own society,” said Bonacci.