Contact: Maridith Geuder
A March 4 public forum at Mississippi State will examine the societal contributions of women from the 1960s to the present.
The 7 p.m. program in the Colvard Union small auditorium is part of the Women's History Month observance at the university. History professor Sara M. Evans of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and Crystal Lander, director of campus programs for the Arlington, Va.-based Feminist Majority Foundation, will lead the discussion.
The MSU Women's Studies Program is coordinating the forum with support from the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center and the departments of history, political science, and sociology, anthropology and social work.
Evans is a specialist in 20th century social movements, especially those related to American women. Her topic: "Tidal Wave: How Women Changed America at Century's End."
Lander's organization was founded in 1987 to address issues of women's legal, social and political equality. "The Women's Movement: ERA Until Today" will be her topic.
A doctoral graduate of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Evans is the author of "Born for Liberty: A History of American Women" and "Wage Justice: Comparable Worth and the Paradox of Technocratic Reform" (both 1989).
Lander holds a master's degree from Tulane University and is the former director of Planned Parenthood in Houston, Texas.
MSU Women's Studies director Lynne Cossman said the program should present audience members with an interesting contrast.
"We're pleased to have such renowned feminists speaking on our campus," the associate professor of sociology said. "We expect the juxtaposition of comments from a scholar and a political activist to lead to fascinating discussion."
For more information about the program, telephone Cossman at (662) 325-7880.