The women and gender studies program will present "Challenges, Opportunities, Possibilities," this year's gender conference at Seton Hall, on Friday, March 28.
The conference will feature sessions with presentations on topics including but not limited to: "Representation of Race and Gender," "Women at Work," "Gender and Literature," "Women and Leadership" and "A Humanist Approach to Art, Business and Life."
According to co-director Dr. Vanessa May, the conference is organized into "three sessions with a variety of panels, scheduled at 10:00 a.m., 1:15 p.m., and 2:45 p.m. There is a breakfast beginning at 9:00 a.m. and a luncheon at 11:30 a.m. The conference, as well as the breakfast and luncheon, are all free for students, faculty, and staff. The luncheon and breakfast will take place in the U-Center. The panels will take place in Arts and Sciences Hall."
Carolyn Dorfman,Choreographer/Artistic Director of the Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company, will be the presenter of "A Humanist Approach to Art, Business, and Life" during the second session.
According to Dorfman, her presentation will discuss her role as a female artist and also artistic director at a dance company and the progression from artist to director of a business. Dorfman explains that sometimes those roles are aligned and sometimes not. She states the difference between being a director and artist is the evolution of the business relationship that one must create with their audience.
"My real goal as a choreographer is to change the world one audience at a time. My company, CDDC, will be performing at SOPAC on April 10, at 7:30 p.m., 'The Legacy Project' that speaks to our sense of foundation and humanity," Dorfman said.
According to the press release for the event, this is the first time that the conference is being held by an academic program.
May said: "We are hoping to facilitate a conversation between students, faculty, and staff about women and gender across a broad range of academic disciplines. We're using the opportunity to host a series of interesting conversations about women and gender in an academic context. These are all smart people with smart things to say, who will make you think about women and gender in new ways. The best moments in college are when you begin to question things you'd always taken for granted and this conference will bring up just these kinds of questions."
Rebecca White can be reached at rebecca.white@student.shu.edu.
