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St. Olaf plans Women's History Month events throughout March

By Tremaine Versteeg '07
March 6, 2007

The first week of March will mark the beginning of Women's History Month. St. Olaf Director of Women's Studies Judy Kutulas and the planning committee have scheduled a variety of events that will take place throughout the month.

This year the National Women's History Project has chosen the theme "Generations of Women Moving History Forward," and events planned at St. Olaf will coincide with this theme. Events will begin with a panel, moderated by Assistant Professor of Political Science Sheri Breen, which will be held Monday, March 5, 7-9 p.m. in Buntrock Commons, Valhalla Room. The panel will feature St. Olaf students returning from study abroad programs who will discuss the topic of "Encountering Gender in Other Cultures" or "What I Learned From My Semester Abroad."

St. Olaf alumna and New York City firefighter Brenda Berkman '73 will be the featured speaker for the month. She will present the documentary Taking the Heat: The First Women Firefighters of New York City, which centers on her experience as the first woman NYC firefighter. Berkman's presentation will be on Tuesday, March 13, at 7 p.m. in Holland Hall, 501.

Brenda Berkman
Brenda Berkman '73 will be the featured speaker for Women's History Month at St. Olaf. Berkman was featured in Taking the Heat: The First Women Firefighters of New York City, a documentary aired on national television last March.


Throughout the month Kutulas, who also is professor of history at St. Olaf, and Jenny Dunning, assistant professor of English, will lead a shared reading of College Girls: Bluestockings, Sex Kittens, and Coeds, Then and Now by Lynn Peril. Discussions will be held Friday, March 16, 3:30-5 p.m. in Buntrock Commons, 144; Tuesday, March 20, 4-5:30 p.m. in Buntrock Commons, 143; and Thursday, March 22, 11:20 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in Buntrock Commons, 144.

Katulas says the theme "Generations of Women Moving History Forward" will be incorporated into St. Olaf's events because it is an effective reminder that women have helped shape the campus community from its inception.

"We felt the theme provided us with a framework for talking about women's education and the many ways women embody that St. Olaf motto 'Lives of Worth and Service,'" Kutulas says.

For more information on Women's Hostory Month events contact Kutulas at (507) 646-3236.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.