“Nevertheless, she persisted,” a phrase originally spoken by Senator Mitch McConnell in attempt to silence Senator Elizabeth Warren in Congress last year, has become a rallying cry for women across the country. March 1 kicks off Women’s History Month 2018, and Belmont is ready to celebrate. Dr. Sarah Blomeley, co-chair of the celebration, wrote, “During Women’s History Month 2018, we celebrate that persistence even as we recognize the intersecting forms of discrimination women have faced in the past and continue to face today. Now more than ever, it is imperative that we listen to women’s voices–voices from the past and present, voices from near and far, voices of the famous and unknown, voices that command national interest, and voices we’ve been conditioned to ignore.”
To complement this year’s theme of persistence, Blomeley and co-chair Dr. Amy Hodges Hamilton prepared a series of events to celebrate women and their persistence in the fight against all forms of discrimination. All events are free and open to the public.
Events include:
Thursday, March 1: 4-5 p.m. Join Dr. Sarah Blomeley and a group of undergraduate researchers in The Personal is Rhetorical: Women Persisting Throughout History.
Monday, March 12: 10-11 a.m. Women on the Margins Locally and Globally: A Path Toward Healing will discuss ways to empower women in different social contexts through faith, hope and healing.
Monday, March 19: 10-11 a.m. Join Dr. Shelby Longard and student leaders for an interactive, social-action based convocation in Nevertheless They Persisted: Belmont Students Working Toward Change
Friday, March 23: 10-11 a.m. Writing and Healing: a Path Toward Persistence will feature Dr. Amy Hodges Hamilton for a writing workshop about the theory and practice of writing and trauma
Monday, march 26: 10-11 a.m. Dr. Heather Finch will introduce students to women lost to history in What Was Her Name?
Tuesday, March 27: 7-8 p.m. The women of the Belmont University Dance Company will present The Passion: A Choreographed Reading
Thursday, April 5: 6:30 p.m. Belmont seeks to raise awareness about violence against students, to give students a voice in their own safety on campus and to provide easily accessible resources for violence prevention and student safety through a Take Back the Night march.
For more information about the celebration or the individual events, click here.
“When we believe that ours is the only story out there,” wrote Blomeley, “We feel powerless and afraid. One voice shouting against the wind does not travel very far. But when that lone voice joins a choir of others, it becomes impossible to ignore… Paying attention to voices from our past helps us understand the present and plan for the future. Let’s listen.”
This year’s celebration of Women’s History Month is co-chaired by Drs. Blomeley and Hodges Hamilton, with co-sponsorship from University Ministries, the Office of Campus Security, the Office of the University Counsel, the Department of Theatre and Dance, the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and Counseling Services
