Women's Studies holds 20th-annual conference March 1-2

"Feminisms and Justice" is the theme for the Women's Studies 2007 Conference to be held March 1-2.

The conference begins at 3 p.m. March 1 at the Law School Auditorium with a community panel, followed by the keynote address at 5 p.m. presented by The Honorable Nancy Gertner, judge, United States District Court, District of Massachusetts. Her keynote lecture is titled, "The New Feminine Mystique: Work and Family Collisions."

Gertner began her career as a criminal defense lawyer in 1975 and was one of very few women in the field. She went on to build a reputation as an advocate in important cases affecting women, minorities, and the poor. In 2002, she was honored by the American Bar Association as a "Human Rights Hero." She recently wrote a memoir titled, Lawyer with the Red Dress On, which focuses on what she calls her "improbable career" building a high-profile, controversial legal career, which culminated in her appointment as a federal judge, while she devoted time to academia. In addition to her work as a lecturer at Yale, Gertner has taught at Harvard, Boston College, the University of Arizona, and Boston University.

The second day of the Women's Studies conference begins at 9:30 a.m. with concurrent paper sessions at the Daniel Management Center, Moore School of Business. The annual awards presentation luncheon will be held in the Campus Room, Capstone, and features the 2007 Abney Award Lecture by Dawn Hunter, assistant professor of art at USC. Hunter will present her project "Spectacle Spectacular," a traveling exhibition. By reconceptualizing two decades of American Vogue magazines (1980-2000), she has developed a visual investigation and critique of its influence within mass culture and the power of fashion photography to cultivate and promote a "pop culture" body image.

The March 1 community panel and keynote lecture are free and open to the public. A registration fee is required for conference attendance March 2 ($40 general registration and $20 student registration; fee includes materials, luncheon, and receptions).

Registration forms are available in the Women's Studies Program Office, 201 Flinn Hall, or the Women's Studies Web site at www.cas.sc.edu/WOST.

For more information, call the Women's Studies office at 7-4007.

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