UTSA recognizes women’s impact on society during Women’s History Month

(March 1, 2018) -- To honor the contributions of women in all aspects of society, The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) will celebrate Women's History Month with a series of educational events throughout March. The theme for this year's Women's History Month celebration at UTSA is "Nevertheless, We Persist.”

The UTSA Women’s Studies Institute and Women’s Studies Program will feature film screenings, book readings and lectures that explore the issues women have faced and overcome to achieve social justice and empowerment in the community.

The schedule of events includes:

Brew Up Texas: Women in the Industry
Friday, March 2, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures, Hemisfair Campus

A part of the Brewing Up Texas exhibit, this program features a discussion with women brewers, brewery owners and beer industry executives. Guests must be 21 or older.

Nevertheless, We Persist: Women’s History Month Opening Program
Tuesday, March 6, 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
H-E-B Student Union Ballroom (HSU 1.106), Main Campus

The UTSA Women’s Studies Institute will kick off Women’s History Month 2018 with an opening reception featuring keynote speaker Erika Prosper Nirenberg. The event is free and open to the public.

Las Tesoros de San Antonio: A West Side Story
Wednesday, March 7, 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Student Union, Denman Room (SU 2.01.28), Main Campus

Las Tesoros de San Antonio is a documentary that follows the lives and careers of four south Texas Tejana singers from the 1940s to the 1970s. It offers insight into the struggles and triumphs they faced as women in a male-dominated industry. 

“Searching for Sycorax” Book Launch
Monday, March 19, 12 p.m. to 12:50 p.m.
H-E-B Student Union, Bexar Room (HUC 1.102), Main Campus

UTSA English professor Kinitra Brooks will discuss her new book, “Searching for Sycorax: Black Women’s Hauntings of Contemporary Horror.” The book highlights the unique position of black women in the horror genre as both characters and creators. 

“A Life on Hold” Book Reading
Wednesday, March 21, 4 p.m.
H-E-B Student Union, Travis Room (HSU 2.212), Main Campus

For more than 20 years, Josie Méndez-Negrete, a UTSA associate professor in Mexican American Studies, has endured the emotional journey of watching her son, Tito, struggle with schizophrenia. Her powerful account is the first memoir by a Mexican American author to share the devastation and hope a family experiences in dealing with this mental illness. 

Can We Talk? …About Women and Philanthropy
Thursday, March 22, 5:30 p.m.
SAWS Headquarters, 2800 U.S. Highway 281 North, San Antonio

Lea Rosenauer, president and CEO of Girls Inc. San Antonio, will speak about women and philanthropic development.

“Sovereign Stories” Book Reading
Friday, March 23, 12 p.m.
McKinney Humanities Building (MH 3.02.24), Main Campus

Author Annette Angela Portillo will read her book, which examines Native American women’s autobiographical discourses and multiple-voiced life stories that resist generic conventional notions of first-person narrative.

Women, Feasting, and Children’s Food Security in Urban Vanuatu
Friday, March 23, 3 p.m.
H-E-B Student Union, Travis Room (HSU 2.202), Main Campus

Chelsea Wentworth, anthropology professor at High Point University, will discuss women’s roles in changing customary feasting patterns so that feasts can serve as a coping mechanism for children’s food insecurity in urban areas the South Pacific Island nation, Vanuatu.

Women in STEM Pop Up!
Tuesday, March 27 to Friday, March 30, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
John Peace Library 2nd floor, Laptop Lounge, Main Campus and Buena Vista Building, Downtown Library (BVB 2.314), Downtown Campus

Celebrate the past, present and future women in STEM fields with DVDs, books, streaming videos, mobile games and a selfie station.

The Balance of Power: Challenge, Courage, and Change
Tuesday, March 27, 4 p.m.
McKinney Humanities Building (MH 3.02.24), Main Campus

Judge Linda Harrison, the first African American female appointed to hold a full-time appointment as Municipal Court Judge and Magistrate for San Antonio, will give a lecture on how woman can prepare to face new skills and obstacles in the professional world.

Women’s Professional Advancement and Synergy Academy (WPASA) Spring Mixer
Wednesday, March 28, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
John Peace Library Faculty Center (JPL 4.04.16), Main Campus

The WPASA is dedicated to supporting cross-section of women in higher education in developing their careers. It focuses on building professional talents, enhancing leadership skills, developing a pipeline of university collaborations and partnerships, and creating opportunity for mentor/sponsor relationships.

Dispossession and Incarceration: California Indians and the Prison Regime
Thursday, March 29, 4 p.m.
McKinney Humanities Building (MH 2.01.10), Main Campus

Stephanie Lumsden, Ph.D. student in the Gender Studies Department at UCLA, will share her project that seeks to flesh out the relationship between the prison industrial complex and settler colonialism. She will discuss the ways in which settler relationships to land facilitate an economy that depends on the incarceration of millions of people. 

Women in Higher Education
Thursday, March 29, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Flawn Science Building (FLN 3.02.01), Main Campus

Women in Leadership will host UTSA faculty and staff members Rhonda M. Gonzales, Ann Eisenberg, Kelly Nash, Tara Schwegler and Amanda Williams as they discuss their experiences in higher education, highlighting their individual backgrounds and perspectives. 

— Courtney Clevenger

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Learn more about the UTSA Women's Studies Program.

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