Trinity University proudly celebrates women’s history in March and year-round. This month, Trinity’s Women’s and Gender Studies (WAGS) program has put together an engaging and thought-provoking lineup of events.
“We are so excited about our 2024 Women’s History Month theme and programming! Our theme is Witches, Monstrosity, and Feminism, and we are approaching it from two perspectives,” says communication professor and WAGS co-director Sarah Erickson, Ph.D. “First, we are considering how women are portrayed as/made monstrous when they do not conform with traditional gender norms and how the witch has been used as a feminist figure of resistance. Second, we are looking at how traditional medicine practitioners/healers from many cultures have been called or categorized as witches and how this knowledge of traditional medicine is often held and passed down by women.”
WAGS’ marquis events include a lecture and a panel focused on its theme for the month. WAGS welcomes Katherine Howard, Ph.D., an assistant professor of philosophy at California State University, who will give a lecture titled “Green with Envy: On affective injustice and resistance in the early modern witch hunts” on Thursday, March 21. The next day, Howard will then participate in a panel discussion with an interdisciplinary group of Trinity faculty on the figure of the witch in history and today.
Howard’s visit and talk (and panel) are co-sponsored by WAGS and the Departments of History, Philosophy, Modern Languages and Literatures, Psychology, Communication, Political Science, Global Latinx Studies, and the Humanities Collective. WAGS would also like to give special thanks to the Lecturers and Visiting Scholars Committee for their financial support.
Keep an eye out for the ongoing events throughout the month as well, such as the display of books related to Women’s History Month in Coates Library and KRTU’s Jazz Break at Noon: Featuring Women in Jazz History on weekdays and Women in Jazz broadcasts on Thursdays at 8 p.m.
Mark your calendars for these upcoming events:
Supporting Women-Owned Businesses
Monday, March 4 | 3-4:30 p.m. | Coates Esplanade
Join Intersect and the Trinity Diversity Connection at the Coates Esplanade to celebrate women-owned businesses around San Antonio. Pick up free products from local companies and get some food!
Thank a Feminist
Tuesday, March 5-Wednesday, March 6 | 12-1 p.m. | Coates University Center Lobby
Faculty from WAGS will be tabling in the Coates University Center Lobby with postcards available for students to write a quick note to thank a woman or feminist in their life. If they want to send the postcard to someone outside of Trinity or to a member of faculty or staff, they will mail it for them. WAGS will also be giving away theme-appropriate and feminist stickers (for free).
Women’s History Month Humanitea
Monday, March 18 | 4 p.m. | Dicke Hall Commons
Trinity's Humanities Collective will host a Women's History Month-themed Humanitea. They will feature a table from WAGS, which will include promotions for upcoming events as well as WAGS stickers and other swag.
“Green with Envy: On affective injustice and resistance in the early modern witch hunts,” Lecture by Katherine Howard
Thursday, March 21 | 7 p.m. | Dicke Hall 104
WAGS will welcome Katherine Howard, Ph.D., an assistant professor of philosophy at California State University, to discuss her work at the intersection of feminist and political philosophy, examining the embodied, affective dimensions of political life, as well as obscure sites of political resistance and agency, for instance, the marginal(ized) figure of the witch.
“The Figure of the Witch: Folk, Fairy, Feminist” Roundtable
Friday, March 22 | 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. | Dicke Hall 108
A panel consisting of Katherine Howard, Ph.D., assistant professor of philosophy at California State University, and Trinity professors Shannon Marrioti, Ph.D.; Norma Cantú, Ph.D.; Willis Salomon, Ph.D.; and Heather Sullivan, Ph.D., will examine the witch as imagined across multiple disciplines and contexts, from early modern literature to fairy tales, to curanderas and brujeria. Lunch will be provided.
Screening of Mama Irene: Healer of the Andes
Thursday, March 28 | 7 p.m. | Dicke Hall Screening Room
This documentary follows Mama Irene, an 84-year-old shaman in Peru, in her everyday life, highlighting her healing methods and passion to serve each patient who knocks on her door: from local women who travel hours or days by foot through the Andes to a medical doctor from India seeking a cure for illnesses that Western Medicine had failed to help.
To stay up to date on the latest updates on these events or to learn about more Women’s History Month events, visit Trinity's events calendar or view your daily LeeRoy Newsletter. And don't forget to follow WAGS on Instagram @trinitywags, the account is run by students!
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