Various Santa Rosa Junior College organizations will celebrate Women’s History Month in March with movie screenings, lectures and events that cover women’s empowerment, voting rights, history and women portrayal in the media.
MEDIA, BRAINWASHING AND SEXISM
Purnur Ozbirinci, SRJC English instructor, will discuss the portrayal of women in media within “twin epidemics” of sexual assault and gender-based employment discrimination from noon to 2 p.m. March 14 at Doyle Library room 106.
The presentation will include excerpts from Tom Donahue’s “This Changes Everything” and Nina Menkes’s “Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power,” two films meant to highlight realities of women in hollywood and film industries.
IMMIGRATION, CULTURE AND HOMESICKNESS
SRJC sociology instructor Solen Sanli Vasquez will discuss her immigration experiences and use sociological data and research to emphasize “the human side” of immigration and how it can pertain to other students’ stories from noon to 1:30 p.m. March 15 on Zoom at https://santarosa-edu.zoom.us/j/84557201835.
SCREENING OF BODY PARTS
SRJC’s Petaluma campus will screen Kristy Guevara Flanagan’s film, “Body Parts,” at 7 p.m. March 15 in Ellis Auditorium.
“Body Parts” (2022) illustrates objectification and harmful messaging in the process of creating on-screen intimacy and highlights the female perspective in media directed for the male gaze. It primarily features candid interviews with women in film as they discuss personal experiences coordinating and acting in intimacy scenes.
LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS
Representatives from Sonoma County’s League of Women Voters will discuss ways to become politically involved both locally and nationally from noon to 1 p.m. March 16 in Doyle Library room 146.
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan advocacy group that focuses on voting equity and representation at community, state and national levels. It offers several resources to increase civic engagement among currently underrepresented demographics.
LUNAFEST
This year’s LUNAFEST, a series of short films highlighting stories of “aspirations, accomplishments, resilience and strength” told by women and gender nonconforming individuals will play at 3-5 p.m. March 19 in Ellis Auditorium at the Petaluma campus.
LUNA Bars organized the first LUNAFEST in 2001 to amplify female and nonbinary voices in film while raising money for nonprofits, and the festival has since made its way to Sonoma County. This year’s film lineup includes Faith E. Briggs’s “Reclaim Your Water: Natasha Smith,” Sara T. Gama’s “Miss Chelove: From Java t the Streets of D.C.,” Bret Parker and Pete Barmer’s “Pete,” Jen Randall’s “Beth,” Amy Bench’s “More Than I Want to Remember,” Fawzia Mirzir and Kausar Mohammed’s “Syed Family Xmas Eve Game Night” and Samantha Sanders’s “Moving Through.”
LIBERATION BY BICYCLE
SRJC’s Sustainability Committee and Bikeable Santa Rosa will screen Liz Canning’s “Motherload” and host lectures from SRJC history instructor Anne Donegan, and SRJC philosophy instructor Alexa Forrester that focus on the role of bicycles in the women’s liberation movement and current transportation inequities from 4-6 p.m. March 28 in Newman Auditorium.
“Motherload” (2019) depicts the cargo bike as both a sustainable and empowering alternative to gas-powered vehicles for families, following the story of contemporary women as they become more involved in the sustainability movement.
THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE 1910 MEXICAN REVOLUTION
Laura Larque, SRJC history professor, will discuss women’s intellectual and military contributions to the Mexican Revolution from noon to2 p.m. March 29 on Zoom at http://edu.zoom.us/j/89151293355.
“A MAID CAME FREE”
Ozlem Uzundemir, an English professor at Cankaya University, will discuss the female image portrayed in painting specifications as referenced in Tracy Chevalier’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” from 11 a.m. to noon March 30 On Zoom at http://edu.zoom.us/j/87382463232.
Uzundemir will focus on the book’s narrator, Griet, who transitions roles from a maid to a painter’s assistant and model that critiques art with greater focus on gender issues and the presentation of women as a viewing objects. Uzundemir will specifically detail the way this is represented in the color, light and realism of paintings.
MULTICULTURAL MUSEUM
SRJC’s Multicultural Museum will host several events honoring Women’s History Month: the opening of SRJC’s new exhibit, Breaking Traditions, Saving Traditions: Elsie Allen and the Legacy of Pomo Basketry on March 3, screenings of “Pomo Basketweavers: A Tribute to Three Elders” at 1 p.m. March 7 and 3 p.m. March 15, a panel discussion with members of the Pomo Weaver’s Society at 3 p.m. March 10 and a basket weaving demonstration with professional basket weaver Clint McKay.
More information and contacts for these events can be found at https://events.santarosa.edu/events.santarosa.edu/%20womens-history-month.
