SIUE Closes out Annual Wom*n’s History Month
It was a Time of Information to Inspiration, Engagement to Enjoyment
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville concluded its annual Wom*n’s History Month (WHM) on Monday, March 31. This year’s theme was Moving Forward Together! Wom*n Educating and Inspiring Generations.
Speakers, presentations, activities, observances and more were woven throughout March to acknowledge and celebrate women and their contributions. WHM was also a time to inform, inspire and challenge hearts and minds.
Specifically, some of the month’s highlights included the Opening of Wom*n’s History Month with Venessa A Brown, PhD, emerita professor in the Department of Social Work, and sponsored by the Kimmel Belonging and Engagement Hub (K-Hub); “Women’s History Unveiled: Honoring Women Who Changed The World,” sponsored by the SIUE Office of Equal Opportunity, Access, and Title IX (EOA); The Clothesline Project (Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Awareness), hosted by the EOA; Midwest Society for Women in Philosophy (MWSWIP) Conference, hosted by the SIUE Department of Philosophy; the Phenomenal Wom*n Celebration luncheon and honors, coordinated by the K-Hub; “Ella’s Sunday Song,” read by SIUE Communications Director Nicole Franklin and her mother, SIUE alumna Irene Franklin (’74), and co-sponsored by the SIUE Lovejoy Library and the Edwardsville Public Library; and Transgender Day of Visibility, hosted by K-Hub, SIUE Serves and the SIUE Campus Activities Board.
Isaac Fa’amoe, Identity and Belonging program coordinator at the K-Hub, explained the K-Hub’s use of the asterisk in its spelling of wom*n.
“Historically, the word ‘woman’ comes from the Old English ‘wifman (wifmon)’ which is a combination of wif (female, wife) and man (man, human),” explained Fa’amoe. “Woman literally means ‘wife of man,’ thus establishing men as the standard and women as an appendage. To change the language to make it less patriarchal and more inclusive, alternate spellings that removed the word man developed, hence the asterisk in our spelling.”
Photos: SIUE celebrated an array of events and activities during Wom*n’s History Month in March.
